Feeling something at his side, Silver turned his head to see two other pokemon pushing towards the story-tellers log. "W-Wait, I-" The flustered Absol protested.

"Come on, quiet guy like you? You've gotta have something," One of the pokemon cut him. While Silver was happy to listen to the other's tales, he didn't consider himself to be the best narrator. But it was too late, as for the first time in a while all eyes were on him.

Seeing no way out of this, Silver reluctantly cleared his throat. "If I may ask… how many of you believe in luck?"

Sliver's Tale: The Jinx

"This was a story told to me by a friend I had made during my time as a treasure hunter. He told me that luck both good and bad can shape our view of the world… But it's up to us if whether or not we let it define it."

There was once a Sneasel named Urmas who hailed from a village at the base of the mountains in the Great North. However all was not well, as a sickness had begun to rapidly spread. A heavy air of dread hung over the populace as the situation only grew more dire by the day. Being one of the few pokemon that wasn't afflicted by illness, Urmas walked down the dirt path that cut through the village, curiously searching for signs of activity. But all he could hear were the sounds of muffled coughing amongst the late autumnal winds.

Glancing around between the tents and small houses that made up the village, Urmas could see a few pokemon walking about. However when they suddenly became aware of the Sneasel's presence, they would either turn or speed up their stride. Urmas sighed and brought a claw to his arm, nervously rubbing it as he walked. As even without the sickness running amok, everyone would have still avoided him like well… the plague.

Despite his status as the village leader's son, Urmas had a reputation for being what some would call a curse on their community, as bad things would always seem to happen whenever

the dark furred weasel was around. However such incidents were usually small, causing general inconvenience or ruining someone's day. But every year around the date of his conception, a grander misfortune would befall the village.

The previous year was a freak storm that resulted in an avalanche, and the year before that was an attack by bandits who sought their land. As far as everyone was concerned, Urmas was a jinx. Many called for his exile for the betterment of the town, but his father refused each and every time; telling them Urmas had every right to be here as much as they did. That was however, until this year.

When the news had soon broken of the village leader succumbing to the illness, the village pokemon soon seized the opportunity to take matters into their own hands. There were those who wanted to reunite the cursed Sneasel with his father, claiming his death would finally free them of their misfortune. But they were quickly silenced by Urmas, who in a panic threatened that if he were truly cursed, would see to it that his supposed hex would last indefinitely if he was to be killed.

"I-I I swear I'll do it! S-So stay away!" Urmas yelled as he took a step back, rubbing his claws together until his back bumped into the cliffside behind him.

A tense silence hung over the group of pokemon as streams of tears ran down Urmas' face. Paralyzed in a state of fear, the trembling Sneasel was barely able to mumble out any kind of further plea to remain unharmed. This caught the attention of some of the other pokemon, and whether it had been out of pity for Urmas' display, or cooler heads prevailing, they all began to murmur amongst themselves.

Urmas could only watch as the mob of surrounding pokemon discussed his fate. They soon came to a consensus, and all eyes were once again on the Sneasel. This remained the case for the next few minutes until the crowd opened up as a Zangoose walked forward holding a messenger bag in their claws. The normal type then tossed the bag at Urmas' feet before rejoining the crowd.

The quivering ice type glanced down at the bag before looking back up. "U-Uh-"

"What are you waiting for?! Pick it up and get out!" He heard someone yell. "You're lucky we're even giving you the option!"

Taking the clear sign that he should go, Urmas picked up the semi stocked bag before clutching it close to his chest. But even then, he still couldn't move. The atmosphere remained as tense as ever, and the last thing the Sneasel wanted was for things to come to blows. As despite how they had all treated him throughout his life, Urmas couldn't bring himself to raise so much as a claw towards them in retaliation.

Slowly bringing one foot in front of the other, Urmas made his way past the number of glaring eyes before reaching the outskirts of the village. Turning his head back, he gave a longing stare before he noticed someone throw something. Using Metal Claw, Urmas batted the pebble away. Unfortunately however, it then flew into the window of the house next to him. Hearing someone yell about their eye in response, Urmas bolted. Thus beginning his journey into the stony tundra.

After spending most of the day aimlessly walking through the tundra, Urmas' pace slowed down upon reaching the top of an incline. He slid his back down the side of a boulder, opening his bag to pull out an oran berry. Though thankful that someone in the village had at least given him food, Urmas was only able to take a single bite before shrinking down into his knees. Part of the Sneasel was glad that no one was here to see him like this, only now remembering that his father had told him to never let the village pokemon see that they had gotten to him.

