My whole life has been collecting one thing or another. Cards, records, movies, movie posters, comics, autographs, sketches, books, games, videogames, manga, toys, legos, disney merch, pins, stamps, coins, currency, comic statues, tools, crafts, knowledge, and memories. I have collected countless things for as long as I can remember, these are just the parts of collections that are in the room with me at this moment, nothing collected as in depth as pokemon though.
If I had to choose something physical to collect, I’d probably start collecting artist sketches again. It’s always wonderous to see what come from another mind and how it can take a recognizable form in front of you.
Probably comics. I used to read comics a lot when I was younger - Green Lantern, X-men, Spider Man/Venom etc. if I didn’t re-discover Pokémon, I think i would have slipped in.
I used to collect rocks and minerals a long time ago as a kid, but in adulthood, I wouldn’t really say I actively collect anything aside from Pokemon. I do pick up penny souvenirs when the occasion arises and random things like random Chinese manga volumes whenever I visit Taiwan (which is not very often), but these aren’t very consistent (and I don’t try to make them consistent). I generally don’t like spending money, so it took me a while before I even took the dive into Pokemon.
I pretty much just collect Pokemon. Used to collect Lego very very heavily but it was mostly star wars and when Disney took over they sorta killed my enthusiasm
I also enjoy shooting sports and gravitate toward mechanical things so for a stint I was collecting firearms from the 1800s (lever action rifles, single action revolvers etc) but found myself using them too much and getting really bummed out when I’d put a chip in a beautiful stock that someone hand carved a couple hundred years ago.
So only Pokemon now. I must admit though I’ve been eyeing red eyes black dragon…
I already collect postcards, mostly cool scenes and local history. I also collect video games, specifically the original xbox and playstation 3 (going for a worldwide complete variant set). I’m honestly not sure what else I’d see myself collecting. Maybe, WW2 memorabilia? I was pretty into WW2 era history in high school.
I’m collecting since my childhood, it’s all started with car scale models which my parents always bought me before. Then I’ve lost interest and started “collecting” mechanical keyboards from Japan (can’t say that it was a real collection coz the maximum quantity was 10 keyboards), still have like 9 of them. I don’t really know if I had any other collecting interest if I didn’t started my Pokemon collection.
I’m in the exact same boat as you, other than Pokémon cards, I always feel the itch to buy vintage Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and older Pokémon games. I might also get into Lego, I have fond memories of trading Star Wars minifigures on the playground too.