Pokemon Trainers Daniel and Victor

Daniel's life story did not begin happily. His mother was a sickly woman who did her best, but once Daniel was old enough to do so, he was often taking care of her just as much as she took care of him. His father, on the other hand, was a healthy and intimidating man who resented his child. Daniel never knew why his father hated him so much, but thankfully, the man was almost always out at work or doing whatever. Most days, the man would immediately pass out in his chair when he got home. The alcohol on his breath told Daniel's mother what he was doing, but she was so dependent on him.

Daniel did his best to stay out of his father's way whenever the man was home. If he ever ended up underfoot, he would get kicked or knocked over, and that often lead to his father yelling at him. As Daniel got older and bigger, this didn't stop. If Daniel was in the way, he would be forced to move. How much this escalated depended on the whims of his father, how drunk he was, and how angry he had gotten at work that day. It wasn't uncommon for Daniel to get kicked more than once for his troubles, and the yelling often placed all the blame on him for being stupid and clumsy.

Thinking his father hating him was his fault, he never really talked about the abuse he suffered at home. The bruises on his form were often explained by him being clumsy, which, given some actual accidents at school, this wasn't unbelievable. His mother never saw what her husband did to their child, and she was often too out of it to truly understand things happening in rooms she rarely frequented. So Daniel just did his best to take care of his mother and tried to make his father happy. He did his best in school, but the lack of sleep, and the stress from his home life had a negative impact on his grades. This lead to his father deeming him "completely stupid" and adding another level of insults to throw at Daniel.

One day, his father got home early, and instead of ignoring Daniel when he got home from school, he actually spoke to Daniel. Calmly. He told the boy to keep his bag and to ride with him somewhere. While a little nervous about what his father wanted with him, Daniel knew better than to talk back, and even then he still had the faintest of hopes that maybe his father would turn over a new leaf. Once they got in the car, his father fell silent, and Daniel followed his lead. Daniel lost track of the time they spent riding, and thanks to the busy day at school, he soon fell asleep. When he woke up, it was dark, and they were still riding. He looked out the window, and he wasn't sure where they were. He didn't dare ask, though. He wasn't sure what made his father stop driving, but he pulled over to the side of the road and ordered, "Out."

Daniel looked at him in confusion, and when he didn't immediately move, his father grabbed his shoulder and shoved him against the door and repeated the order. Not wanting to risk another beating, Daniel hastily undid his seat belt and opened the car door. His nerves were so bad that he fell to his knees almost immediately after getting out, and then his father ordered him to "Shut the damn door." Once that was done, the car did a dangerously quick three point turn that almost hit Daniel and sped off. It took Daniel a few minutes to process what just happened. He was on the side of a dirt road in the middle of the woods at night, and he had no idea where he was. Fear started making the boy tear up, and the dam that he kept his emotions behind shattered. He pulled himself to the side of the road in the hopes that his tears could attract someone.

Everything he had learned about stranger danger went out the window as he hoped for someone to come find him. He already knew his father wasn't going to come back, and his mother had been particularly sick that day. Nobody came for him down that dirt road, and even though he could barely see the area around him, the boy finally stood up and started walking in the direction the car had gone. The sun started rising by the time he found his way to a paved road. The sunlight was a godsend, and he would have cried even more if he had more tears to shed. He wasn't sure which way went back home, so he picked a direction and walked. He tried to ignore his sore feet and tired legs, but the night of no sleep and high emotions had worn him out. A truck with several people in it all but skidded to a halt when they noticed the boy walking on the side of the road. After getting out of the exhuasted kid that he was lost, and what his address was, the child passed out in the truck.

