"I think I'm learning fine. I'm not perfect, and it pisses me off, but I'm learning as I go along." There was a small, bitter laugh after that. "And besides, who would I drag down with me? I've been pretty careful not to rely on anyone more than I have to, and to not let anyone rely on me." There was a pause as he thought that last bit. "I'll be a trainer. That's one thing that's always stable unless you mess up. Battling, traveling, and you don't have to deal with most things unless you're some big wig."
He'd grabbed his cup again, looking into it as he thought. He didn't want to deal with people. Not long term anyway. He didn't trust them farther than he could lift and throw them for one thing. As a traveling trainer he was sure he could avoid such stupid things - even if it wasn't the most well thought-out plan if one looked beyond the surface, at least he thought he didn't have to worry about getting close to people.
"I don't need to be the champion to do what I want to do. Yeah, I sort of want to in order to prove I'm strong, and some day I'll battle the champ and then I'll do what I want from there. Once I've learned what I need to. I don't want to cheat or lie my way into stuff, I want to do it all on my own skill. And I will."