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the_plateau2025-02-16 01:02 pm
indigo_league) wrote in the_plateau2025-02-16 01:02 pm
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Swinub Scurry Info
What's happening?
The Swinub Scurry is a tradition in Blackthorn City! Every other Winter, trainers bring their hardiest Pokemon and compete in a sled race through the wilderness surrounding Blackthorn. The race length is such that trainers will need to spend one to two nights in the Winter wilderness, managing survival, navigation, and wild Pokemon much stronger than those found on the normal routes.
There's some extra prestige in winning, but most participants are celebrated for just finishing the course. The foremost rule of the Swinub Scurry is that the race stays "open" until everyone has either made it to the end or given up or needed a rescue. There are always people at the finish line ready to cheer racers arriving, day and night (taking shifts if they need to)!
This beloved tradition has been out of the spotlight in recent years, with local organizers getting snooty about trainers without influential family roots in Blackthorn participating. In the past, petty local politics and old money have done a poor job of advertising the event, even though it was ostensibly tourist friendly. Now, the old guard is on its way out, and this year the organizing committee is looking to change things up! Trainers will see fliers in towns across Johto and Kanto inviting them to this seasonal event!
What's the origin of this tradition, anyway?
It's lost to time! Every local family will tell the story differently, but most agree that it has something to do with Swinub herding when their population spikes every couple of seasons!
Can my character already know about this, if they've been here a while?
Absolutely! The "bad at advertising and snooty about entrants" part is there to explain why characters wouldn't have heard of it or participated before... but if you'd like to handwave that your character was aware, or even a long-time fan, please feel free!
How do characters enter? Are there restrictions on Pokemon that can be used?
Show up to Blackthorn City and sign up (for free)! Characters can even be provided with a loaned sled and harnesses... with the caveat that these are just whatever sleds the organizing committee could scrounge up. Most repeat competitors will have fancier sleds in much nicer condition, so characters may want to consider buying, renting, or borrowing a better sled from somewhere around town.
As for Pokemon restrictions - the Pokemon must pull the sled, with their trainer and all their supplies on it. No getting on your flying Pokemon and swooping to the end! Otherwise, Pokemon are not generally restricted by species from entering... but the number of Pokemon you may enter will depend on their size and strength. Someone entering an Onix will be limited to just the one, someone entering Stantler may have several, and someone who's decided their sled will be pulled by Skwovet(??) will be allowed an absolute legion of the lil guys. The event organizers have League permission to temporarily disable the six Pokemon limit within the event grounds.
You may also enter a variety of Pokemon, keeping in mind the above restrictions! That said... this is usually not recommended, simply because species of Pokemon have quite different gaits and behaviors and will start tripping over each other if they're pulling a sled together. There's a reason that nearly all the repeat racers have a single species team. That said: you can probably get away with, say, harnessing up a few similarly-sized canine Pokemon. And borrowing Pokemon from other trainers to fill out your team is fine too!
So... there are NPC competitors?
There sure are. In general, you're welcome to make up NPCs as you like for threads - but we'll start you off with some examples.
The two trainers currently most favored to win are the up and coming Saeki, racing with a team of Manectrics, and long-time veteran and repeat winner Kakube, with a team of Sawsbuck. Saeki is a woman of few words - the gossip is that she gets along with her Pokemon far better than people. But maybe she's just a very private person, or shy! She started racing four years ago and has been just short of a win both those races; she clearly takes it very seriously. Kakube, meanwhile, is one of the traditionalists, and is unhappy about outsiders being allowed to enter. He's not personally the type to sabotage people, but he is going to give other entrants nasty looks. He and his Pokemon are also very good at this... but they're starting to slow down a bit as they age.
The most controversial, perhaps even infamous entrant is old man Junzo, who - for decades - has been entering a team comprised entirely of Shuckle. More Shuckle than one could easily count at a glance. He's finished the race every time! But he's invariably been the last person across the finish line, and usually by then the crowd is getting kind of tired of standing out in the snow, freezing, for That Shuckle Guy to finally arrive so they can officially end the race. Some people respect his dedication; others think he gets some kind of sick satisfaction out of making people wait.
Can characters win anything? How will winning be decided?
Anyone who completes the course will be given a medal and - optionally - a special Swinub egg! Special how? You'll just have to find out...