When he woke up, he was back at the house, and his mother was standing there. She was barely able to hold herself up, but she had forced herself to personally thank the young people who had found her son, and to ensure he was alright. After the strangers had left, she tried to get out of him what had happened, but his fear of his father made him come up with an unconvincing lie that he had gotten lost thanks to a wild Abra. To say that his Father was angry when he got home later that day would be an understatement, but instead of instantly taking his rage out, he ordered Daniel to fetch something from the basement and locked him in. This wasn't the first time this punishment had happened, but after spending hours in the dark, going back to a dark place only made Daniel's nerves worse. Daniel's father never tried anything like that again, but the failed abandonment only made him more aggressive. Though every now and then, he would threaten to do the same thing, but in ways to ensure Daniel never made it back.

It wasn't much longer after that incident that Daniel found out that his mother was pregnant. The boy was equal parts delighted to be an older brother and horrified that he would have a little sibling subjected to the monster that was their father. As the pregnancy progressed, it also made his mother even sicker, and there were many days Daniel worried that she would die. The thought of losing his mother terrified him as much as any child, but he had noticed that his father had never hit or spoke ill of him if she was around, and he knew that the moment she was gone, his life would get even worse.

She thankfully made it through the pregnancy, and she gave birth to a little girl. Daniel instantly loved his little sister the moment he saw her, and not long afterwards, he made the promise to never let her suffer the same abuse he had. She was a sickly child, unfortunately, and thanks to their mother getting even sicker after the pregnancy, Daniel had to take initiative to take care of her in the same way a parent would. He even took great care to ensure their father never got mad at her, and even if he did, Daniel would find a way to get the attention back on him.

Despite his best efforts as she grew, she knew that there was something deeply wrong with their lives. She would quickly hide at a moment's notice, even if all she could do was quickly crawl under the bed while clutching a stuffed animal that once belonged to her brother. She witnessed parts of the beatings their father would inflict on Daniel, but Daniel had begged her to stay hidden. She listened, even as she had to see him suffer in her place.

His mother sadly faded even more as Hazel grew, and though Daniel could sense the end was near, their father spent even less time at the house. He was more violent than before for the short bursts of his visits, but the fact that they could spend time in their own home without jumping at shadows was a treasured part of their lives. It was during this time that they developed a habit of reading stories to each other and even making up new ones to entertain each other.

Everything came to a head when their mother passed. Their father wasn't even there for most of it, and sixteen year old Daniel had to start the funeral process on his own. Everything that needed an adult's signature was highlighted and neatly organized. Once all the polite company had left, their father strolled up with an icy calmness that drove up Daniel's anxiety. It reminded him far too much of the time he had been nearly abandoned, and he was going to ensure that Hazel wasn't left on the side of the road this time. Daniel purposefully stationed himself in Hazel's room so that he would be the first thing their father saw if he came in. Hazel was to hide in the closet until the danger passed.

Or that was the plan.

Their father didn't waste much time before he kicked in the door and grabbed Daniel while screaming obscenities. About how it was Daniel's fault his mother was dead, that he had never been wanted, and that maybe he should finish what he had started years ago. After the first punch knocked Daniel to the ground, Daniel had already accepted that he was going to suffer, but then Hazel burst out and screamed at Father to stop it. He backhanded her and knocked her to the ground.

The sight stirred something deep in Daniel's chest, and as Father drew back a leg to kick Hazel, Daniel leapt up and tackled him to the ground. The element of surprise worked in Daniel's favor, and then his rage fully kicked in as he punched his father multiple times. He only stopped when Hazel begged him to, and he looked down at the man that had threatened him his entire life.

Father wasn't moving, and Daniel's guilt and fear kicked into overdrive. No one had intervened before; they would just assume he snapped and killed his father for no reason. Not even thinking to check for breathing or a pulse, Daniel panicked and started to pack things they might need to run.

Before morning came, he and Hazel slipped out into the night, and they never looked back.

The gift of lying with a straight face came in handy as he and Hazel quickly skipped the region and making up stories of losing everything they had in a fire. With a little finagling, people bought that they were older than they looked, and Daniel started building newish identities for them as a duo of sibling trainers.

