So, how did you get into collecting Pokemon cards and what’s your story? Did you collect as a kid, have you been in it since the beginning, or what? Do you mainly collect what was around when you were a kid, or not? Feel free to leave your most nostalgic stories, or not. Here’s mine.
I was actually into Pokemon when it was at its lowest point, during the EX series. I was in elementary school then. I remember walking down to the card shop and picking up one pack of EX Power Keepers with my allowance money, and getting a reverse rare Cradily. I remember trading for a Latias gold star on the bus (I had no idea what it was) and traded it to my friend for a bunch of ex cards, thinking I was getting gold in return. Eventually I sold all of my cards for $80. Don’t remember what I did with the money.
About two years ago my brother got a copy of Pokemon Diamond. I never had the money to buy a Game Boy as a kid, and had always wanted to play the games. After he finished, I played through it and was hooked. I got Pokemon Y about 6 months after it came out and loved everything new.
Some bored amazon browsing one day brought me back into card collecting. Now that I had a job and some money, I could afford to spend on those old ex cards I had loved so much, and new packs. I got a lot of those, before getting into eBay singles purchases and new products, and here I am now.
Collected as a kid base-rocket and moved a couple years ago when they resurfaced, decided I would finish off the rocket set for the sake of it and it was all over. currently collect English sets.
I remember when Base Set first came out. I used to walk down to the indoor market near my school to buy a pack at a time. I remember them being £2.50, which was a lot of money for a little kid to spend on some cards!
The first pack I ever opened contained a Venusar, and it blew my mind! Still a major contender for favourite card of all time.
I also pulled a Charizard from a 1st edition pack - the guy who owned the shop offered me £100 for it (we always ripped open the packs at the counter) and I declined. I was the first one in school to get one, and everyone wanted to check it out. Not sure the UK got shadowless packs - so probably just normal 1st edition?
I ended up trading that Charizard for the other 15 holos in one epic trade. That kid chased me down for the next few days demanding I trade back, and eventually got his parents involved!? That was when the cards got banned. I kept his cards, but really hated that kid haha.
I have strong memories of going to the big shopping mall to a trading event, and my friend getting nits in his hair, and his holo pidgeot stolen.
That’s about all I have to offer! Fast forward to now - still bloody love the base set, for all the nostalgia connected to it.
I collected as much as I could afford (and my grandparents could afford) as a kid. I lived in a small, family-oriented old-fashioned town and I would always walk into town to visit the toy store. They had a bunch of novelty and gimmicky toys, but they also had a glass case and behind it - cardboard boxes full of booster packs from WoTC sets.
I started collecting in 1999 or 2000. It is hard to say since I missed the initial release but came onto the scene prior to Neo Genesis. I was always thrilled to earn $3-5 doing yard work all day and then going to the card shop that weekend to buy a pack or two. Some days I’d walk in with $10 feeling like a king (of Pokemon cards). My favorite sets as a kid were Base, Neo Destiny, and EX Dragon.
I always had phenomenal luck. One day my grandmother took me to the Dollar Store and they happened to have Shadowless Base packs. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but she bought me several to open for being a good kid. Out of those three packs I managed to pull both Venusaur (already had one) and Charizard! I was stoked! It saddens me that I later sold that Charizard for a measly $7.
12 years later I flipped through my old cards and found a few worth a pretty penny. I decided to complete my Fossil and Jungle sets and fell in love with the hobby all over again. Here I am now as an exclusively Japanese card collector.
I remember, it was 1999 and I was 6 years old in grade 1. I bought my base set holo raichu to school and saw a boy named Hamish take it from my desk. I was quiet back then, so i got my brother who is 2 years older to confront Hamish and he got my card back
Another time me and my brother were out the front of our house, and all the neighborhood kids came over and were checking out our cards, they had a big stack of my cards in their hand. they done a trick were they held one of my holo cards up above their head and sparkled it in the light to get our attention on the card they were holding, then put some of my cards in their pocket. they stole my vaporeon that i got from a jungle deck, we only found out after my next door neighbor told me about it. so a few days later we were in the car with my dad driving down the street and we see the kids who stole my card, i told my dad and he pulled over and made them give us 5 of their holos in compensation for the vaporeon lol
Collected way back when base set was first released to the UK, back in the day I collected with my brother and we absolutely bossed the trades around school for years, gaining literally thousands of cards. I never had the heart to sell back then so I sleeved up all my holos and kept them in good condition. Being a few years older, I stopped collecting before my brother, only to find out he had taken our unsleeved holo stack (we are talking like hundreds here) inckuding crystal golem and lugia at school and had them taken off him by a lunch lady who never gave them back I’m certain she gave em to her kids. Historic waffle aside I was on ebay looking to see the value of the old WOTC packs just cos I was interested, saw they were decent money and then carried on looking through eBay, eventually finding the grand party, black star and masaki promos and decided to start again. Now the proud owner of the grand party card
My first exposure to pokemon cards was September 1999 at believe it or not my current girlfriend’s 6th birthday party (our families were good friends growing up). I met her older cousin there, he was the one with binder of pokemon cards, a complete 1st edition base set. I instantly fell in love with the cards. I also started hanging out with her cousin (mikey) and his dad (mike). They both taught me what cards are from which set, which rarity each card is, and how to spot out fake cards. My first trip to a card store was so memorable, I will never forget watching the owner open up 3 base set booster boxes just to find a Charizard, and he did not get one (so unlucky).
Mikey ended up becoming one of my best friends over the years and his dad Mike was a huge influence on my life. We used to go to the gym, ball games, vacations, concerts, everything. He was also the motivating force that convinced me to start dating his niece and we’ve been together for almost 4 years now. Unfortunately Mike was diagnosed with ALS in Feb. 2012 and passed away from the disease Aug. 2013. And one of the worst parts is his son Mikey only cared about his inheritance. Our ties have been completely shut-out. Though there is still a part of me that wishes we could have got back into collecting again together (And I know he still has that 1st ed. base set). I’ll never forget the good memories we had as kids though… and it all started because of Pokemon.
In fact my whole life has essentially been shaped just because of the Pokemon tcg and that one birthday party in 1999. It could have been anything I guess, but it happened to be Pokemon.
I will never forget my grandma taking me into a card shop once a week when I was around 6 or 7, and letting me buy one mini figure for $2 and a pack of cards. There was an unlimited charizard base set holo in the case at the shop, and every time I went in I always had to look at it. I remember it being $50 and it seemed like a million dollars at the time!
I’m certain she gave em to her kids. Historic waffle aside I was on ebay looking to see the value of the old WOTC packs just cos I was interested, saw they were decent money and then carried on looking through eBay, eventually finding the grand party, black star and masaki promos and decided to start again. Now the proud owner of the grand party card