What is the greatest thing/event you’ve seen in Pokémon/your time collecting?
Doesn’t have to be the most expensive item or most popular post on social media. But something that blew you away. Like seeing someone finally get a card they have been after or seeing people come together to help somebody.
Having Mrs. Himeno look through my Himeno binder was a pretty surreal experience.
Something you’ll always remember
Exploring the fifty shades of Base set during the noontide of the internet.
Much to the same line of thinking as PFM, attending artist events last season. The highs and the lows, every bit of those weekends I truly cherish.
Outside of artist signings and shared experiences, I’d day one of the greatedt things was seeing the first ever Test cards for the first time.
That and a copy of Snap Magikarp becoming public for the first time ever:
I just rewatched Scott’s video on the Magikarp last night! It blows my mind someone even found one of those. Cards with one known copy are insane.
TL;DR:
In recent years, the most memorable highlight was seeing the test cards and Beta Chansey for the first time. Coming from an engineering background, I’ve always admired the process of beginning with an idea and successfully building into a product. To finally see glimpses of that process for such an influential franchise, I still get goosebumps from that memory.
For more personal highlights, I have two:
Seeing Full Art cards for the very first time: I had just returned from my Pokemon hiatus due to college (for context: engineering school priorities are 1) not failing and 2) maybe a social life - in that order - sleep and hobbies were rare luxuries reserved for only the smartest of the class). I walked into a local card shop, and the very first full arts I ever saw were the Landorus EX and Skyla. I distinctly remember asking myself, “are these Pokemon cards with illustrations covering the entire card, AND the surface of the card has texture?? What happened in my absence?” Mind you, the most exotic art from Pokemon cards I remembered were gold star Pokemon extending their appendage past the border. I just remember staring at these cards for a solid 20 minutes before I ended up trading an Alakazam Gold Star for both of them. This trade marked my return into Pokemon card collecting post degree.
Worlds 2016 (I can’t believe we’re actually approaching a decade): San Francisco Worlds was a very wholesome experience. I had the opportunity to meet, for the very first time in person, many collectors whom I’ve interacted with online for years. All of us went through the comical awkwardness of introducing our names, then realizing in the process that our real names meant nothing so we instead introduced our usernames.
The unofficial trading area was a secluded alcove and hall that the staff permitted. Although the area was very packed, the atmosphere felt incredibly organic and genuine, a sensation I rarely feel at large events today. For example, in this hallway, I entered trade discussions for several less common cards including the 1st ed. no holo Dark Dragonite, inverted WB Electabuzz, and I offered a handful of comparable rarities such as a sealed E3 Red Cheeks and gold star & shining filler cards. During the nearly two hourlong discussions, the trade attracted roughly 20 onlookers, but there were zero interruptions out of respect for the trade and our discussions. By nature of growth and competition in the markets, the unfortunate reality is that the respect for these discussions, and the genuine interactions in general, have appeared to be less noticeable at many of these events.
In terms of other memorable highlights from the event, we got to spend an entire evening in @smpratte 's hotel room with a group of collectors geeking out over Pokemon cards, discussing how to identify fakes, what the future holds for Pokemon, and everyone’s confidence levels if they chose to turn their hobby to full time. Oh, and @gemmintpokemon provided his Ted Talk on his preferred portable light fixture when reviewing card conditions on the go. I was also able to review the condition of a raw Illustrator for the first time, and a man nonchalantly whips out x2 PSA 10 Trophy Kangs out of his pocket (boxes are overrated; jean pockets are large enough to snugly store two of them) and hands them to me for review because he was looking to liquidate. No one was looking for clout or stature - the people I met at the event were simply enjoying the different aspects of the hobby.
I’ve inevitably lost contact with a few folks over the years, but I’m grateful for all of the interactions and the people whom I am still in contact with today.
cpbog1
There’s so many great memories. I spent a few minutes thinking through them after reading @cpbog1 's post. It’s odd how things change. There were times in the hobby when I was completely private, to meeting people online, to meeting collectors at Worlds (SF 2016 was also my first Worlds), to being genuine friends with so many people. It’s easier to relate to the Pokemon Community than people I’ve known 20 years. There’s so many small quirks and challenges we can all relate to. It’s the best community to be a part of.