"Now look at you Urmas… just sitting here and being useless…" The Sneasel thought, giving a nervous laugh.

"And of course you're one of the few who didn't get sick…"

A feeling of anger began to quickly well up within the ice type. "Why do I have to be like this?!" He yelled, scooping up a small rock in his claws and tossing it into the distance of a nearby downhill path. It was then that a loud rumbling occurred, and Urmas could only watch as a large pile of boulders collapsed. This was followed by the sound of a loud, painful roar, prompting the Sneasel to rush towards the path to take a look.

"Oh Arceus, no…" He said to himself, gazing over the affected area.

In front of a lake at the bottom, the Sneasel could see what looked like a large, blue fin sticking out from the rubble. Next to it however was a Raboot laying on the ground, only further pushing the realization of what he had done.

"They're dead… they're dead, what have I- nononononono…" Urmas frantically said, bringing his claws in front of his mouth before quickly pacing back and forth. But before he could fly into a full panic, his red, feather-like ear twitched when he heard someone laughing maniacally.

"HA! TAKE THAT YOU OVERGROWN SEA SNAKE!" The Raboot victoriously yelled, throwing up his arms before hopping to his feet. Crossing his arms, the gray and orange rabbit looked up at the spot from where the boulders that had saved his life had fallen; only to see a Sneasel peering down at him.

"Hey! Did you do this?!" The Raboot asked. Urmas froze for a brief moment before quickly backing away.

"Hey, wait!" The fire type yelled.

After hastily making his way up the path, the Raboot began to search for any sign of the Sneasel. Scanning the surrounding terrain, he finally saw the top of their species' signature red ear poking up from behind a rock.

"Just stay here and he'll go away," The Sneasel repeatedly muttered. That is until he noticed the Raboot peering over him. "Hey-"

"I-I'm sorry!" Urmas instinctively yelled back. "It was an accident!"

"Well accident or not, you saved my life!"

"I… what?" Urmas quietly responded.

"The name's Aden by the way! Treasure hunter extraordinaire!" The Raboot excitedly said, sticking out a paw as he laid over the rock.

"Urmas," The Sneasel answered as he shifted his gaze away.

After a short but awkward silence, Aden piped up. "You know, I wasn't expecting to really see anyone out here. Except maybe the occasional feral. So what brings you?"

Figuring that Aden wouldn't go away unless he answered, Urmas merely looked up and shrugged.

"Well I was trying to get up there," Aden said, pointing up at the nearby mountain as his eyes lit up in excitement. "Though I say was because I got a bit sidetracked. There's just so much to see out here, you know?"

"But there's something in particular I came here for," Aden continued. "Have you heard of Glassweed? Leafy looking. Kind of, well glassy?"

Urmas shook his head in response.

"It's a really rare herb," The Raboot answered. "Supposedly it can cure damn near anything 'cept death! But it only grows up there."

Hearing this, Urmas' eyes widened as he turned towards the fire type. "Anything…" He thought. "If I can get some, they'll have to let me back!"

"Are you doing alright there?" Aden asked with a smile, snapping the Sneasel back to reality. "Say," Aden continued. "How about we-

"If you're implying that we should go together…" Urmas somberly replied, cutting the Raboot off.

"Well why not?" Aden asked "Pretty sure it's safer to travel in groups. And we're going the same way-"

"Well not with me!" Urmas snapped, quickly turning around before backing up just as fast. The Sneasel's posture then shrank as he turned away. "I'm cursed…"

There was a brief silence between the two as Aden put a paw to his chin. "All the more reason to come along then," He happily said, crossing his arms.

"I've been told I have pretty good luck, so it should all balance out." Urmas only stared at the Raboot before giving a sigh. Whether the Sneasel liked it or not, Aden was here to stay.

Urmas glanced back at Aden before his eyes lowered back to the ground. "Good luck, huh?"

By sundown, the two pokemon had set up a small campsite. Urmas sat off to the side, eating a berry as he watched Aden roast a thick-skinned red fruit over the fire. "You sure you don't want any?"

The Sneasel shook his head. "I'm good over here."

Aden frowned slightly at Urmas' response. But before he could say anything a strong wind suddenly blew past, blowing out his fire. Urmas gave Aden a deadpan stare, as if to simply say 'And that's why.' However Aden stared back at the Sneasel, giving him a smug look as he clicked his heel against the burn pit. The two watched as it ignited once again, before beckoning Urmas forward. "Now come on, I want you to try this."

