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I've been an on-and-off Pokemon card collector for 13 years now, and while I've always enjoyed the collection aspect, there's no doubt that the hobby has... shifted slightly in the last few years. However, with a new goal and mindset, I'm now having more fun with it than ever before, and I'm once again feeling the magic for one of the best card games after the prominence of resellers killed my enthusiasm.
In the Pokemon trading card game (TCG) space, it's a universal experience to want to collect the rarest cards – not much beats the thrill of seeing something cool and sparkly at the back of a pack – but since around 2020, for many people, it's become less about the cards, and more about their value. It's extremely rare we see new TCG sets release these days without being immediately resold to oblivion at launch and beyond, with folks buying as much stock as possible to either resell it sealed, or rip open the packs to resell the hits, all at ridiculously inflated prices. Look, I think Ascended Heroes's Mega Gengar secret illustration rare is as cool as the next person, but you can't tell me that a new card that's still being printed could possibly be truly worth over $3,000.
The latest set is just a few weeks away, and as demonstrated by our guide on where to buy Pokemon TCG Pitch Black, it's already proving very difficult to find. As of right now, your best bet is shopping at Walmart - but beware, because it's all overpriced.
You now see this monetary-focused mentality in a lot of TCG content, even if it's not from resellers. There's nothing inherently sinister about it, but content creators listing the value of all the cards they pull drives the normalization of the idea that the potential resale value is the most important aspect of collecting, and more money equals a better pull.
I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with this if that's how you enjoy the hobby most, but for me, it's honestly sucked a lot of the joy out of it. I mean, for a start, the level of reselling means it's not all that often you even see packs in stores at regular prices, and as a casual collector, I'm definitely not about to start paying triple or more for them.
Beauty in bulk
Simply, I realized I'm not cut out for how many people seem to be engaging with TCG these days, so I needed to find a different way to enjoy the hobby. Well, what better way than appreciating my stacks of bulk?
Bulk – the common, non-hits that make up the majority of the cards you'll get in a pack – aren't usually worth much. They're the ones listed as being worth pennies on those aforementioned videos, and many hit-chasers skip over them entirely just to look at the last few cards to see if they got anything rare. Anyone who's opened packs over the years will inevitably have a lot, and looking at mine, a thought crossed my mind – how much of the complete Pokedex might I have collected over the years? How many more would I need to get to complete a full (and enormous) Pokedex binder?
I'm not the first to have this idea, of course, but as soon as I set about figuring out how many Pokemon I had, I was already looking at my collection in a whole new light. Obviously, there are multiple different cards for every Pokemon, but I decided it made sense to make my Dex as personal as possible by picking only my favourite artwork for each one. It makes for an eclectic mix of cards, and it's somewhat odd to see a common from Plasma Blast alongside one from Perfect Order, but that didn't matter – I was assembling a collage of favorites, built on years of love for the franchise.
In terms of what comes next, Pokemon just introduced a new card rarity with gorgeous 30th Celebration collection.
As for what I had already, well, I'm certainly not close to done. While I have a significant amount of the Kanto, Hoenn, and Unova 'mons, overall I'm only around a third of the way there. But honestly? I'm glad this is the case.
That's because it's already affecting the way I think about my new cards as I open them. I recently did my first opening of the latest TCG set, Chaos Rising, and my new goal gave me a surprising chase card.
Stunky is one of my favorite Pokemon. I think real-life skunks are adorable, and as someone who grew up with Pokemon Pearl and Platinum, the existence of the little Diamond-exclusive Poison-type was flaunted in my face for years, despite me never being able to use one. I was thrilled to finally play Diamond in my adulthood and put a Stunky on my team, and I've had a soft spot for it ever since.
A new goal
Alas, there are not many Stunky cards. Up to now, nine existed, and none from sets I'd opened. But looking through the card list for Chaos Rising, I saw something – my beloved skunk was a common card, and not only that, this one had the cutest art out of all the previous Stunky cards that have ever existed.
Needless to say, I had a goal. Looking at the illustration and secret illustration rares in the set, I was also eyeing up the adorable Cinccino SIR, but Stunky had to come home, and nothing else mattered.
Over the course of 17 packs, I was lucky enough to open a gorgeous Crobat illustration rare, as well as an ultra rare Mega Floette ex, but it was only in the last three packs that it finally happened. There it was, the common Stunky – immediately followed by an uncommon Skuntank to complete the evolutionary line. It was like it was meant to be, and I can honestly say that those two cards sparked way more joy than any of the objectively rarer hits I pulled during the course of the opening.
Although Stunky was a highlight, it was a joy for every pack to see what new Pokemon I could add to my physical dex, and it once again makes me glad that I still have so many missing. It'd be easy to get carried away and commit to buying all the missing cards I need right now, but I've decided I want this to be a long-term project. I can't imagine how long it's going to take, but I'm looking forward to slowly building it up each time I get my hands on new packs, something I suspect I'm probably more likely to do more often now that I'm not chasing the unlikely hits alongside everyone else. My chase cards now just got weirder, and I can't wait to find out who my next underrated hit is.
For suggestions of what to play next, why not check out the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs?
