Yes, it appears that foul creature has nothing to do with this.

[He'll just take a moment to think about how glad he is that this isn't Monomon and there's no Pikabear or anything like that.]

And while I have heard of such a challenge, I have yet to partake in it.

[He just got here a couple weeks ago, his Pokemon are underleveled, and he's sort of in Kanto at the moment, so there's a number of reasons why he hasn't gone after those badges yet.]

Though it is only a matter of time before the stars align and the time is right for my empire to lead me to victory over such an opponent!