After some hesitation the Sneasel slowly stepped towards him, as if making sure not to set off some kind of cosmic force by doing so. Sitting closer to the Raboot, Urmas remained turned away as he accepted half of the peeled pomeg berry. After taking a bite, Aden spoke up.

"Not too many other pokemon think so, but I think giving it a light roasting really brings out the-"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Urmas quietly asked.

"Well you did save my life. It's the least I could do."

"Those rocks could have killed you," Urmas rebutted.

"But they didn't."

It was then that Urmas gave up trying to argue, slumping down as he continued to eat.

The next day, the duo traveled further up the mountainous path, where Urmas and Aden would come across a cliff face with a massive, jagged gap down its middle. Outside laid a large rock with writing etched into the side. 'The Mystery Dungeons of Frigid Peak' it read. But beneath it said something else, however it was worn down to the point of near illegibility. A curious Aden made an attempt to decipher the text while Urmas kept walking. Catching the Sneasel out of the corner of his eye, he quickly darted for the ice type.

"Hey, wait up!" Aden exclaimed. "You almost walked right into that dungeon!"

"Are you going to follow me, or keep playing with rocks?" Urmas flatly asked before catching himself and tapping his claws together.

"Sorry. I just really need this… glassweed, was it?" The Sneasel said with a somber look. Time was of the essence to Urmas, for as far as he was concerned it was his fault that the villagers were sick. And Arceus be damned if he could not find a way to fix things before there was no village for him to go back to.

Taking note of his tone, Aden began to grow more curious about Urmas' situation. He never did get a proper answer as to what he was doing out here by himself, but the question now was whether or not to pry. "He seems trustworthy enough…" Aden thought. "But he looks so sad…"

"Yeah… glassweed," Aden answered with a curious look in his eyes that Urmas was not oblivious to.

Giving a sigh, the Sneasel figured he may as well get it out of the way. Explaining his situation, Umras prepared himself for whatever belittlement the Raboot had to say. "-It's my fault they're all sick…" However, to Urmas' surprise that wasn't what happened. Instead, the fire type donned a determined expression.

"Well, guess we have another reason to see this through," Aden said.

Urmas was dumbfounded. "Why would you still choose to travel with me? I'm-"

Aden held up a paw, cutting him off. "Because I want to," Aden said, almost forcefully. "Please, don't be so hard on yourself…"

Hearing this, Urmas stopped and glanced at the Raboot. He looked as if he were about to say something, but kept walking instead.

Exiting the other end of the fissure, Urmas and Aden were immediately bombarded by a stinging blast of chilling winds. A blanket of snow covered the ground as far as the eye could see, with the occasional jagged gray shape breaking the surface. Urmas was taken aback by the sight, having never traversed a mystery dungeon before. The weather before had been so calm in comparison, and the Sneasel took it as a sign of what was to come.

Further into the dungeon, Urmas and Aden trudged through the snow, and over the many inclines that stood in their way. Aden headed the way up what winding paths they could find. Eventually, the duo found themselves standing in front of a ravine. A natural bridge closed the gap, as well as several stone spires along each side. Urmas quickly backed away after he and Aden looked over the edge.

"Looks like it's the only way across," Aden said, looking back at a frightened Urmas.

The Sneasel couldn't get a word out, as every possible way they would fall to their deaths played out in his head. "We're going to die here…"

"No. We're going to make it," Aden shakily proclaimed. "The secret to overcoming great odds is to go at it with a smile! At least that's what Guildleader says."

Urmas was about to protest, but tensed up, swearing he heard something in the distance. Turning around, the Sneasel frantically glanced around. "You heard that too, right?"

Aden gave him a confused glare. "Heard what?"

A deep, loud roar echoed through the snow-laden winds as the two could vaguely make out a large figure approaching them. Aden took a deep breath before something caught his eye. "Urmas, I'd like to apologize in advance."

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Without giving an answer, Aden kicked up a small stone, setting it ablaze with his foot before kicking it towards the figure.

The Beartic roared out in pain, as the attack landed a direct hit. It was then that Urmas felt himself get pulled back by the arm towards the stony bridge. "Are you insane?!" He yelled as the Raboot dragged him across.

"You can yell at me later!" Aden answered, still running as he held Urmas' arm.

The two soon felt a rumbling on the ground that was quickly getting closer, as the white-furred bear pokemon was now chasing them on all fours. As the Beartic managed to close the distance with himself and Aden, Urmas attacked with Metal Claw in an act of desperation. However because he was still being dragged by the Raboot, his hardened claws missed the opposing ice type and hit the bridge instead. The Beartic stopped before once again picking up speed and leaping over them, cutting the two off from the other side.