Between Hazel's need for medical care and Daniel's fear of getting a job and getting traced back to a small town in Galar, they ran into money issues quite often. Even if they had success in battles, there was only so much money in Pokemon training. But even then, they still had each other, and living without the shadow of their father was liberating in a way they hadn't known before.

Their fortunes changed for the better when a traveling Archaeologist took an interest in the bright young man constantly asking questions about the ruins he was visiting. He was willing to take on an apprentice who was willing to put in the work, and Daniel would fit the bill nicely. At first, Daniel was more than a little skeptical, but with Hazel going in and out of the hospital, even a minimum wage job would help. After some discussions with Hazel, and with Hazel insisting that he go visit new places to tell her about, he finally agreed to take the offer.

He loved it. Going back to school was still difficult, but without many of his childhood stressors, he took to academia much easier, and he enjoyed researching history for the archaeologist.

Of course, good things never lasted long, and while Daniel was on a trip away, Pokemon started getting sick and then attacking anyone who got near. The group he was with at the time had been concerned, but they thought it would blow over. Daniel hadn't been as sure, and therefore kept his pokemon safe in their balls when he noticed someone else's pokemon looking sickly.

Overnight, the Pokemon turned and started to rampage. Daniel hadn't been able to sleep, and all he could do was grab some of his stuff when he heard the roaring and screaming. When he looked towards the camp proper, there was blood and gore mixing with the fire, and he simply ran into the night. Too afraid of catching the beast's attention, he didn't turn on the flashlight until he could no longer hear anything other than the pounding of his heart.

While he regretted running like a coward, he instead focused on trying to get back to Hazel in the blind hope that she was still safe in the hospital. Unfortunately, between undead hordes and trigger happy humans, he kept getting turned around and sent further and further away from her.

He was running on fumes when he found a well guarded town and a small community living inside. The leader, Alexander, took an interest in him and how he had survived the plague thus far, and Daniel latched onto the support like a drowning man. He so desperately wanted safety for his pokemon and himself that he his usual suspicions towards handouts were ignored, and any mentions of him trying to rescue his sister were quickly quieted down.

That last thing left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth, but he gave them the benefit of the doubt. They survived by playing it safe, so it only made sense they wanted him to play safe, right?

The community was pleasant, but none of the residents really went out of their way to speak to him, and he was too nervous to do so himself. Only the leader made any attempts, and it didn't take long for the approval starved young man to yearn to make Alexander happy. He was taken on as a sort of secretary to help manage the minutiae, and soon Alexander was trusting him with more and more responsibilities.

What Daniel hadn't expected was that the community had prisoners. None of the common folk talked about it, and it was only after Alexander took him down to the makeshift prison that he found this fact out. The crimes were things like attacking a resident or stealing food, and while Daniel sort of agreed that they couldn't get away with that unpunished, a part of him also felt bad for them since they were likely trying to survive.

When they started running low on food, there was a dilemma of what to do with the prisoners. Alexander's proposal was to simply kill them so that they could save food for the residents who weren't draining resources. None of the residents had a problem with it or didn't want to go against the leader who had kept them alive this long, but Daniel was still horrified. When they were on their own, Daniel timidly asked if there was any other way, and Alexander went into great detail about how simply kicking them out with no supplies would be a death sentence anyway, and wouldn't killing them be kinder in the long run?

Unable to argue, Daniel ceded the argument; simply saying then they should make it quick. To this day, Daniel doesn't know how it happened, but Alexander somehow twisted the words to mean that Daniel was going to help. When Daniel tried to argue against that, he was told that otherwise, the prisoner's would take their food from his and his Pokemon's shares.

Feeling trapped, Daniel wandered down to the prison on his own as he felt the noose figuratively tighten on his own neck, and he passed by the cells of the already starving prisoners. He couldn't look at any of them for long; the guilt of keeping quiet and what he was going to do later was weighing him down. Until he went down the long hallway that supposedly contained the one prisoner Alexander wanted away from all the others. Daniel didn't know what that man had done, but maybe starting with this worst offender would make things easy?