One memory that stands out is meeting Arita at 2018 Worlds in Nashville. @gottaketchumall (S tier friend) sold me a reverse LC Zard. We cracked it and waited patiently in line. @pfm was in line right behind me. I remember casually talking about how we’d go about the getting the card signed and it’d be cool to meet him. Then we were 10 people away, then 5. Artia was within view. Heart-rate increases, body is head to toe in goosebumps. It was all the memories of the boy who loved Pokemon and flipping through cards to seeing a newly discovered idol inches away. Talk about a moment I wasn’t prepared for. He signed it beautifully and we exchanged a few words. Afterwards, I remember being in shock; drowning in the newly minted memory. Pure bliss.
Memories like these keep the hobby young and fresh. I also believe it’s important to be there for other collectors as they create these experiences. It’s hard to remember where some relationships start and stop. It’s easy to tell when passion presents itself. There’s still many great things to come.
Gary’s listing trying to sell a full case of first edition base boxes in the early 2010’s for rock bottoms prices compared to today and people were making fun of him. Full on writing articles to make fun of him.
That was a hobby highlight for me too. It was my first autograph and Arita didn’t have the jaded vibe he has today. I didn’t realize how much of an experience it would be. I remember shaking and feeling like I was a surrogate for a newborn Dragonair auto.
I actually didn’t get an Arita autograph for myself until 2022. Of course, one of the cards I had to get done was a Dragonair 
Having only really been immersed back into the hobby in the last 3ish years, I think one of the recurring things I have seen that I always find so incredibly cool is the E4 Christmas exchange. Regrettably I was unable to participate this past year due to my work travels but I would love to in the future if I’m able.
As far as I’m concerned, it is absolutely no small thing that a bunch of people who (mostly) don’t know each other in person (or virtually, if at all) come together and participate in something solely for the benefit and joy of other people that share a common interest. It’s such a breath of fresh air to observe in a space that can so easily be turned to greed and misplaced trust with the wrong mix of people. And not only do people participate, they really dig in. They figure out what the person they are assigned to likes, what holes they have in their collection, they create custom artwork, hell - people buy things from another country for someone else, package it up all nice, and send it to yet another country, knowing full well they may not recoup what they put into it financially, but choose to do it anyways. The exchange event encapsulates everything good about the hobby and quite frankly life in general: showcasing a spirit of giving to others, sharing interests, social connection, renewed sense of gratitude and contentment, celebrating others’ joy, and overall being a light to others. I have found in my life I have never regretted it after being charitable to other people, quite literally the opposite: it’s life-giving in and of itself. It’s so cool that this forum has fostered that kind of interaction. So thank you to all of you for letting me play a small part in it and creating this tradition, which I hope lasts for a long time both in and outside of the bounds of this forum 
Getting the chance to meet one of the biggest collectors and hold an original and RAW(!) Pikachu Illustrator for the first time last year along with some other highend and trophy cards.
The first thing I thought of immediately was Worlds 2022 in London. It was the first time it was in Europe instead of the US or Japan, so of course I had to go. I met a lot of people from Efour and some YT channels. It was also amazing to sit in the audience and experience the hype of the finals, even if I never played the TCG or VGC myself. Of course meeting mr. Ishihara and getting an autographed poster from him was also amazing, as well as going out to some places in London with a group of Efour people (organized by @binx345. thanks again).
I will also quote from my collection post:
Greetz,
Quuador
Seeing a Gold Star for the first time at an LGS.
For someone who grew up in the ex era, Gold Stars were the biggest chase that no one in my friend group could pull. Years later, I saw a heavily played Gyarados.
Do you have gold stars now?
Not yet. I am saving up for the Rayquaza in a PSA 9, and I keep getting sidetracked with other collection goals.
That will be an awesome card. How much is that now a days?
I remember an older kid telling us in elementary school about this new card he saw in a magazine “gold stars.” After that I only ever saw 1 gold star in person as a kid. A kid had an alakazam gold star and I traded him a blaziken ex for it. Still have that alakazam.
