Once, he was three. The rocket base was his whole world. He loved exploring the place. All the pokemon, the different people, it was all fascinating to his young mind. Rarely would his father be around to keep him in check, but that's okay, Silver understands. Giovanni was a busy man, after all! Besides, Pretel did a very good job as a caretaker. Silver liked Pretel. The man wasn't as up-tight as some of the other executives. More often than not, when Pretel was in charge of the boy, he'd bring tasty treats. Silver wished it was his turn to take care of him today, but instead, he was stuck with-
"That's /Miss/ Arianna to you, boy."
"S-Sorry…" Silver muttered, head bowing low to avoid the red-haired woman's gaze.
"Honestly, what did Pretel teach you?"
Silver decided he liked Arianna the least from all of the executives.
Once, Silver was eight. He was alone. Chaos erupted in the base. People running, people screaming, and no one seemed to notice he existed. In the midst of it all, he stood, not quite understanding. What didn't he understand? Everything. Nothing clicked together. Pretel said they were the strongest. He said they were unbeatable… but what he saw was nothing of a sort. Panic erupted everywhere he looked. Mutters of their fall reached his ears. His dad was missing? How? He was beaten by an eleven year old? Impossible.
When all came to an end, he lost all trust and respect.
Currently, Silver was thirteen. His world was no longer contained in a small black box. His dad? Team Rocket? They never existed – as much as he'd like to admit that though, he can't fool himself. They did. No longer does he hold resent for them. Bitterness still lingered – it will never erode. But Silver was thankful still. Without them, he wouldn't be what he is now. Without them, he wouldn't steal professor's Elm pokemon to prove himself. Without them, he wouldn't–
"Silver! Hurry up! You're so slow!"
"Yeah, man! What gives?"
Silver let out a small smile, picking up his pace to catch up with the two idiots in front of him.
"Yeah, yeah."
Without them, he wouldn't have gotten such crazy friends.