Until the weak older man, who called himself Victor, asked him with genuine concern what was wrong. Even though his voice was raspy with disuse, Victor seemed delighted to have an audience. This greatly confused Daniel, who was expecting a much more unpleasant kind of person, and had been thrown by just how friendly this man was being. At first, he wondered if it was a manipulation tactic, but Victor was horribly thin, even in comparison to the other prisoners. Even if he could get Daniel to open the door and remove the handcuffs, Victor wasn't going anywhere quickly.

Grateful for just the illusion of normalcy, Daniel talked with him. And it only got even more confusing as to why he was there. So he finally asked him about it.

The question caused the chatty man to quiet for a minute, and worried that he had insulted him, Daniel tried to backtrack. Victor, though, weakly raised a hand to stop him. He finally said that he didn't expect Daniel to believe him, but it was because Victor's ward hadn't wanted to stay here. Something about Alexander didn't sit well with them, and they tried to get Victor to come with them. Unfortunately, Victor stupidly wanted to let Alexander know they were leaving,and Alexander had made up charges to keep him locked away from everyone else.

With such a violent move for something as simple as leaving, Anton did not trust trying to come back in, and Victor, though missing the companionship, couldn't blame him. Alexander had tried using him as a bargaining chip, but they hadn't been able to find hide nor hair of Anton since before Daniel got there.

Daniel wasn't sure what he believed, but he wasn't going to buy Victor's words immediately. He thanked the man for his time and stalked away to think more. If Victor wasn't lying, who knew what Alexander was trying to cover up with the killing of the prisoners. But it was also likely that Victor was just trying to get out, and likely get Daniel in trouble along with him.

The thing that decided it for him was being forced to escort a wiry Delphox who was usually posted on the edges. Of all the answers to the simple question, "What are you doing?" He hadn't expected the Delphox to say that he wanted to visit his trainer one last time. The Delphox belonged to Victor, and hadn't been allowed to go anywhere near him. Remembering that the Delphox was often up front to fight undead, he asked what the deal was, and he was informed that it was either fight for them or let Victor die. This made things even more complicated, and while he simply kept quiet while the Delphox said his goodbyes, his mind was deeply troubled.

He couldn't do this, and his Pokemon agreed to help him get out.

And they were releasing the prisoners as they went.

That night, they plotted an escape plan, and thanks to Daniel's knowledge of the schedules, he knew where the weakest links were. After meticulously figuring out how to move at least ten people, they were ready to go. Sleep didn't come easily; the knowledge that he was turning his back on this community stung and made it difficult for his mind to rest.

The escape plan ended horribly. In the end, only about half escaped alive, and most of them scattered immediately afterwards. The only thing that went right was saving Victor and his Delphox, and Victor desperately needed the extra help that Daniel and his Pokemon provided. The chase lasted several hours, and Daniel knew that if he was caught, he would likely be executed on the spot.

They didn't start feeling safe until nearly a week after escaping, and even then, that was tentative at best. Given how long Alexander had obsessed over Anton escaping his grasp, he would not take kindly to Daniel and Victor getting away.

Now they're just trying to survive the Epidemic while looking for their lost loved ones and hiding from any scouts that might report back to Alexander.

First child of the Amarantos family, Victor ended up as a third parent to the siblings that followed. Even though Walter wasn't that much younger than he was, Victor was still expected to be the responsible sibling at all times. At first, he was simply expected to help out more with chores since he was older, but even when Walter reached the same milestones, the expectations suddenly changed. Victor was constantly praised for his helpfulness and how mature he was, and that was a salve to any simmering resentment. For a while.

As they both got older, the chores piled onto Victor's plate while Walter continued to bask in the clear favoritism. Given that anytime Walter should have gotten in trouble, Victor would either get wrongly accused or simply blamed since he should have been in charge, even Victor's patience was running thin. At first, when the next child was announced, he wondered whether the baby would share his workload or if they would boot Walter out of the favorite seat. Or if he would end up having to parent this child too.

