Pokemon TCG

[EEVILMURRAY]

I bought a tin with some booster packs from Gamestation yesterday. There was one booster which had Pokémon with types they technically aren't. EG a grass type Dragonair and a Psychic Vulpix, a few weird Ditto's too.

[Rion]

that's how their doin it now, cause i have an Electric Totodile, electric Crocnaw, electric Larvitar and pupitar, also a psychic typhlosion

[Hero-of-Time]

It's been a long time since I picked up some Pokemon cards. I nearly jumped in last year when the 151 set was released but hesitated and missed out. Smyths have an offer on at the moment that is buy 1 get 1 free on the base Scarlet and Violet set. Bought 10 packs (giving me 20) and spent a fair bit of time opening and ordering them. Felt like I was a kid again.

As I said, its been a long time since I bought some of these and so was a bit confused by the amount of shiny cards that are now available. I got a standard card but then a few packs later I got a shiny version of it. I guess every card can be a shiny now? Not a fan of that. Preferred it when there were just a select few that had that privilege.

I did snag this card (not my pic)...

...apparently it was the most sought after in this set for a while and sold for a decent price. It's not worth half as much these days but then I've no interest in buying these to sell on.

I think the collecting bug bit me when Pokemon cards popped up on a recent repeat of Dickinson's Real Deal.

[Glen-i]

13 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I think the collecting bug bit me when Pokemon cards popped up on a recent repeat of Dickinson's Real Deal.

Man, my Mum used to watch that all the time. And I was always there. Being bored, and not knowing a damn thing about what the hell they were talking about. Would've appreciated that just so I could be the knowledgable one for once.

I know full well how insane the prices of certain cards can be these days, but it's still surreal to think that they've gotten to the point that they can appear on some antique auction TV show, and my first reaction is "Yeah, that makes sense".

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Man, my Mum used to watch that all the time. And I was always there. Being bored, and not knowing a damn thing about what the hell they were talking about. Would've appreciated that just so I could be the knowledgable one for once.

The presenters didn't have a clue about them really. The woman offered the guy £500 and he turned it down and the cards went to bidding. Straight away it shot up to £2000 from a US buyer. The old people sitting in the bidding room were looking baffled, not knowing what was going on. Think it ended on £2200.

[Happenstance]

Never bought a single Pokémon card. I think it must have just passed my friend group by despite us all playing loads of the original Pokémon games. I'll need to ask Goafer, see if he remembers any of us with them.

[EEVILMURRAY]

14 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 

As I said, its been a long time since I bought some of these and so was a bit confused by the amount of shiny cards that are now available. I got a standard card but then a few packs later I got a shiny version of it. I guess every card can be a shiny now? Not a fan of that. Preferred it when there were just a select few that had that privilege.

 

Apart from your standard holo/full art/secret rares etc, each card has a reverse holo version. Every common/uncommon and trainer card.

Took some older cards to a card shop and got some monies for them. It's been awhile since I played competitively, might try being a judge again, especially after the WankGate scandal.

[Hero-of-Time]

20 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Apart from your standard holo/full art/secret rares etc, each card has a reverse holo version. Every common/uncommon and trainer card.

What about this one?

It's a rare, holo but then I got a reverse holo as well. Very confusing.

[EEVILMURRAY]

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

What about this one?

 

It's a rare, holo but then I got a reverse holo as well. Very confusing.

Wasn't really a thing back in t'day, but I'm not surprised they've done it to the rare holos as well.

[martinist]

I haven't bought pokemon cards in a while. I see the sets when i'm in Waterstones looking at manga i'm not going to buy. Think the last set i saw was Twilight Masquerade and Steller Crown. I have no interest in collecting cards right now. Have a few binders full of them. I see Dark Explorers and Dragons Exaulted going for quite a bit but my collections of those sets are incomplete. Really happy i pulled that secret rare red Gyarados though.

[Hero-of-Time]

Went up the attic to fish out my old binder that is in storage. I have a few complete sets from back in the day. Fossil, Jungle and Team Rocket are all complete. Need 3 for Gym Heroes and 5 for Base sets to be fully finished. 

My favourite from my collection is the Japanese Neo set. There was a small shop near where I live that sold imported Pokemon cards. I built up a good relationship with the owner and every time he opened a new box/ packets he would put aside any that I needed.

Anyway, here are some pics.

This last pic was a promotional set that was part of the Neo series. I remember buying it QVC!

[EEVILMURRAY]

Some nice Neo Genesis action there!

[Julius]

Funnily enough, I've been going back and forth on diving back into the Pokémon TCG these last few months and just giving myself a general view of what sort of cards are around and figuring out if there are any particular cards I'd want to pick up, etc. – I think I mainly want to look for cards I just like the look of, or cards of certain Pokémon/trainers I feel attached to; some of the full-art Trainer cards they put out these days are beautiful.

Which is all to say that this thread bump is absolutely perfectly timed @Hero-of-Time 

I used to be huuuuuuuuuge on the Pokémon TCG growing up, all of the cards I did manage to get art still at my parents' place, but had to stop collecting TCG of any kind for reasons I won't get into. It's been an interesting last few months figuring out what I want to do. I decided at the time to be sensible and save myself from buying any until I could buy some in-person, which has been scheduled in for a while now, as I'm off to Birmingham Toy Fair next Sunday with some mates. 

So, that could be a fun but potentially dangerous time (for my wallet)  

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Went up the attic to fish out my old binder that is in storage. I have a few complete sets from back in the day. Fossil, Jungle and Team Rocket are all complete. Need 3 for Gym Heroes and 5 for Base sets to be fully finished. 

My favourite from my collection is the Japanese Neo set. There was a small shop near where I live that sold imported Pokemon cards. I built up a good relationship with the owner and every time he opened a new box/ packets he would put aside any that I needed.

Anyway, here are some pics.

Lovely stuff H-o-T, that Typhlosion in particular is absolutely gorgeous, that's a really nice set. 

Thanks for sharing that story about your small local shop too, I really find with hobbies, finding someone who is just as enthusiastic about your enjoyment of the hobby as their own really elevates the experience (maybe that's why I've stuck around this place so long )

Actually, what got me back to thinking about Pokémon cards again a few months ago was coming across Coop's Collection on YouTube/Twitch and just seeing how incredibly generous and patient he is with kids who come to his stall, and it also just exposed me as to how lovely so much of the art on the cards is these days. 

The end of this clip really rounds off for me just how wholesome hobby communities and fandoms can be when they're at their best. 

I'm actually pretty excited now to see what I come across next Sunday, so hopefully there'll be some stuff there I want to pick up! 

[Glen-i]

9 hours ago, Julius said:

how lovely so much of the art on the cards is these days.

The artwork has improved leaps and bounds in comparison to the first bunch of sets, it is legit amazing and I can spend ages just looking at the artwork.

Pokémon Art Academy actually leans into this, as well as the typical "How to draw" lessons you'd expect from it, you can also learn about the guidelines artists follow when drawing a Pokémon illustration for the TCG, some fascinating stuff there.

[Hero-of-Time]

Ended up buying some more packs before the BOGOF offer ends on Monday. Think I've got enough now that I can stop buying the packs and just track down the singles that I need.

@Julius if you are looking to start collecting again I will send you my swaps. No charge. If you do want them, just PM me your details and I'll get them sent to you.