The first question has already been answered, but in short: more and more Pokémon collectors are coming back for the nostalgia, and everyone seems to have more and more money… We saw a spike of returning collectors in 2016 when Pokémon GO was released, and it’s been on a rise since. And there was definitely a huge spike (just search the recent T17 Typhlosion threads to get an idea) a few months back, as was already mentioned in the comments above. Prices are pretty crazy in general these days, although you can still buy most bulk for normal going prices. 
As for PokeSynd:
I do miss him sometimes though. It was fun hearing him talk about his bestingtons noraritans.
But I’ve seen some posts on IG after he left the forum, and he was indeed shit-talking about Scott, Gary, and E4 in general… Haven’t heard anything from him anymore in the past two years. Regardless, he was a fun dude to have around back then, and definitely eccentric.
Although we still have more than enough chaos on the forum these days tbh. 
Anyway, welcome back!
Greetz,
Quuador