Standing hunched over on their hind legs as the stone below began to crack, the Beartic swept forwards with their powerful claws before striking at the bridge as Aden and Urmas frantically dodged. But the last strike was a bit wider than the last, forcing the two on their backs as they narrowly avoided being flung off the bridge. Seeing a gap in the Beartic's stance, Aden pushed Urmas with his feet. He slid under the large ice type's legs, catching himself by the end of the bridge with his claws.

Just as the Beartic turned to look at Urmas, the bridge further cracked and crumbled away. He backed up as the feral Beartic took another swing, only for the stone to break under their feet…

"That was a close one," Aden said as he and Urmas walked away from the ravine. His remark earned him a sharp glare from Urmas, who had managed to just barely stop him from falling to his doom. Although in the process he had stabbed Aden's leg with his claws.

After a bit of walking, Urmas noticed that Aden was slowing. He could hear the Raboot's more laborious breaths as they continued up. It sounded familiar, but the Sneasel thought it was maybe just the altitude getting to him. But then he heard Aden cough. Turning his head back, the Raboot stuck out his paws.

"I'm fine. Just… swallowed some cold air."

Over the next few days, Urmas and Aden faced a number of trials, each with varying degrees of success before making it to the top of the mountain.

"We… actually made it," Urmas thought, looking over the frozen ruins that glistened in the light of the sun. "But where is the Glassweed?"

Taking a notebook from his bag, Aden read through it before opening his mouth to speak.

However, the Raboot was then interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. "Aden?" Urmas asked, watching as the fire type dropped to his knees as crimson splotches stained his notes. Remembering what had happened to his father, Urmas began to panic.

"No- Aden, I-I'm sorry. I-"

"It's okay… I know you'll find it."

"But I-"

"Can do this… I mean we made it this far right?" Aden said with a weak smile. Hesitantly, Urmas looked between the ruins and the Raboot before a more determined look showed on his face.

Entering the ruined temple with Aden over his shoulder, Urmas set the Raboot down against the wall by the entrance. "Not again! I'm not letting this happen again!" He thought, as the fire type

had become the closest thing Urmas could say he had to a friend. And Arceus be damned if his accursed luck ripped him away now.

The confidence Urmas had built up was quickly waning as he crept further into the ruins in search of Glassweed, passing several tall columns as he began to feel like something was off. But the thought of Aden needing him was enough to push him forward. Reaching the other end of the frozen ruins, Urmas found himself in front of a wall depicting what he could only assume was an ancient event, as the center of the wall had a massive hole leading to a tunnel going further into the mountain.

A low, rumbling growl reverberated from the tunnel, making Urmas take a few steps back. But that's when he saw it, amongst the ice coating the wall and the massive nearby pillars were a number of glass-like leaves. Now having the Sneasel's attention, each of the leaves shone like hundreds of little crystals just waiting to be plucked from the surface. It was the most beautiful thing Urmas had ever seen, but he needed to stay focused, as Aden and his village were waiting.

Clouds soon cut off the sun's rays as he made his way closer to the wall, all while the rumbling started up once again. Only this time was significantly louder. A piercing, yellow glare appeared in the tunnel, followed by what amounted to the world's shortest blizzard; which covered the ruin's floor in a blanket of snow. Urmas hastily hid behind a broken pillar that sat behind him as thud after echoing thud brought something closer to the caves entrance. Out of the shadows, a large, gray draconic figure partially covered in ice stepped out into the open.

The ice laden dragon, Kyurem loomed over where Urmas would have been standing before letting out a deafening roar. "REVEAL YOURSELF!" Kyurem bellowed, rattling the surrounding ruins. Kyurem soon saw the identifying red ear of a Sneasel quivering behind the base of a felled pillar.

"CEASE YOUR COWERING AND FACE ME!" The dragon yelled before unleashing a blast of energy from their frozen maw, obliterating the structure Urmas had hid behind.

Urmas bolted, narrowly dodging the Kyurem's next few attacks as weaved throughout the ruins. Pinning his back up against a column, the Sneasel began to hyperventilate.

'I'm going to die.' This was the thought running throughout Urmas' head as Kyurem searched for him. But then he remembered. Aden. The Raboot was counting on him to retrieve the glassweed. As well as the village, the whole reason he had come here in the first place.

"No… I can't die here," Urmas thought before remembering what Aden had told him earlier in their journey.

