"That's what I've heard." Desmond replied, as he thought about the road ahead of him. He knew Viola would be no pushover, but also knew that every challenge after could, and probably would, be even more challenging. All he could do was learn, advance, and keep trying to get past what stood in his way, no matter how strong or smart the enemy was. He was certain he could make it, or at least tried to convince himself he was. Though overconfidence was the downfall of people in the past, so he kept note that nothing would truly be easy for him.

Amused by April's enthusiasm concerning the cafe, he nodded. "Maybe it'll be my turn to treat you to something if you ever end up visiting Cyllage, then." He said it, and meant it, though... If he started really traveling, he wasn't sure when he'd be back there. So there wasn't an exact time on those words, but he'd get around to making sure it happened eventually. That seemed too far in the future to plan for, as of now. So he instead just kept walking, not going much farther into it as his thoughts wandered off back towards the Gym Leader.

[I]'Hmm... Even if this is my first step, I can't take it lightly at all. She's probably much more experienced than I am in the first place; If I'm not careful, she'll flatten us without much trouble at all. I've got to keep calm and think about this as I go. Otherwise I'm going to end up stressing out thinking about too much at once.'[/I]

"So..." He tried to make conversation, figuring to feed his own curiosity. "There's a Trainers' School in Santalune, right? I've heard about it, but never seen it myself." He figured maybe a refresh on the basics before challenging the Gym Leader was a good idea. He probably could name off mostly everything there with ease; But you never knew when you might have missed a detail. He felt it might be his last chance to really review before thrusting himself out at the world beyond. So why not take it while the option was there?

Though Desmond was enjoying himself, Fluff was personally missing the usual attention she'd usually be getting. She seemed to pout as they walked, ignoring the general jolliness of her teammates as they were amused by almost anything. It was somewhat embarrassing, but they managed to pull through somehow even with their quirks, so she never really considered them bad. They at least spiced up some of the more boring times along the road, and were fun to mess with. She smirked, seeming to amuse herself as she thought about it all.