indigo_league: Artist: <user name="jellosaurusrex" site="tumblr.com"> (Default)
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.
senorita_perfecta: (Smiling)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-12 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
“Whoa that is pretty amazing! They look like they are having a lot of fun too,” Isabela speaks as she continues to admire the scarf.

“Rose-Lia!”
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-12 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"Eevee-vee!" Evie exclaims.

"It looks like all of the designs are that creative," Radley muses. "Here's a Halloween one with Ghost Pokemon."
senorita_perfecta: (Smiling)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-14 08:09 am (UTC)(link)
“Noi-bat!” Félix smiles in eager delight as he takes a good look of the scarf in question.

“That one looks really good as well, the Ghost Pokémon look like they're having such a good time.”

“Roselia!”
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-15 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
"They sure do," Radley chuckles. "I might have to get that one. It's an itty-bit of home. Scotch loves Halloween."
senorita_perfecta: (Smirking)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-15 08:32 am (UTC)(link)
“Oh nice, that’s a good decision. I’m also going to get the Grass Pokémon tea party scarf as well since I do have a liking for the Grass Types after all.”

“Rose-lia, Lia!” Carmen approves as she lifts up her blue rose in the air in eagerness.
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-15 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Cool. Yeah, that'll look perfect on you," Radley smiles.

"Eevee-vee!" Evie exclaims.

Isla is looking at Pokemon earrings.
senorita_perfecta: (Smiling)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-16 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
“That’s great to hear. Makes for a great fashion piece and a nice vibe for me to boot,” she smiles back in return.

“Noibat?” Félix asks Isla as he flies in to see the earring she is looking at.

“Hey. It looks like Isla has found something that she is interested in getting today.”
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-17 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh yeah," Radley smiles.

"Eevee!" Isla says to Felix. She's looking at Eevee earrings.

"Those are cute," Radley says, noticing them. He wears earrings himself, so maybe he should get some for him too.
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-17 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
“Wow, these look really great. Perhaps Isla is trying to ask you if you would like to get those earrings?” Isabela speaks as she is also looking at the earrings as well.
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-18 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Vee!" Isla nods.

Radley chuckles. "You know, she is." He comes to look at them closer. "Maybe I will."
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-18 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
“Well then, if she thinks that the earrings are this beautiful, go right ahead and purchase it,” Isabela tells Radley in an encouraging voice, “I think that they would look very good on you.”

“Rose-Lia!” “Noibat!”
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-18 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah? Thanks," he smiles. "They would kinda fit the theme we've got going here."

His Eevees chorus in agreement and he takes the earrings to buy.
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-20 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they suggested to me to try out a charm bracelet with Pokémon charms that look like them to some form,” Isabela nods in agreement.
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-20 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
“That would be pretty cute,” Radley smiles. “They’ve probably got something like that here.”
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-22 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
“Nice! I would be interested in checking that.”

“Roselia! Lia,” Carmen informs her as she points at a bracelet display featuring various bracelets with adorable charms for sale and Isabela walks up to it to see the jewelry in display.

“Wow! These look really great, but which one should I get?”

“Lia, Roselia.”
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-22 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"Eevee-vee!" Evie exclaims. She sees some with Grass Pokemon, and also some loose charms to make custom bracelets!

"Wow, this person really goes all-out," Radley says as he comes to look.
senorita_perfecta: (Default)

[personal profile] senorita_perfecta 2025-04-25 08:50 am (UTC)(link)
“Lia, Lia!” Carmen nods in agreement as she admires the Grass Type Pokémon charms and bracelets.

“Wow! That is pretty amazing. Whoever made these charms and jewelry has to be this talented and creative to make them look so beautiful and amazing,” Isabela couldn’t help giving praise to the jewelry maker/stall owner.
crystalmaster: (Default)

[personal profile] crystalmaster 2025-04-25 09:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah! They could easily do it as their main job, if it isn't already," Radley said. He selected several different Eevee charms.