Written by Jim Ziegler

Real-world holidays can be a bit odd when they’re incorporated into games and other fantasy worlds. Often there’s some handwaving so that all of the Christmas trappings can be observed during Winter Veil or another thinly-veiled adaptation that avoids raising questions like “is Christianity practiced in Azeroth?” or “do only Fomori celebrate Christmas, or did Jace introduce it to Loot?”

 

Other settings, like Pokémon, embrace the holiday exactly how we celebrate it, with some minor alterations. The Pokémon anime has aired multiple Christmas specials, establishing Santa as a real person (within the Pokémon world, that is), with a revolving team of Pokémon assistants replacing his elves.

 

The Pokémon that help Santa change as new generations are released. You would assume that a team of Stantler pull Santa’s sleigh, and you’d be right… except that the first Christmas Special, Holiday Hi-Jynx, came out before Stantler was introduced, so Santa’s reindeer are instead replaced by a Ponyta. And instead of elves, he has Jynx.

 

If you haven’t see that episode, there’s a good reason for it: Jynx was originally designed with black skin, with an appearance similar to Dragon Ball’s Mr. Popo, but her design was revised following criticism that she represented negative black stereotypes. The design has since been revised to have purple skin, and that change has been applied to Japanese reruns of Holiday Hi-Jynx, but the episode remains banned in the United States.

 

If you dig around, you can still find most of the banned episodes, including Holiday Hi-Jinx, but you don’t need to look too far to add a little Pika power to your holidays: the mind-blowing Pokémon Christmas Bash album is available in its entirety on YouTube and Spotify. And if you need some last-minute gifts, Gam3Escape has the gear for all of your favorite games.

 

Happy Holidays from the Gam3Escape team!

 

HOLIDAY HOURS

December 24: 3:00 - 6:00pm

December 25, Closed

December 31, 3:00 - 6:00pm

January 1: Closed

 

IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON

Standard Constructed Tournament

Sunday, 3:00 PM

Show everyone that you’re the best! Like no one ever was! Join the battle at the weekly Standard Constructed Tournament! Regulation F, no deck list required. Entry fee: $7.

 

Pokémon League Casual Play

Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon

Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10

 

Pokémon GO Scavenger Hunt

Grab an achievement sheet in-store and GO out to collect them! Complete the scavenger sheet to earn a booster pack and a promo pack, and to be entered into a drawing for an Elite Trainer Box and other prizes. Entry fee: $10 

 

GATHER FOR MAGIC

Standard Constructed

Friday, 6:00 PM

Standard constructed tournament. Entry fee: $10

 

Casual Commander

Monday and Saturday at 6:00 PM

The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes!

 

Commonder-ish League

Thursday,  6:00 PM.

Build a commander deck using only commons & uncommons in the 99. Build from in-store bulk, or bring your deck, and compete against others with similar decks. Each week you’ll earn a pack and a pull to add to the deck. Ban list applies, proxies not permitted (but c’mon, they’re commons), and deck list required. Entry fee: $10

 

TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh!

Advanced Constructed Tournament

Friday, 7pm & Saturday, 2:00 PM

Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

Azurite Sea Lorcana League

Monday, & Saturday, 6:30 PM

The adventures in the Inklands continue with Locana League. Bring your sealed deck, or join the fun! The initial entry fee includes a starter deck of your choice, a booster pack, and a 200-card deck box to keep your sealed cards from getting mixed up with your collection. Entry fee: $25 (one-time charge)

STAR WARS: UNLIMITED

Casual Play League

Saturday 1:00 PM, Sunday 5:00 PM

Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. 

THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)!

Casual Warhammer

Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. 

CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD!

Divinez Constructed Tournament

Monday, 5:30 PM

Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6

Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor