[He just really wasn't expecting that question. Nobody's ever asked him anything like that before. Or like the question she just asked for that matter! Does anyone talk to the NPCs...]

Not really, no. I talk to the nurses, but that's kind of unavoidable since I work at the centers. And there's always the occasional banter before a battle with a random trainer on the routes but that's about it. And even then, I try to avoid too lengthy of conversations with route trainers. Since some of them can...be a little weird. Ask Sollux about Juggler Irwin sometime.