Pokémon Unite Holiday Event

Of course, since it had a Halloween event earlier, Pokémon Unite has to have a Holiday event, again in similar vein to other games and especially mobile games. The event started on December 15 along with the entry of a well-known dragon (Dragonite) on December 20 as another possible combatant Pokémon. That, along with all the other additional features of the event, make it something to enjoy during the current festive season.

As part of the event, two new arenas have entered the fray. Remoat Stadium - Snow and Ice is a special winter-themed edition of the regular Remoat Stadium, available for Standard matches. This new arena replaces some of the wild Pokémon with those that fit a wintry theme, including Articuno in place of Zapdos, though Rotom and Drednaw remain the same. Meanwhile, for Quick matches, there is the Snowball Battle in Shivre City arena, which is a more chaos-driven version of the regular Shivre City, similar to Halloween in Mer Stadium. Here, regular held items are replaced by an assortment of items exclusive to this arena with crazy functions, and when a Pokémon faints, it turns into a snowman and remains in place as it is revived; the whole arena may be alternatively described as "playing dodgeball". Both arenas are available throughout the event, which lasts until January 16.

In addition to the above, there are also new challenges. The Illumination Challenge is a challenge that is primarily focused on the Snowball Battle arena as above, with the objective of collecting "Lights" by completing certain tasks in order to light up a tree and receive some neat rewards. The tasks are divided into daily and challenge tasks, which should all be completable with frequent play. Then, there is the Photo Challenge, which involves collecting "snowflakes" in order to reveal bits and pieces of a picture while also receiving nifty rewards. Only 100 "snowflakes" can be collected each day from various matches, so one will have to be diligent and patient to collect all the "snowflakes", reveal the entire picture, and obtain the rewards. The former is available throughout the event, while the latter is available only up to January 6.

Besides Dragonite as above, there are also gifts abound, as with the Special Gifts. Daily gifts that change from day to day are given out from December 24 to January 1, while three other gifts can be claimed during Christmas, at the end of the year, and at the start of the next year. Though not exactly a "gift", a number of Pokémon have received Holowear that is appropriate to the season, which are also to be obtained during the limited period of the event; they are not exactly a "gift" because they still have to be purchased with a number of Aeos Gems, which is likely to be significant for any player. Regardless, they are free to obtain them if they wish and to regard them as the gift they are or should be.

Like the Halloween event, this event comes with special menu music and decorations on the main screen, including a tree and some seasonally appropriate Pokémon. The new arenas also have their own adapted musical suite that suits them and the event. All the details about the event are accessible directly from the tree and a present icon on the main menu.

The elements of this Holiday event are quite plentiful, but they all have the purpose of celebrating, just as people (and Pokémon) do in general at this time of year. As with the Halloween event, much of the determinants for that will take place in the battle arenas. Yet it may be that one can't help celebrating before and after the matches take place as the event progresses all the way into the new year, which is still a good thing.

One year ago: My Missing Pokémon Pieces in 2020

Two years ago: More on Sunner and Me

Three years ago: Wallpaper: 20th Movie - Remember and Continue

Four years ago: The First: Episode 001 - "Pokémon - I Choose You!"