Beyond that, though, people who finish the course faster get primarily bragging rights and prestige! Well, and if you place in the top 3, the inns and restaurants around Blackthorn will be clamouring to have you stay or eat for free for the next couple weeks, before the fuss dies down.
To sign up for the race, comment HERE with which Pokemon your character is using and any other details you think we should know. In addition, you must participate on the IC log with at least one top level or comment.
Based on your Pokemon and how convincing your details are, we'll be giving entrants 1, 2, or 3 "raffle" tickets. We'll mix those entries in with some NPCs and then do random draws until we've pulled out everyone's name. We'll be announcing results on Feb 28th, though ICly this will have happened on Feb 23rd!
(You can also tell us that you want your character to have failed to complete the race, and have needed a rescue! In that case, they may still get the Swinub egg as a consolation prize, as long as you have that top level or comment. No medal though, womp womp.)
What if my character doesn't want to race? Will there be other stuff to do?
Absolutely! For a spectator the most exciting parts of the race proper are the beginning, when everyone sets out, and then roughly a day later, when the speediest racers start to get back. In the time in between, Blackthorn City will be arranging entertainment: food stands, performances, its own winter market with stalls... anything to get you to shop local with your hard-earned money! And throughout the actual event, there will be updates from race officials on flying Pokemon, sending commentary and (this year, for the first time!) video back to the main stage.
After the race, the festivities will continue, so that racers also get their chance to enjoy!
More details on this will be forthcoming with the IC log, which will be going up within the next two days - a bit ahead of the IC events! (We want to give people extra time to rp and get that comment in!)
One minor bonus - characters who attend will be able to buy eggs from visiting Pokemon breeders! What does this mean? You may handwave your character obtaining Ice Pokemon eggs of your choice at this event, regardless of how rare they are or if they’re local. (But they must still be Pokemon available in the game somewhere - no Legendaries - and they won’t have any special Hidden Abilities, moves, or so on.)
Characters can also volunteer to help with the race - either generally behind the scenes, or specifically on-call as a rescuer in case any racers get into trouble. To do the latter, you will need a team of high-levelled Pokemon, including at least one speedy flyer. (You may assume that some NPCs will need to be rescued, even if no player characters do!)
Like racers, volunteers are eligible for a Swinub egg (but not a medal). Comment in the same place HERE, provide a link to at least one top level or comment on the IC log, and let us know that your character is volunteering, not racing.
Re: RACING
So what’s so special about this egg? Well: these eggs have all been donated by a local (mostly) retired Breeder!
When the egg hatches, this Swinub will be fast. Extremely fast. In video game terms, it has absolutely maxed out Speed IVs and then some. The Forbidden 32 Speed. In addition, it will hatch with the following moves: Fissure, Freeze-Dry, Icicle Crash, High Horsepower, Icicle Spear, Stealth Rock, Substitute, Stomping Tantrum, Sandstorm, Haze, Reversal, Rest, Sleep Talk, Trailblaze, and Endeavor.
Finally, there’s a chance for these eggs to hatch shiny! The random roll for Doppio says… unfortunately, you didn’t luck out! But still, what a little powerhouse of a Pokemon.
...
Hold on, actually, there’s one more thing… Doppio gets the dubious honor of being the character randomly chosen to catch Gym Leader Clair cheating!
But wait, you say, she was watching the race, wasn’t she? How could she have also been participating?
Well… as it turns out, Clair has a little bit of a history with the Swinub Scurry. Two years ago she was banned from racing because of constantly initiating battles during the Scurry. Apparently that hasn’t stopped her - her plan this year was to fly in on her Aerodactyl and swap with another entrant partway through, only revealing herself once she’d won the race! Doppio would have happened to be in the exact right spot to witness this swap going on.
Never one to take defeat with grace, Clair notes that she’s been had with a deer-in-the-headlights stare in Doppio’s direction, bewilderment and frustration blending in her glare. Doppio will be able to swear she muttered "Nobody will believe you," but… it wouldn’t be unreasonable if he were skeptical of the threat.
It’s up to you whether she was caught because Doppio reported her, or whether Doppio kept quiet and some of the race officials also saw her. Either way, the race officials will have disqualified her and ejected her from the race without publicizing the details. Doppio can now decide if, how, and with whom he chooses to share this knowledge!