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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.
phdepression: (absentee_father)

[personal profile] phdepression 2025-04-08 02:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Goldenrod City is a good place to work. It's the central hub of Johto and has easy access to Kanto. I heard a lot of people from other worlds like us tend to live in that area," Jotaro says, sharing his knowledge. "I'm sure you can open your own clinic. A lot of people end up running their own businesses. It may just time to do so, like everything in medicine."

Crank nods again, though it's pretty clear to anyone watching the two Pokemon that the Revavroom has no idea what an Applin evolves into or what even a Dipplin looks like. He just doesn't want to look like he doesn't know things.
calisugarfiend: Human Cali is smiling warmly (Smiling Human Cali)

[personal profile] calisugarfiend 2025-04-08 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm going to be looking forward to Goldenrod City, it'll be amazing meeting more folks there. I also heard that the beaches there were really pretty to see in person too, so that's another one I'm looking forward to." Cali was thankful for the knowledge being shared, it was pretty exciting to learn there was more other worlders living there.

"That's good to hear, I honestly look forward to opening up my own clinic here and making it as welcoming as possible. I'm thinking of having a basket in the reception room where patients can pick out a sticker or a back flipping wind up toy."

Sweet Sixteen sits there in solemn silences, mainly because that's the only thing he knows about the Dipplin line and was never a fan of roommates in general. Finally, Sweet Sixteen finally speaks again, "And there she goes again about the clinic plans, I honestly hope Cali picks a place that has a fireplace in it."
phdepression: (a smile?????)

[personal profile] phdepression 2025-04-12 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
"Heh. That's a cute idea. It'll definitely be appealing to kids," he looks over at Crank, seeing the sticker Cali had slapped on his side earlier and smirks, "And Pokemon too..."

"You should try convince her. As her starter, she should definitely seek your input and approval in things! At least, that's how JoJo is with Star Platinum!" Crank chimes again.

Ah, here we go. Food's here. The waiter leaves the bowls in front of each trainer and a pot of tea. Jotaro thanks them quietly.

"Looks good. Let's eat..."
calisugarfiend: Human Cali is smiling warmly (Smiling Human Cali)

[personal profile] calisugarfiend 2025-04-12 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Thank you, I figured folks and their Pokemon would love that to bits." Cali smiled brightly at that before her attention returned to the food as the ramen and mochi ice cream arrives, "Thank you for the food~"

"You know when you're right, you're absolutely right about it Kid. I should be able to convince Cali to pick a place with a fireplace in it, I am after all her starter." Sweet Sixteen puffed his little chest up, though it likely wouldn't be noticed underneath all that apple there.

phdepression: (a smile?????)

[personal profile] phdepression 2025-04-23 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"And thank you for joining me, Cali," Jotaro says simply. He wants to say he appreciates her presence here. The company is... nice. It distracts him from his thoughts. It helps. But in Jotaro isn't able to articulate it, he just eats quietly.
calisugarfiend: Human Cali is smiling warmly (Smiling Human Cali)

[personal profile] calisugarfiend 2025-04-23 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"I enjoy hanging out with you Jojo and thank you for taking me out to lunch." Cali smiled big time as she enjoyed the company and the ramen. She figured Jotaro had been needing the company, it's a basic human necessity and it truly does help.
phdepression: (a smile?????)

[personal profile] phdepression 2025-04-26 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
"... No problem. Someone's gotta look out for you kids." Jotaro smiles.

Company is a basic human necessity that Jotaro's been ignoring. Jotaro had been isolating himself to try protect his family in his world, and here he still had the belief that he had to be by himself. That he had to do things for others but on his own. It's why he was trying to escape after helping Emporio with advertising for the gym.

It's been hard to try change that mentality. But friendship helped,
calisugarfiend: Human Cali is smiling warmly (Smiling Human Cali)

[personal profile] calisugarfiend 2025-04-27 06:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Definitely, otherwise, I'd might still be in that tree today." Cali joked lightheartedly at herself when she first started.

Although Cali won't say it, Jotaro reminded Cali of her Mom. Like Jotaro, Cali's Mom was a pretty stoic person that didn't say much and was pretty dead pan when speaking. Cali was insanely happy to have Jotaro as her friend as she went to eat her first freshly made ramen that wasn't packaged. Be sure though, Cali is definitely inviting Jotaro over to hang out again in the future.