Christmas Special: "Holiday Hi-Jynx" Review

Season 1, Episode Number Apocryphal, Original Air Date: October 5, 1998 (JP), December 11, 1999 (US)

Hello again, and Merry Christmas. So, what have I decided to do for my Christmas special? Well, it just so happens there's a Pokémon Christmas special. In fact, there's more than one. There are several shorts under the name “Pikachu's Christmas Vacation” and “Pikachu's Winter Vacation”, but those are a matter for another day. The one I have chosen for Christmas this year is the first of such

a special, “Holiday Hi-Jynx.” So, let's open it up.

We open on a house on a hill. Well, it looks like the old Addams Family place has been

well-maintained over the years.

It seems that Team Rocket is planning to capture Santa Claus. I don't know, the last guy that tried to do that ended up dissolving into a bunch of bugs. James remarks that he feels like a guinea pig in a gunny sack. Probably because we haven't come up with any guinea pig Pokémon yet.

From that point, we get a flashback that explains why they want to capture Santa Claus.

It depicts Jessie as a little girl anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.

She gets so impatient that she throws her doll at the mantle and it breaks. Someone comes down the chimney, but it's not Santa Claus, it's Jynx. Ho boy, I'm not going to avoid talking about her, am I? Well, the reason this special doesn't air very often in America (and is currently unavailable officially) is because of Jynx. Why? Well, even though Jynx was meant as a parody of the “ganguro” fashion trend (which was also skewered by Jessie and James in “Battle Aboard the St. Anne”.); some parties deemed her a stereotype of black people. Jynx would later be recolored to purple because of this.

Three and a half minutes in, and cue Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu. They notice something on the beach and decide to go check it out. 

Ash attempts to capture the Jynx, and sends Pikachu after it. Even so, Jynx manages to get the upper hand. She uses Lovely Kiss, which puts the opponent into a deep sleep.

Misty notices that Jynx is holding a boot, and she suggests that the boot must belong to the Jynx's trainer. Of course! People are always misplacing their boots! The boot has a picture of Santa Claus in it. So, Santa Claus put a picture of himself in his boot.  In the Japanese version, he wrote his name in katakana in the lining.

Jynx then tries to kiss Brock, much to Brock's dismay.

Jynx then decided to mind-meld with them. She shares the experience she had when she was cleaning the boot and an ice floe broke off and sent her to the sea.

The gang agrees to help Jynx get back to the North Pole. So, they decide to travel to the North Pole by raft. Well, I've seen stranger ways to get there. They paddle for a bit, and get tuckered out. They decide to use their Pokémon to pull the raft, and they get tuckered out as well. That's why I give mine lots of Protein, Iron, and Carbos.  Still not deterred, Ash strips down to his boxers to pull the boat.

Suddenly, a wave rocks the boat and Ash gets separated from the others. Then, before him and his underwear, a Lapras appears. It's not the same Lapras that he had in the Orange Islands, but it's still pretty good. Lapras takes Ash back to the others, and agrees to help them get to the North Pole.

Team Rocket is in hot pursuit of everyone. It always amused me that Team Rocket had a pedal submarine. If I had the money, I would fund that for an amusement park attraction.

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu reach the North Pole. I also note that this is long before the newer games started having players dress for the cold. It's anime, so hypothermia won't happen even in their late-90s street attire. I should point out how the North Pole looks a lot like the Fortress of Solitude.

Team Rocket arrives, but fail to complete their motto due to the cold. By the way, the thing that Meowth is under is a “Kotatsu”, a type of heated table that people gather around in Japan during the winter.

Anyway, Jessie is under the impression that Santa Claus is a Jynx because of what was revealed in the flashback at the beginning of the episode. Ash, Brock, and Misty all laugh at them. Good one, Team Rocket! Next I suppose you'll tell me that this franchise is just a fad! We soon see Santa's workshop, which is depicted as a Christmas tree made of ice. I guess lower overhead helped fund it.

Inside, all the workers are Jynx, making toys for the big night. Santa remarks that his boot is still missing, and his toes will freeze if he attempts to deliver the toys without it.

Team Rocket returns the boot, but they also tie up Santa, Ash, Brock and Misty and steal the presents. This reminds me of some Tim Allen movie. Not the one with Martin Short, I don't care for that one. Now comes the part that's different depending on which version of the special you watch, and I don't mean in the sense of “picture in the boot instead of katakana.”

Jynx mind-melds with Jessie, and Santa tells that Jynx brought the doll to his workshop so he

could fix it. In the dubbed version, Jessie no longer believed in Santa Claus, so he was powerless to visit her again. In the Japanese version, she had moved out of the house she used to live in. (It's implied that her birth mother was in Team Rocket and went missing, presumed dead, which resulted in Jessie being shuttled around in foster care until she enlisted herself.)

Even after Jessie gets her beloved childhood doll back, she still decides to ruin Christmas for everyone else by stealing the presents. Why those Scrooges! Ash has his Charmander burn the ropes. About why Charmander is here instead of Charizard: this episode was produced before the “Electric Soldier Porygon” incident that caused seizures in nearly 700 people. At this point, Ash still had Charmander, and the episode did not air in Japan until later.  The Jynx gather together and use their psychic powers to grab the Gyarados sub and shake the presents out of it. I think this calls for some dramatic caroling.

With Team Rocket vanquished, Santa begins his run. His sleigh is driven by a flying Rapidash.  

With Christmas snow and their gifts in hand, Ash, Pikachu; Brock and Misty have a happy end.

Team Rocket on the other hand, can expect nothing but coal this year. Then, a familiar

Jynx comes in the window. To all a good night!

“Holiday Hi-Jynx” is one of the traditions I took up in recent years. I watch the special

every Christmas and enjoy it heartily. It's one of my favorite Christmas specials. My belated look at "Pokémon Shipwreck" will be out soon, I will have it ready after Christmas. Season's Greetings!