Walter, however, was not happy about the prospect of a younger sibling. His antics against Victor increased, but when he broke something in the nursery, their parents actually punished Walter for his actions. Much to Victor and Walter's surprise. Afterwards, Walter stopped acting out whenever the baby came up, but his displeasure was still obvious.

Once Raphael was born, all attention was given to the infant. While this did mean that Walter's fear was confirmed, Victor couldn't help but be relieved that this meant he wasn't responsible for a baby's early care. The parents actually handled the late night feedings and diaper changes for a long while, but he was taught how to handle the tasks if they should come up.

While not much changed for Victor, he could tell that Walter was unhappy with suddenly being saddled with chores, and he was admittedly a little smug about it. Yes, he made sure his brother didn't fall on his face, most of the time, but he wouldn't deny some satisfaction in seeing his previously favored brother having to handle such dirty work as cleaning a bathroom.

Once Raphael started toddling around, he was fascinated by his older brothers and would often follow them around. Victor wasn't sure when this happened, but Walter discovered that it was very easy to ask the child to do things. At first it was easily explained as 'teaching the kid what they were doing,' but every now and then, Victor would walk in on Raphael holding a sponge and Walter nowhere nearby.

Despite this, Walter rarely got into trouble since he knew exactly what to say to get their parents to back off. Victor tried to keep an eye on the situation, but outside of making sure Raphael didn't get his hands on bleach, there wasn't much he could do since the parents didn't believe him. Walter toned down the asked tasks, as well, so it was difficult to catch him in the act.

This went on for a couple of years, until Raphael had a spell of telling everyone no. No matter what was asked, the answer was no, and if pushed, he would have a tantrum. The parents didn't have much of an issue with this, since they often just gave him whatever he wanted, but Walter kept getting stonewalled.

To this day, Victor wishes he had realized just how deep Walter's frustrations ran.

One day, Victor left the house to run errands, and when he came back, Walter was being kicked out. Their parents were barely understandable in their rage, and Walter refused to even speak to him as he packed up and left. Once Walter was gone, the parents gave him instructions to never let Walter back in, and then they promptly took Raphael to the hospital.

The injuries were relatively minor, all things considered, but Raphael was never the same afterwards. From then on, he holed up in his room and rarely expressed any desires to anyone. Not even their parents showering gifts on the traumatized child would get him to act like he used to.

Even though he wasn't actually blamed for it, a part of Victor still felt responsible. He should have known that at some point Walter would escalate again. Maybe he should have tried to reach out to Walter sooner, and that would have knocked sense into him before he snapped.

He decided to do better by Raphael.

It didn't work out well since Raphael didn't want to engage with him. However, once their parents announced yet another child, Victor could see exactly what the pattern was. He knew that the moment that child arrived, Raphael would no longer have their parents' support.

Unfortunately, Raphael wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, and the moment that he could, Raphael left. He only left behind a note basically telling no one to contact him, and that he wanted nothing more to do with the family.

As his parents focused more on the new child, Victor's own frustrations started to rise. While he attempted to at least check in on his now missing siblings, he couldn't find any information on them. They both apparently filed as Pokemon Trainers, and by virtue of being chained to the house, he couldn't dig any deeper.

It took him an embarrassingly long time (to him) to realize he could just leave as well. It felt like the house would cease to function if he wasn't there to maintain the chores, and he didn't want to leave the youngest sibling to the whims of his parents.

However, as he watched his schoolmates having the opportunity to have lives outside of their homes, the desire to do almost anything else grew. The easiest route would have been to become a Pokemon Trainer, but he didn't have a strong desire to train Pokemon. He did want to travel, but he wasn't sure if that would be an acceptable reason to suddenly leave.

