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The Indigo League ([personal profile] indigo_league) wrote in [community profile] victory_road2025-02-17 08:13 pm

Swinub Scurry

Who: Everyone!
When: February 21st-28th
Where: Blackthorn City
What: It's the Swinub Scurry!
OOC Info: here!


Race day dawns bright and early on the 21st. In Blackthorn City, residents are bustling before the Winter sun is fully risen, completing setup for the veritable sea of Swinub-themed stalls and decorations that has been sprouting up throughout the week. The extra advertising has sparked peoples’ competitive spirits, and there’s also an ocean of handmade posters and signs cheering on specific racers.

Understandably, the majority of signs are for locals… but if any characters showed up earlier in the week to sign up, and had their Pokemon out and about, they may have picked up some fans! Is that a cute handmade doodle of their Pokemon hanging off a nearby balcony?

Speaking of racers - anyone who’s stayed in the town since at least last night, or arrived sufficiently early in the morning, will be invited to a complimentary breakfast! It’s simple and traditional, but there’s plenty to go around - rice and miso soup for everyone, and a vast spread of side dishes, including pickled and cooked vegetables and deep fried tofu. This food may be shared with Pokemon, though there’s also lots of high-vitamin Pokemon food specifically available!

Race sign-ups remain open until noon, when racers will be expected to gather up at the starting line - coincidentally, right in front of the big main event stage. As they harness up their Pokemon and double-check their sleds and supplies, the organizing committee for the event will be giving a speech. 30 minutes later, a loud whistle from the committee lead heralds the start of the race, and everyone will be off!

(Glance to your right as you pull away from the crowded stage area - that’s definitely Gym Leader Clair watching!)

Out on the trail, racing trainers and Pokemon will quickly be struggling, but more with the wilderness than with each other! While trainers with less than six Pokemon harnessed up are allowed to bring a regular team to deal with wild Pokemon, trainer battles are off limits during the race. There’s more than enough to worry about as is!

(That’s not to say there aren’t one or two racers willing to stoop to sabotage, provided they see an opportunity where they think they won’t get caught.)

The trail is marked with red streamers on trees and rocks, but they’re few and far between, and there’s intermittent snow showers that make visibility low. Trainers were provided with a map at the race’s start, but this isn’t the city - you better hope you can interpret contour lines and similar-looking landmarks. It’s easy to get lost! These aren’t the nice, trampled-down paths of routes - trainers will find themselves having to dodge around trees, bounce over rocks, and cross frozen streams and rivers! Speaking of frozen rivers… careful, the slushy weather earlier in the month left some of those with a more fragile layer of ice than others…

On top of that, the wild Pokemon out here are higher in level than on the routes! Trainers will find themselves having to fend off large, dangerous Pokemon like Beartics, Lycanrocs, Cetitans, and Hisuian Braviarys.

And then there’s figuring out when to rest. Any veteran racer will tell you it’s a bad idea not to let your Pokemon have a break for at least a few hours, no matter how much stamina you think they have. Dealing with the wilderness takes a lot out of you. (Every race, there’s someone overconfident enough to think they can just keep going… who then ends up staggering into the finish well behind the pack, their Pokemon completely wiped.) But… do you push as far as possible before resting, and hope you can keep your lead? Or do you rest early, and hope to breeze past everyone else while they’re taking their break?

Back in town, the festivities will have kicked into full swing! Food stands abound - in particular, given the weather, there’s endless options for warm bowls - rice porridge (particularly in the mornings), ramen, udon, oden, stew… But for those who don’t want something soup-adjacent, they will find plenty of other treats, like mochi cakes grilled over a charcoal fire, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with both savory and sweet varieties.

There’s stands with souvenirs and traditional crafts, too - do you want a textile with a Piloswine pattern? Of course you do. There’s lots of options for accessories for your Pokemon - woven collars and bandannas, scarves… and clothes for you too, if you’re so inclined! There’s little wooden and ceramic Swinub charms - rub their noses for luck - and various wood and papercraft objects. One particularly large stand seems to be doing a thriving business in traditional Spinarak silk soap!

On and around the main stage, there’s always something going on. During the day, there’s a constant stream of updates and commentary, with several large screens streaming video from race officials following the race on flying Pokemon. But there’s more: every day of the race has a few additional events on a small side stage, like a panel with former racers talking through their experiences, or a Pokemon performance.

As it begins to get dark, activity will slow down… but even in the wee hours of the night, the stage will stay open with the next shift of commentators, albeit with a much more sleepy, relaxed atmosphere. (Absolutely no loudspeakers, people are trying to sleep.) Some brave and selfless stalls will stay open all night with hot drinks, and tiny local bars so small they only seat a handful of guests offer a warm, friendly place to stop and relax well into the early hours of the morning. Even Blackthorn City’s onsen is kept open well into the night, offering a steamy soak to people and Pokemon alike.

In the early afternoon of the 22nd, the very fastest racers will start showing up at the finish line! They’ll be met with cheering, as will every racer that arrives afterward - it’s a Swinub Scurry tradition that every racer must be welcomed back enthusiastically, no matter how long it takes them. Yes, even in the middle of the night. (There’s a reason the finish line is located at the edge of the city.)

