#he'll jump through all these mental hoops to convince himself he's a Wielder not a Trainer but at the end of the day

[claitea]

some people are taking the fact that choosing "love for pokemon" as a topic in volo trainer's lodge interactions gets you the lowest points is a sign that volo actually hates his pokemon and is tricking them. but i think thats not the whole truth

first off, the whole thing with n. already talked abt it, n doesn't lie, n believes pokemon don't lie, i think you can trust the pokemon whisperer on this one

second, Rei is a topic that gets you the most points but volo hates that guy. points dont necessarily correlate to what the character likes, its what they find interesting. volo puts a lot of focus on gathering info and of course he's going to want to know more about one of his biggest enemies. this info is useful to him. he doesn't need to talk about loving pokemon, that's not relevant to his plans.

third, one of volo's friendship evos is Lucario. lucario can sense auras. it can definitely tell what volo's true intentions are, it Can't fall for fake affection. remember that volo is an untrusting person who thinks everyone should be used before they can use him, of course he can't say outright that he grew attached to what are meant to be his tools. he's in denial. think silver and cyrus with their friendship evos.

volo being reluctant to talk about love for pokemon when he clearly does makes him way more interesting. if volo didn't love his togepi truly, then he wouldn't need to have a photo of the both of them in jubilife village's photography studio, nor would he need to carry the little thing in the crook of his arm like a baby. he could just keep her in her poke ball. but he coddles her instead. pokemon are loyal, he probably doesn't need to go to those lengths to ensure she follows him but he does anyway.