Sɪʟᴠᴇʀ'ꜱ Bᴇᴇғ ᴡɪᴛʜ Lᴀɴᴄᴇ
Silver was somewhat successful in running away after his mother and father left him.He stole, cheated, lied - did everything he was taught as the heir to a crime syndicate.When the Elite Four became aware of Silver's situation, Lance was assigned as a guardian.This was a terrible choice.When Silver turned 17, he was kidnapped as leverage against a shaky Team Rocket, despite having been no-contact with either of his parents. He came out of it alive, with no assistance. His kidnappers did not have the same fortune.Silver has resented Lance for letting that happen ever since; as well as for Lance's lack of foresight.A collapse of one organization would start a potential gang war - and when Giovanni passed, Silver reluctantly took up the mantle.
Sɪʟᴠᴇʀ'ꜱ Bᴇᴇғ ᴡɪᴛʜ Aʀɪᴀɴᴀ
Silver's mom left him first, only taking his younger sister with her when she left. Silver never got over that, and took the fact that he JUST NOW learned he had a sister...
Sɪʟᴠᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ Mᴀʀꜱ
After ensuring the fragmented old guard would not rise against him, Silver settled into his role.His first order of business? Find a body double. A private investigation found a cousin in Sinnoh, one that was not in a position to refuse any help. Thus, Mars joined his retinue.After confronting his mother (or an iteration of her), he found that Mars was NOT his cousin, but his younger sister.
Hɪꜱ Yᴏᴜᴛʜ
After Silver's mother left, that left him with just his father... and even he left when Silver was seven.When the manor's staff were no longer getting paid by his father, Silver took to the streets rather than to stay in an empty house or chance his fate in foster care.
In the early years, he focused on learning how to survive alongside his Houndoom.Those three years before he stole his then-Totodile were the roughest.Silver relied on the Pokémon Centers' lost and founds for supplies. With false claims, he managed to get his hands on a hiking backpack, a low-quality sleeping bag, and a multi-tool knife.From there, he was just another child on the roads of the Indigo regions.His primary way of money-making was fighting others, like most trainers. Silver supplemented this meagre income with pickpocketing, selling mushrooms, and scams.
Silver's diet primarily consisted of foraged goods, cheap or stolen snacks, or foods that were JUST this side of out-of-date in the dumpsters.His primary protein was low-quality Slowpoke Tail sold in tins, with with instant noodles as his starch. Mornings were berries and any breads he found discarded.This malnutrition left Silver shorter than he should have grown to, and far skinnier, even now.
Silver did not come out of his time away unscathed.Malnutrition was not the only damage done to his body - he has severe injuries he goes out of his way to hide.Most obvious are his hands. His hands are heavily scarred and ache when the weather changes.The Lake of Rage Incident left Silver with a hole through his gut. The attack left him without an appendix, and destroyed most of his intestines. As he was of legal age in Kanto and Johto, he was able to appeal for experimental treatment for intestinal replacement.Silver doesn't blame the Gyarados that bit him, and continues to train him.