Ultimately, the choice to leave on a much belated journey was made when he entered into a mock tournament at school with his faithful Fennekin. He held his own fairly well despite his comparative inexperience, and while he didn't win, the joy of battling with his partner sparked a want for more. If he was honest, he hadn't felt that happy in years.

His parents were unhappy to hear that he was leaving, but he couldn't stay anymore. That wasn't to say he didn't feel immensely guilty, but he needed to do something for himself. Just this once.

He didn't know that he would never return once he walked out the door.

Battling the gyms was difficult, and he very quickly ran into a skill wall due to not capturing more Pokemon. Despite this, he didn't let that discourage him, and he focused on travelling. He did try to keep an eye out for his siblings, but despite scouring the entirety of Johto, they had apparently disappeared. He wouldn't be surprised if they left for Kanto, or if they made it to Olivine, they could have gone to an entirely different region.

He knew about Olivine, given that he was eyeing the departures himself.

The idea of going home occurred to him, but after finally getting his parents to stop demanding he come back to handle chores, he really didn't want to go back.

So he left Johto.

He spent several years travelling, and as time went with no answers, he eventually stopped looking for his siblings and focused more on his own journey and growth. He felt guilty over it, but he wanted to focus on what he wanted for once.

Unova was where he ended up finally settling due to befriending a bookstore owner that offered him a job. Here, he flourished under the mentorship of a mature adult that cared for him, and he finally tackled higher education.

Eventually, he would take the reins of the bookstore, and he could say that he was content with his life.

One day, a sullen teenager walked in and started browsing the shelves, and at first, Victor did a double take. It was mostly due to the blonde hair, and for a moment, he thought that one of his siblings had wandered in. When he got a better look, the illusion was dispelled, and he originally wasn't going to say anything to the teen.

However, said teenager confronted him within minutes, and demanded to know why Victor had stared. Victor saw no reason to lie, but he kept the explanation vague. There was no need for this child to carry the heavy weight of his old family life, and thankfully, they didn't dig any deeper.

Despite the awkward beginning, they returned to the bookstore often, and while they spent most of the time browsing and reading books, Victor did make a point to speak to them. Over time, they opened up about what they were doing, and eventually, the teenager even smiled at him.

Anton didn't like talking about their family, and Victor had some ideas about why that was. But he didn't push. When they were old enough, he even offered them a part time position in the store if they wanted.

They were a fairly good worker as long as they didn't have to handle customers for long. Especially nasty ones. Victor didn't mind handling the brunt of that side of the job, though, so their weaknesses didn't hinder them too much.

Anton had finally succeeded in moving away from their parents a few months before The Epidemic started, and Victor still regrets that they only got a taste of normal freedom before that was ripped from them. Anton had no desire to go back to their family and all but clung to Victor as they initially tried to wait out the spreading illness.

Unfortunately, things only got worse, and both were forced to flee as the undead overran their town. Nicholas was kept in his pokeball as much as possible, but Victor often had little choice in terms of using his Delphox for protection. Anton and their Pokemon often had few qualms in terms of fighting for their lives, and they were just as protective of Victor as he was of them.

They were on the move for a while until they stumbled across the beginnings of a settlement. He and Anton were welcomed in after they and their Pokemon were proven to be healthy, and at first, there was a tentative peace. Things often went bad suddenly, so neither of them felt completely at ease. Anton had bad feelings about the area, but Victor had originally attributed that to their previous bad experiences. The other survivors were somewhat pleasant, and the leader, an older man named Alexander, was fairly charming.

Victor will nowadays admit perhaps a little too charming.

Alexander was willing to indulge Victor's naturally chatty nature, and he would often make time for Victor. Anton's suspicious nature meant that they never went along with Victor, and they found other things to do. Victor wasn't going to push them either. They would warm up when they were ready, and if they didn't, it wasn't as if Anton was required to interact with Alexander.