Trainers and Pokemon will be dragged back to the center of the festivities and brought inside to warm up and enjoy another complimentary meal. They’re expected to stick around the city until the race is officially over - they want their medal, right? - but they’re otherwise free to enjoy the celebration around town! They may have to suffer through occasional excited crowds when they’re recognized, though people will let characters go if they beg off by saying their Pokemon are tired or hungry. On the other hand, being recognized at stalls might mean getting offered some small treats and goodies on the house - particularly for those who performed well in the race!

Shortly after sunset on the 23rd, the race will finally come to a close when old man Junzo comes placidly trundling in with his full pack of Shuckle. The cheers for him are… lackluster, to say the least, but he seems entirely unbothered. At this point, all the racers will be called to the stage, with anyone who completed the race presented with a medal, anyone who participated offered the option of taking a Swinub egg (assuming they didn’t get caught cheating)... and the top three winners particularly hyped up and praised! Hope you wanted to be on TV?

But that doesn’t mean the festivities are over! While the intensity will ramp down over the week, and the stage and performances will have shut down after the 23rd, the stalls and extended local business hours won’t close down until the 28th.
shiningkindness: (390)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-03-23 08:48 am (UTC)(link)
Right, me too. It's just so hard, because I want to get things for everyone. I don't want anyone to feel left out.
senorita_perfecta: (Conversation)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-03-23 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Quite the dilemma, isn’t it? Perhaps there are some stuff in here with a price that we could afford to get for our Pokémon.
shiningkindness: (127)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-03-26 10:58 am (UTC)(link)
I hope so. All my Pokemon are so good and deserve a nice present now and then.

[ As if she doesn't give them so much love and attention already. ]
senorita_perfecta: (Smiling)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-03-26 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah exactly. Guess we’ll just keep trying to find something that would be both affordable and great for our Pokémon to keep.

(Félix also nods in agreement as he stretches his wings to relax them a bit.)

Noi, Bat! Bat!
shiningkindness: (318)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-03 09:17 am (UTC)(link)
Right. That's always the challenge, isn't it? [ She giggles a little. ] I'd love to spoil my Pokemon, if I could. But I have to be able to feed them too.
senorita_perfecta: (Confidant)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-03 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Same for me too. I also have plenty of Pokémon to feed and look after as well while trying to find ways to treat them once in a while. It can be difficult to juggle both needs and wants of our Pokémon at times especially when money is tight.

Noi, Noi!

(It is right at this moment when Isabela realizes that she has been talking to someone new to her for a while now and she almost forgets to introduce herself and Félix. Oops, she needs to do that right away before it slips past her mind again.)

Oh I nearly forget to introduce myself and my Pokémon right now. My name is Isabela Madrigal and that little bat is my Noibat Félix, it is really nice to meet you today.

Noi! Noibat!
shiningkindness: (158)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-15 08:22 am (UTC)(link)
It's nice to meet you too, Isabela! My name is Fluttershy [ she gestures to the Audino nearby, who waves at the both of them ] and this is my Audino, Allegra.
senorita_perfecta: (Smiling)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-15 08:35 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much, Fluttershy. I think that both your and Allegra’s names sound very beautiful.

(Then she turns to Allegra and greets her as well with Félix happily waving his arm/wing at her.)

It is very nice to meet you as well, Allegra.

Noi! Noibat, bat, Bat!
shiningkindness: (pic#16142182)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-20 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ She flushes a little bit at that, ducking her head with an embarrassed smile. ] O-Oh, thank you. Your name is really pretty too.
senorita_perfecta: (Confidant)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-20 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much. I guess that it does suit me very well. My folks thought the same thing when they gave me that name on the day I was born.

Noi, Noi! Noibat!
shiningkindness: (157)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-22 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
I'm sure your parents thought it would be a fitting name for you. Do you know what it means?
senorita_perfecta: (Conversation)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-22 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
From what I can recall, it apparently means ‘God is my vow’ in the language my family often speaks at our world. Though it is possible that it has different forms in other languages over there.
shiningkindness: (084)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-23 10:08 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow. That's quite a deep meaning. I have heard variations of it before, like Isabelle.
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-25 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Amazing! That is nice to hear of another variation of my name. It must be refreshing to learn about different variations of the same name even ones I have never heard of before.

Even if the name is changed to a different language, the meaning is still present in some form.
shiningkindness: (313)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-04-29 10:58 am (UTC)(link)
Mm, that's true! It really is interesting to hear how the same name sounds in different languages.
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-05-01 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, that does make for unique interpretations across various cultures and languages. And it is a great way to learn how, despite so much differences, many things in their core stay universal everywhere.

Noi, Noi!
shiningkindness: (126)

[personal profile] shiningkindness 2025-05-03 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Fluttershy nods. ] Exactly. I think that's been the most interesting thing about meeting so many people from different worlds, getting to see how many things are similar despite how unique each world is.