[ He figured he'd add that last bit in. ]

Well, they say if you defeat all of the Gym Leaders, you could find a way home. But nobody has succeeded yet.

Also it's good to train a solid team regardless of whether or not you want to participate in that challenge! Either way you look at it, no matter how you feel for those creatures, they deserve to be prepared for anything, don't you think?

[ That's how he feels about his Eevee, anyways. He'd never put her out there to battle if he didn't have to, but she needs to know how to defend herself.

Also, he might be subtly referring to your distaste for battle. ]