indigo_events: (Default)
indigo_events ([personal profile] indigo_events) wrote in [community profile] victory_road2020-03-20 07:04 pm
Entry tags:

Po-ta-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a... curry?

Who: Everybody! The Snorlax! The Munchlax! The Mystery Guests!
Where: Route 39
When: March 20th and 21st
Summary: Lets cook some curries.
Rating: General.
Log:


Early spring brings with it bright sunshine and slightly chilly air, green shoots of new grass poking up from the earth as farmers survey fields that have laid bare all winter. Across Johto and Kanto (and who knows where else?), windows and doors are thrown open to air out spaces closed up for the winter, the commencement of a mysterious rite known only as ‘spring cleaning.’

At MooMoo Ranch, it heralds an additional rite: the yearly tradition that precedes the tilling of those fields and the sowing of seeds:



THE GREAT CURRY COOKOUT

Let’s just be up front about this: the entirety of Route 38 smells absolutely amazing. Traditionally (you’re going to hear that word a lot here), the curries cooked up by the locals are made of whatever leftovers from the previous year’s harvest that may be found kicking around the various parlours and cellars, but because humans can’t eat the berries that Pokemon can, and because they want to eat too, and because once you let humans at a recipe, they can’t not experiment with it...

If you can imagine a curry, someone has either made it, is in the process of making it, or is preparing to make it right the heck now. There are some dishes that don’t seem too out of place: sausage curries, curries with tinned meat or beans added to the mix, mushroom curries, curries decorated so cutely that they flood your Poke-Instagram page, potato curries, herb-laden curries, spice-tastic curries, coconut curries, curries accompanied by savory burger steaks...these all at least seem like normal curry variants, right?

And then there’s the odd stuff. Curries topped with swirls of spaghetti, boiled-egg curries, instant-noodle curries loaded up next to curries topped with a medley of fried foods, toast slices resting on beds of curry, leeks grilled and whole on curries, apple curries, salad curries, curries with whole bones kept in them to add additional flavor, tropical curries with decorative flowers added on the side, cheese-covered curries, even...whipped cream curries…? Uh...sure, okay! There’s even the rare smoked Slowpoke Tail curry, the tail packages labeled with “CRUELTY-FREE SLOWPOKE TAIL” and seals of legal and bureaucratic approval. Dry, sweet, spicy, bitter, sour - you name it, there’s a curry for it!

It’s a little weird, though, right? All this curry, and, uh, all these Snorlax… and Munchlax… wait, actually, when did those start to show up?! Is this… safe??? The locals don’t seem surprised in the least, but there sure are a lot of them…. did they all really come down from the mountains?

Is this part of the tradition, too?!

Good question!

Lucky for YOU, any trainer (un?)fortunate enough to be caught standing still for one second too long by one of the elderly locals (or walks too close to one, or accepts a curry offering from one) will be treated to a retelling of the story behind both the Snorlax and the curry. Turns out, the salivating Snorlax and the just-as-hungry baby Munchlax are not just part of the tradition -- they’re the reason for it!

Long ago, in the day of so-and-so’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother, the Snorlax and Munchlax were a downright menace. Every year, once the snows would start to melt, they’d start coming down from the mountains to the north in droves, descending upon the farms and fields just as that year’s planting began to sprout like a plague of very hungry caterpies, gobbling up everything in sight until nothing but barren earth remained. They even busted down fences and barns in their pursuit of fresh food! Proper menaces to society, right here.

At first, the farmers tried to battle the Snorlax, but it did not end well. Their Miltank and Tauros herds weren’t meant for battle, and Snorlax are as mighty as their appetites! Then one year, a young farm girl had an idea! (Depending on who's telling the story, it might have been a farm boy. Or just a farmer, gender unknown. It is always, mysteriously, someone in the teller's family tree.) Rather than trying to fight off the Snorlax, this mysterious individual suggested inviting them all to one big dinner. They could cook up all the leftovers from the last harvest, have a big feast out of it and feed the hungry Snorlax so they'd leave the seedlings alone.