'The secret to overcoming great odds is to go at it with a smile!' The fire type's words echoing in his mind.

Urmas slowly stepped out from behind the column, a wide, forced grin plastered on his face. "COME AT ME!" Urmas yelled before Kyurem turned to face him.

The winds whipped up as the icy dragon roared, bringing more snowfall upon the battlefield. Realizing exactly what he'd done, Urmas quickly hooked his claws into the column and began to hastily climb.

Kyurem furiously slashed at the cylinder, stepping to the side as it came down. Using its momentum, Urmas jumped to a column parallel to the one he was on. Landing at the top, Urmas soon found himself slipping and plummeting into the snow. He could feel Kyurem stomping towards him, as well as an intense surge of pain in his arm.

The pristine snow was stained red with blood stemming from a gash on Urmas' arm, a fact not going unnoticed by the dragon as the Sneasel could hear what sounded like a deep, monstrous chuckle filled with malice. Out of options, Urmas looked up at the looming drake with the same forced grin.

Banking on the trick that had 'saved' him from the village pokemon, Urmas shakily looked Kyurem in the eyes. "I-If you kill me… y-you'll be f-forever cursed…"

There was a moment of silence as the wind and snow began to die down, and it was then that Kyurem began to laugh. "You come to my mountain, run away when I challenge you, and now you have the nerve to threaten me?!"

However as the two spoke, the clouds parted to reveal the sun in all its brilliance. And soon, blinding light shined off of the snow, reflecting the sun's rays into Kyurem's eyes. In their rage, one of Kyurem's large, icy protrusions smashed into the column; causing it to break and fall on top of him. Urmas could only watch as Kyurem slammed into column after column in a literal blind rage, each one coming down on the dragon's head before all went quiet.

Dragging himself to the entrance of the ruins, Urmas clutched his arm as he brought his bag full of glassweed over his shoulder. Reaching Aden's side, the Sneasel crushed a clawfull of leaves and pushed them into the Raboot's mouth.

"Aden…" Urmas mumbled. Getting no response, the Sneasel began to panic. "C-Come on, I-I got the glassweed Aden!" Nothing still.

Urmas dropped to his knees as tears streamed down his face. Grabbing Aden, he desperately shook the fire type's body to garner any kind of response. Pressing the blunt sides of his claws on Aden's chest… he felt nothing. A deep chill ran throughout Urmas' body before he collapsed partially on top of the fire type, angrily slamming the side of his claws down on his late friend's chest before yelling as loud as his lungs would allow.

He had failed. Arriving too late as once again his misfortune had taken someone away from him. But this time something felt different, as Urmas soon noticed something by the Raboot's side. His notebook and a map laid under his paw, as if he wanted the Sneasel to find them. Carefully picking up the map, Urmas saw that a certain location was circled along with a line drawn from the mountains to the spot in question.

Looking through Aden's notebook, Urmas turned to a folded page with an image depicting the round badge attached to his bag with 'It's yours. Use it to overcome great odds' written underneath. The Sneasel remembered Aden had said things about a 'guildleader' and treasure hunting, having even talked about some of his past excursions throughout the trip.

Teary eyed, Urmas tightly clutched the Raboot's body. "I promise Aden… I promise."

After leaving the dungeon at the base of the mountain, Urmas shifted some rocks into place as he said his last goodbyes to the only pokemon he would have called his friend, etching his name into the stone with his claws. Standing over the site he had constructed, the ice type closed his eyes and knelt down.

"I was… lucky to meet you Aden," Urmas thought, not bothering to hold back his sorrow.

He spent a good amount of time sitting by the makeshift monument, thinking about his father, Aden, and contemplating what he was going to do now. He still planned on giving the herbs to the village, but the more he thought, he realized that they still probably wouldn't be too keen on reaccepting him. Turning to stare at the monument once again, Urmas tilted his head.

"So what do you think I should do?"

Eventually under the light of the setting sun, Urmas found himself right where his trip had begun, the outskirts of his village. He snuck towards the path leading inside, before leaving the bundle of glassweed in a basket by the side of a house along with a note he concocted.

Please take these, as they should help with your current predicament.

-The Treasure Hunters Society

Quickly leaving the village once more, the Sneasel glanced back at it as he sat on a large rock. Urmas knew that the pokemon of the town would likely not accept the herbs if he was the one to give them, but he didn't care anymore.

He didn't need to prove anything to those pokemon, and he felt that separating himself from them was likely for the best. Taking the map out of what was formally Aden's bag, he decided that the city the Raboot circled would be his next stop.