Samuel has some experience with chronic injuries himself; not to the same degree, of course, but his back... he should really just get surgery, should have gotten it a long time ago, but the dismissal when he first complained about it left a bad taste in his mouth.

In the present, he just chuckles in return, continuing to feed the Smeargles treats.

"You don't have much experience around animals, I take it?" How unsure he is around the Smeargles seems to suggest it. His first instinct was to say 'Pokemon', but he's aware that most folks around here call non-human creatures 'animals', so he'll go with that.