And it worked! The Snorlax were happy, the fields were left alone and the fences and barns kept standing strong.

(Well, except that one year with ol’ man Gregory’s barn, but that had very little to do with the Snorlax, and far more to do with ol’ man Gregory’s fierce enjoyment of the special sake brewed by the monks of Sprout Tower, a very terrible bet, and one prized herd of Miltanks and really, if you don’t watch it, you might be stuck listening to that old tale as well.)

Obviously, since the current farms and fields are still intact and going strong, the feast not only worked, but held strong as a tradition. But hey! It’s a fun story, and the curry is good! And oh my ARCEUS, you have heard this story so many times from so many old farming folks you are so tired, please, you just wanted to find a bathroom, yes, thank you for the bowl of curry, you really must be going now-

Only… there’s something weird about this year’s gathering. Something unexpected.

In addition to the Snorlax and Munchlax lumbering down in droves for a good meal, another kind of Pokemon has emerged, lured by the delectable scents, and it’s not one that many folks have seen before. Keen-eyed trainers can spot them just about everywhere: lingering under the eaves of the roofs, peeking out from behind bushes and tree branches, but most of all, slowly drawing close to the source of all those delicious smells, their voices ringing out like clear little bells.

That’s right, Milcery are swarming!

Unfortunately, the Snorlax and Munchlax don’t seem too keen on sharing their special once-a-year treat. Hangry tempers are starting to flare up, the bubbling of many pots and pans joined by low grumbling as the Snorlax and Munchlax are starting to stake claim against these strange newcomers. In fact, someone should probably get out there and try and calm the situation down.

Which doesn’t mean take out your pokemon and start any battles! Anyone trying to do that will get a right scolding by one of those inescapable geriatric storytellers. Do you want to cause some sort of stampede here like what claimed ol’ man Gregory’s barn? No sir! (Who’s sir? We’re unclear.) There will be no battling here. Put on your best smile! Break out that cheery personality, and try to actually peacekeep. Or if that isn’t your thing, maybe try and help out with the cooking. With this many cooks around, there is always someone who needs an extra hand to peel some potatoes or dice some carrots, right? If you got a particular hankering, why not claim one of those may pots and pans for yourself and start preparing your own prized curry?

Because judging by the mass of Snorlax, Munchlax, and Milcery? We are going to need a bigger curry.

sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-04 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Venipede chitters - angrily.]

[He's worried! Doesn't want us hurt!!]
notyourgoddess: (Default)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-04 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[Are you able to tell him that you want to fight anyway?]
sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-05 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
[I'VE TRIED!]

[This is one frustrated little bug.]
notyourgoddess: (Default)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-05 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[She seems to give this some thought and then nods and gestures to follow her.]

[That's not fair at all. Come on, let's go find my trainer. I can tell her what's happening and maybe she can talk some sense into your trainer.]
sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-05 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... what.]

[Well then. Venipede has nothing to lose. So he'll just chug along after her.]
notyourgoddess: (Power in the artic)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-06 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[She's the pokemon of a vault hunter, they have strong views on how great fighting is.]

[She'll go over a far bit until they reach Maya off to the side. Maya is eating a bowl of curry and there's a Blipbug on her shoulder and a small Scorbunny running around the legs of a nearby table. She'll look up when the Meowstic stops and waves to get her attention.]


Oh hey, Cataclysm. Did you need something?

[Apparently the Meowstics trainer is pretty used to psychic communication by this point so there's a pause as she seems to be listening to whatever the psychic pokemon is saying to her. It takes a moment but she'll frown slightly and pass her bowl over the Scorbunny who is just happy for more curry.]

Well that doesn't seem fair. Where is this trainer?
sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-07 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Out of habit, the Venipede puffs up. Look at it! Look how strong and scary it is! Rawr!! And then it wiggles its antennae, watching everything. Part of it wants to crawl up there and steal some curry, but -- this human is helping, right?]

