Winter Holiday Inspiration: Details Within Holiday 2021 Leon

Written By NatAttack862 .

One of my favorite characters from the franchise is Leon. One of my favorite Ice units in Pokémon Masters EX is Holiday (2021) Leon. This unit has Leon teaming up with Ice Rider Calyrex. During this even, he’s tasked with delivering presents to the people of Pasio to the point that he’s too focused on finishing the task and has unintentionally isolated himself from his friends and family. Which isn’t helped by his poor sense of direction. Calyrex, taking a page out of the Crown Tundra, possessing Sawyer to let Leon know that, despite how admirable he’s being, Leon deserves to enjoy himself and should spend time with the people he cares about before those ties get cut. It’s a neat little storyline, and of the 2021 Holidays units I have, it’s my favorite. It’s a nice was to explore Leon’s desire to help others and how being Champion (or in this storyline’s case a Santa-esque figure) can effect, not only himself, but the people around him.

With this being one of my favorite units to use and one of my favorite “noncanonical” outfits, I thought I would take a closer look at the outfit. I decided to break it down by what the most likely inspirations are as well as speculating what else could be behind this outfit.

It is worth mentioning that neither Serebii, any of the Wikis, or the official Pokemon Masters website seem to go into detail about the thought process or inspiration behind it. So while the design may have a very straightforward answer that doesn’t need elaboration, I thought I’d go over some of the inspiration that might not be considered. Like how Leon’s outfit seems to have inspiration from multiple versions of Santa Claus, possible reasons why they went with Ice Rider Calyrex as opposed to just Glastier or any other Ice type, and a brief history behind the Mitsuuroko symbols and why they may have been included. So, while some of this may be speculation, I did look into a few topics for the units potential inspiration.

Santa Claus

Though this event is more of an ambiguous/nonspecific winter holiday event, looking at the outfit, there’s no denying that it’s an homage to Santa Claus. The hat/cap is very much like most iterations of Santa’s and his coat is longer. Though the length of Santa’s coat can vary depending on the illustration and/or time period, Carnegie Mellon Today provides an image from one of the earlier illustrations for T’was the Night Before Christmas. This particular illustration shows Santa with a long red jacket that stops an inch or so above the ankle. Much like Leon’s.

The only real difference being that the base color for this unit is green, whereas Santa is, presently, more associated with red. However, there was a time when red was not commonly associated with Santa. Father Christmas was known for wearing green. With Galar being an England/UK inspired region, and Father Christmas being associated with English traditions, it would make sense that the unit would use Father Christmas as an inspiration and use green.

Then there’s the EX colors. For those who may not be familiar with it, EX refers to a unit that unlocks 6 Star, the highest level a unit can obtain. Unlocking this will max out the unit’s strength and give the unit some kind of boost, usually for it’s sync move, be it increased power or hitting all opponents. It also will give the unit an alt color to swap into.

For Leon’s Holiday 2021 unit, instead of swapping out to match Ice Rider Calyrex’s colors, the coat swaps out the primarily green color to a red color. Because of this, the outfit really plays up the Santa inspiration.

Mitsuuroko

On the bottom of his coat, you’ll notice the symbols. If you are a fan of, or at the very least familiar with, the Legend of Zelda franchise, you may recognize these symbols as the Triforce. While this could be an Easter Egg for one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises, the symbol does have a historical origin.

Based on the emblem for the Hōjō Clan, a thirteenth clan, this symbol is known as Mitsuuroku or Mitsu Uroko, which can be translated as “three scales”. This is a popular symbol in Japan and has appeared in various ways. Such as temples, clothing, and so on.

Why Does This Outfit Have Mitsuuroko?

Neither the Bulbapedia, Masters EX Wiki, nor the Masters EX page state why this detail was added. With it being a popular symbol, it could be a simple aesthetic choice. However, the most likely reason, is because of Calyrex. Since Calyrex’s beads have the symbol on them, it would make sense that Leon’s outfit would incorporate it in some fashion. Several units in the game will swap their outfits normal color scheme to match their Pokémon’s when you unlock their sixth star (EX state). For instance, Leon’s base unit will use Charizard’s colors, May swaps out her red outfit with a blue one to match Swampert (which could also be a nod to how she swaps out bandana colors based on the game you’re playing), and Piers will swap out his colors for shiny Obstagoon’s colors. So Leon sporting the Mistuuroko on his coat because of Calyrex isn’t too farfetched. Plus, even if someone only recognizes it from the Legend of Zelda, it’s still recognizable.

The Number 3 (A Theory)

With Galar being based on the UK and the number three being significant in Celtic beliefs, I feel like this could have been a potentially unintended reference. The Celts, while spanning over Europe, are more commonly associated with Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Brittiany (Britain). One symbol, or in this case number, that has good association is the number three. This can be seen with symbols like the Celtic Knot and Triquetra, and in deities like the Morrigan, who has been depicted as one or three deities. “The Significance of the Celtic Triquetra” also mentions how the number three is associatedwith creation and existence.