That was Victor's logic. Alexander, however, didn't follow. Over time, he would ask about the quiet young adult, and Victor, ever proud of his young friend, would see no reason to not brag. Alexander tried nudging for a proper meeting with Anton, and at first it seemed innnocent.

Then it got to be all Alexander would talk about.

It happened over several months, and with a general focus on survival, it was easy for things to get swept away or forgotten. However, it eventually came to a head when Anton wanted to leave, and Victor agreed with them.

Victor had a private meeting with Alexander so that it wouldn't be a surprise, and to prevent any rumors of theft from spreading. Anton had thought they would be better off disappearing into the night, and they told Victor that they were going to go ahead and leave the town. They would meet him at a place nearby after the meeting.

The meeting did not go well. Alexander was enraged by the mere suggestion of Victor and Anton leaving despite Victor's best attempts to smooth ruffled feathers. Before Victor could say much, Alexander called for some of the other residents to throw Victor in the previously unused jail. The building was dark, cold, and on top of being locked in a room, Victor's hands were cuffed together. Despite trying to convince the others that this was a misunderstanding, they were unwilling to hear a word against their leader.

The next couple of years of his life was spent in that room with almost no contact that wasn't Alexander, and occasionally, Nicholas. The Delphox had been taken from him to be used as a guard Pokemon for the walls of the settlement.

Others were brought to the same building, but they were all kept fairly far away from him in other rooms. Conversation was impossible, and more than once, Alexander threatened to cut out his tongue to make him shut up.

Since he never saw Anton and Alexander remained angry, Victor could only assume that Anton never returned. He hoped that remained true, if only because the red flags were extremely obvious now. He didn't want Anton to suffer whatever it was Alexander wanted from him.

However, he wouldn't lie that a part of him felt abandoned. It was his own fault for not listening to Anton, but his thoughts often spiraled in his isolation. As much as he feared Alexander's visits that focused on dragging information out of him, it was the only time he was able to get any sort of human interaction.

When the visits stopped, Victor felt he was close to losing his mind. The only thing that kept him going was when an unknown young man wandered into his area. The timid brunette all but froze in place when Victor spoke to him. The deer in the headlights stare did not leave even as Victor admittedly word vomited in his currently raspy voice.

Despite that, when Daniel spoke up, he made a fine conversation partner. Victor encouraged him to respond as much as possible, but Daniel seemed to be looking for something in Victor's answers. Daniel finally point blank asked about why Victor was imprisoned, and the question stopped Victor's words in their tracks. He didn't know what this newcomer had been told, but given the fact that he seemed surprised to see him, Victor could only assume that Daniel must not have known anything.

He didn't have much else to lose, so he told Daniel the truth. Victor didn't think that Daniel would believe him, so he was surprised to notice that Daniel didn't immediately discount the accusation. Figuring Daniel needed time to digest the information, Victor encouraged him to leave. The prison wasn't a good place for the mind, after all.

It wasn't much longer until he met Daniel again, and this time he was escorting Nicholas to him. After some translation, Victor finally understood why. Alexander had finally gotten tired of keeping prisoners, and planned on killing off the worse offenders. Which included Victor.

Through the rest of the interaction, Daniel was deeply distracted and didn't engage with Victor much this time.

Victor did not expect the prison break.

Daniel and his Pokemon released everyone from the prison, including Victor, but as Daniel focused on all but carrying Victor out, the plan went sideways. Several of the other prisoners were shot as they ran out, and it was only because Nicholas intervened that Daniel and Victor were able to escape. Victor was dropped onto Daniel's Absin's back and was told to hold on as they all ran through the woods. It took hours before it felt like they were far enough away that any scouts would choose to return to safety instead of hunting the runaways.

Surviving since then has been difficult, especially considering Victor's physical condition. But it hasn't been unbearable. He is slowly building his weight and strength back up so that he won't be such a dead weight to Daniel. However, he is often supported by Nicholas and Tenebras, and sometimes some of Daniel's other Pokemon when his legs give out.