[It chitters, and starts scurrying off to where it last saw Shadowmaru. Where the trainer is diligently helping chop vegetables for someone's curry.]
notyourgoddess: (This plan sucks)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-07 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[Probably for the best as the curry she got is from some local making it. She'll follow the Venipede, with her little group of three pokemon with her until they reach the person chopping vegetables.]

This is your trainer?
sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-08 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Venipede looks at Maya. Then at the individual somehow managing to flip his hair back -- glittering -- while chopping an onion.]

[And then sags in place.]

[Yep. That's the guy.]
notyourgoddess: (Power in the artic)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-08 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[She very, very vaguely remembers talking to this guy once. At some point. Not too sure his name though. She'll wave to get his attention though.]

Hey. Can we talk for a moment?
sassymaru: (the face of no shame)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-09 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
[There probably should not be glitter around food. But, somehow, when Shadowmaru turns, there's a flicker of it in the air.]

Of course. How can I assist?
notyourgoddess: (Oh I'm listening)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-10 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Glitter near curry is clearly a good idea. She'll nod towards the pokemon in front of her.]

Cataclysm here apparently met and was talking with your Venipede. She's a psychic type so she was able to tell me what they talked about.

You might not have realized but your pokemon here is very interested in being able to fight battles themselves.
sassymaru: (star light star bright blah blah)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-12 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
Oh? Is he making friends, then?

[No, Shadowmaru. No he is not.]

Ah... yes. I have. I am very aware of what he desires.
notyourgoddess: (All the guns)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-12 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
So why don't you let him fight?
sassymaru: (GET A LOAD OF THIS SHIT)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-13 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
He could injure himself! Gravely.
notyourgoddess: (Power in the artic)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-13 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Not if you're doing it right. That's why you train with them. So they can fight and not be in danger.
sassymaru: (TALK TO THE HAND)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-14 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
All of them get injured in battle, do they not?
notyourgoddess: (Oh I'm listening)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-14 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Getting hurt in a fight isn't the same as being gravely injured.

[They may have a different scale of what is a bad injury.]
sassymaru: (NO I'M NOT PLAYING FETCH)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-15 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
I don't wish for them to be hurt.

I hardly see why that is such an issue.
notyourgoddess: (Hanging out)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-15 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[The Meowstic pokes Maya on the leg to get her attention and Maya listens to something for a moment before nodding and looking back to this trainer.]

Well for one thing, your pokemon wants to fight so badly that they're going around trying to start fights with the Snorlax and Munchlax here. The ones we're all trying to keep calm so they don't stampede the farms.

Not training them isn't going to stop them from seeking out fights, all it's going to do is make sure they don't stand a chance if they manage to pick a fight with a pokemon levels above them.
sassymaru: (star light star bright blah blah)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-16 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Venipede chitters something in reply. Or affirmative. Shadowmaru's expression smooths over. Either a good sign, or a sign he's closing off.]

I see.

[Oh. Yeah, he's closing himself off.]

I will take your advice into consideration.
notyourgoddess: (Nice try idiots)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-16 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[Totally a great sign. However there's really not much she can do about the issue unfortunately. Not her team.]

Right....

[The Meowstic however is now back to talking to the Venipede.]

[I bet some of the pokemon you run into would be willing to fight and help you train even if your trainer doesn't want you to. Just ask first instead of trying to trick them into fights.]
sassymaru: (Default)

[personal profile] sassymaru 2020-04-17 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
I do thank you for your concern.

[He actually bows a little, in answer.]

[Venipede waggles his antennae. Okay. Sounds good. Time to start fighting other pokemon.]
notyourgoddess: (Phaselock)

[personal profile] notyourgoddess 2020-04-18 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay.

[Well she tried. She nods briefly to be polite.]

If you do want any advice or training help, feel free to send me a message. My name's Maya.

[She'll see if Cataclysm is finished speaking before they go to leave. The Meowstic will wave as they go.]

[Good luck with the training. Remember to ask for advice too! Then you'll get even better!]