Do I think Pokémon, and by extent Dena, considered this when crafting Calyrex and later Leon’s Holiday alt? Probably not, but I do think that it’s a fun little coincidence.

Ice Rider Calyrex? Any Potential References?

The more obvious reason that Leon would have Ice Rider Calyrex would be the fact that this unit was introduced during the 2021 Holiday event. The annual events they use typically revolve around a holiday or the games anniversary. For instance Palentine’s units is a play on Valentine’s Day and any unit released during this event will be referenced as such, this year Wallace got his first alt during the New Year’s event, and so on and so forth.

As I mentioned earlier, the Holidays event isn’t explicitly stated to be a “Christmas” event, though it could be. Especially since the the units and the story during these events give off that vibe. If I had to guess, they were probably mixing some recognizable elements associated with Christmas, alongside other elements associated with winter festivities/holidays. Because, while people do celebrate Christmas in Japan, it isn’t as big in Japan as it may be in the U.S. or other countries.

Holiday/Winter Symbolism

The Holiday units tend to follow some form of winter or winter holiday area. For instance, an Ice type or a Pokemon with a winter pattern like Nessa, Viola, Whittney, and Rosa. It could also have to do with the lights you’ll see, like how Jasmine is paired with Ampharos, which had a whole quest involving a light house. Erika and Comfey probably has to do with the fact that Comfey’s inspiration, the lei, has a few uses/meanings, including celebration, which makes sense for holidays like Christmas or other similar holidays. For Seibold and Octillery, one of the things it symbolizes in Japan, namely red octopi, is good fortune/luck (https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/spirit-totem-power-animal-meanings/fish/octopus-symbolism-meaning/#OctopusJapan). So this could be a nod to how people will wish for good luck or fortune in the new year. The same could be said for Skyla and Togekiss since several of Togekiss’ entries state how it brings blessings, kindness, and good fortune. Which would fit these kinds of holidays.

As for why Leon is paired with Ice Rider Calyrex, it’s most likely because it’s an Ice type (Ice/Psychic if we’re being more technical). Ice types have an easier time fitting into general winter vibes and winter holidays like Christmas. Delibird, for instance, has elements inspired by Santa and gift giving. Abomisnow would be a great reference for pine trees during winter or after it snows. And so on and so forth. So choosing Glastrier, and by extent Ice Rider Calyrex, over Spectrier and Shadow Rider Calyrex makes sense because this unit was introduced during a winder event.

Christmas

If we look at the unit for Christmas inspired, Glastrier could also be a stand in for Santa’s reindeer. Especially since Leon was delivering presents like Pasio’s very own Santa. And while Stantler would be a better representation of one of Santa’s reindeer, they may have wanted to give Leon something that fit his champion status. So giving him a legendary, like they did with his Sygna Suit, would make sense.

As for Calyrex, which I’ll get to individually in the next point, I could using it as a reference to the Three Wise Men/Three Kings/Three Magi. This is mostly speculation on my part, but with Calyrex being dubbed the “King of the Bountiful Harvest”, that could be one way to explain why Leon has Ice Rider Calyrex as opposed to having either Glastrier or Calyrex. And just like how the Three Kings gave gifts, Calyrex gives the gift of a bountiful harvest.

King of the Bountiful Harvest and the King of Galar

When it comes to Calyrex units, I’ll admit I’m a little surprised that it wasn’t paired with Peony. In the Crown Tundra DLC, Calyrex uses Pwony as its translator for the King of the Bountiful Harvest quest. And while Peony would more than likely debut with Copperajah (as his and Rose’s were caught together),

While there may not be confirmed lore or insight into why Leon’s paired with Ice Rider Calyrex, a reason could be drawn from Calyrex’s title and the meaning behind Leon’s name. Calyrex is known as the King of the Bountiful Harvest, which can be attributed to how in some PokéDex it helps with crops and provides blessings.

Leon, all the while, gets his name from two different sources. Depending on the country, his name will either be a form of Leon or Dande, a shortened version of Dandelion (ex. his Japanese name). Two languages that the name Leon originates from is Greek and French and means lion. And what is the common title for the lion? The “King of the Jungle”. So, in essence, this unit consists of two kings. The same could be said for whenever they use Dande since dandelions get their name from the French word '“la dent de lion” meaning Lion’s Tooth. So I could see it as it being a unit of two kings so to speak.

Those are my theories for why Ice Rider Clayrex may have been paired with Leon for this unit.

Conclusion

This was a fun little breakdown of one of my favorite Pokémon Masters units. I hope you enjoyed this little breakdown. If you’ve played Pokémon Masters, what’s you’re favorite Holiday unit?

Sources

NatAttack862 .