Ross was a rather top-notch trainer. Only about 20 years old, he has traveled a long way across Hoenn seeking adventure, fame, and glory. He had challenged many trainers in the past, and won most of them, thanks to his ever loyal Swampert, Veronica. Ever since he got her as a Mudkip years ago, Ross has trained her to do phenomenally well in fights. Being able to take some nasty blows with her natural body frame and Protect, retaliate with her signature Muddy Water along with Rain dance, and if needed, finish off enemies with a devastating Earthquake. Indeed, she was quite the force to be reckoned with. She didn't do all of the work though, Ross had others to count on obviously. Help from a Relicanth, Hitmonlee, Muk, Starmie, and a Mr. Mime added their own qualities and strengths to his team. Everything seemed to go well for the bold Pokemon trainer. However, one major deficit became apparent in Ross's team.

He showed affection for his Pokemon, like any non-cruel trainer would do. Washing them, feeding them, and playing with them most days when there weren't any nearby trainers to do battle with. He did it to all of them equally, except for Veronica. Most attention directed to her was done in training to make her battle skills grow; rarely did he carve out time to play with her. Veronica was almost always plagued with jealousy from lack of affection compared to the rest of the team. Sure, Ross was still happy with the results, and Veronica was happy making big impacts in fights, but why was she prohibited from getting attention and down time? Why was she constantly being ignored out of battling?

Over time, as Ross traveled across Hoenn, this fact was brought to his attention again and again, simply from Veronica's attitude. Ross could just tell from her voice that she was neglected outside of battle, and she wasn't very enthusiastic in the heat of combat. A type of "Hmmph" attitude was brought with Veronica, hoping to get the message into Ross's head. Even when she was called out to play in the past, Veronica typically gave him a cold shoulder, telling him "why don't you do this to me more often?" in form of body language. Over time, he became self-aware of his neglect towards his most prized Pokemon, occasionally looking at himself as a heartless trainer, even though he was far from it.
Ross knows that he should've known better taking care of his Pokemon in the past. And after having fun-filled downtime with his team, excluding Veronica, he promised that eventually, it'll be made up one way or another.