That sketch is phenomenal and also very different from what we usually see. I have not seen many oversized head sketched by Arita. Congratulations on the lovely sketch / sig. Thanks for sharing your overall haul!
Cheers!
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Thank you for the kind words, I love the uniqueness of the sketch it’s really one of a kind! Here’s to the next autograph hunt hahaha 
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G’day everyone, it’s been a minute since I last updated this post, and boy oh boy do I have some goodies to share. But first, a quick update on my overall progress.
Over the past few months, I’ve been focusing on quality rather than quantity. My goal has been to upgrade what I already have, rather than shelling out cash on the latest set, especially with graded cards still being outrageously expensive.
Right, let’s start with some absolute bangers. Yesterday, Mitsuhiro Arita was signing at MegaCon in London, and boy oh boy did I make out like a bandit. With the help of my friends, I was able to get five items signed, but I want to start with the ultimate Lucario autograph.
I managed to have this beautiful pencil board made out to me, and the sketch is absolutely mind-blowing. It is without a doubt one of the best I have ever seen. One of my favourite moments was hearing Arita’s genuine surprise when I handed it to him. I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am for opportunities like this, moments where artists are willing to share their time, their memories, and their incredible talent with us.
I was also able to help my friend @Cyndacards with this flyer from the Battle Heroes promotion, and he managed to get it signed as well. To our knowledge, these are likely the only two signed examples in the world.
Even cooler still, I was able to achieve a personal goal of mine: completing a full art set of Lucario illustrations by Arita, all signed.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I never thought I would even come remotely close to getting so many of these signed, and I find myself more invested in and passionate about autographs than ever before. I am not sure if this is the only set of its kind in the world, but nonetheless, it is definitely one off my collection bucket list.
Another amazing victory was securing an additional HR Trophy card from the 2022 event. These cards are extremely limited, with only 2,000 printed in Japanese. I was able to secure another PSA 10 copy, which still feels unreal. I never thought I would own one of these, let alone three. I have no doubt that one day these beauties will finally get the recognition they deserve.
Thanks for reading as always guys, I am so stoked for 2026, it has been an awesome year so far and I’m sure that this is just the beginning!!!
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Really wonderful update. The Arita signatures are very cool and the Lucario is so clean. The one on the card is also superbly done, especially the full art face sketch. Congratulations on being able to aquire all of these signatures.
Having 3 of the HR promo copies in max grade is a great achievement. Awesome job on adding another card to your collection.
Thanks for sharing all the updates and the rundown of the signing event.
Cheers!
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It’s always a pleasure to share updates, thank you for following as always!!
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Just a quick little update today because I am still over the moon about this incredible autograph I was able to pick up! It’s from the Shibuzoh Art Gallery in New York a couple of weeks ago, and I honestly cannot stop smiling about it. Without a doubt, this is one of the most special autographs I have ever been lucky enough to receive. I am beyond grateful and so excited to finally share it!
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That is a very clean auto and such an awesome sketch. Congratulations on being able to get it. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
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Well, here we are again. Another month, a few more pooches for the pound.
First up is a pretty insane update to the autograph collection. This beautiful sketch is from Kagemaru Himeno and was signed last year. Thanks to the legendary PSA backlog doing what it does best, I only managed to get it back this month.
The sketch features one of her original artworks, which makes it extra special, and honestly I could not be happier with how it turned out. Pieces like this do not come around very often, so finally having it in hand feels like a huge win for the collection.
As for the master set, I managed to make two massive pickups. The first is the Mega Hyper Rare, and the second is a pop 7 XY reverse holo that I somehow managed to snag for an absolute steal. Both were big holes in the set, so finally knocking them out feels incredibly satisfying.
Work toward the master set is still ongoing. At the moment I am hovering around 98% completion with a 9.6 GPA, which feels close enough to taste but still just far enough away to be mildly annoying.
I have also started picking up ultra-modern Lucario again now that prices have finally calmed down a bit. The plan is to finish that up, add everything to the registry, and hopefully push the overall fullness of the collection a little higher.
On the bright side, I managed to source what looks like a very clean, well-centred copy of 079/PCG-P. The real test comes next Tuesday when the package gets opened and we discover whether the back is pristine or looks like NM+ on Cardmarket.
Thanks for reading, as always. The next few months are going to be crazy, and I cannot wait to keep you all updated!
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Feels like this is an understatement. That sketch is bloody phenomenal. Her original artwork so closely resembles a fantasy version of Lucario and really looks great. Very nice pickup! Great update as always and wishing you success as always in your quest to get the 10 with the Aura’s Lucario. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
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What an absolutely fantastic couple of weeks it’s been for the collection! I’ve made some incredible progress on both the autograph collection and ultra-modern Lucario, and I’m genuinely excited about how things are coming together. First, a quick recap of the PSA registry.
I’ve added a few new cards to the registry, which gave me a nice little bump. The weighted GPA is now up to 9.6, and there are still a few more modern cards I’m aiming to track down.
Now that the more routine bits are out of the way, it’s time for the really fun part 
the cardboard! These are the awesome returns I just got back from PSA.
(These two beauties are currently with my friend in America)
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Howdy folks!
I’m back with another collection update, and this one is packed with some seriously exciting additions! Over the past few months, I’ve made some crazy progress on a number of collecting goals, from picking up some incredible new autographs to upgrading a handful of lower-graded cards that had been on my radar for quite some time. On top of that, I’ve continued making strong progress on the modern side of the collection, adding plenty of new releases along the way.
To kick things off, let’s take a look at three new autographs I recently picked up, along with two that finally came back from grading after months of waiting (lol). What can I say, I absolutely love NC Empire’s work!
I’ve slowly been building a signed collection centred around the Brilliant Stars artwork, and these latest additions are some of my favourites yet. The graded pair were originally signed at Legends Expo last year and even feature custom artwork of some of the event’s characters right on the card.
The second duo is more impressive, featuring awesome hand drawn aura effects that make the artwork pop. Once again, these are the pre-release version of the card and the incredibly scarce COVID Staff variant. NC Empire absolutely knocked these out of the park. They rank among the most spectacular autographs I’ve ever seen in the hobby, and every time I look at them, I notice some new detail that makes me appreciate them even more.
To top it all off, I was also incredibly fortunate to get a Staff copy of Doublade signed by Yukihiro Tada! I am trying to branch out to more than just Lucario autos 
As always, I try to strike a balance between picking up the latest releases and hunting down older cards. One of my biggest goals as a collector is not only to improve upon the existing collection, but also to keep up with the absolute flood of modern Lucario cards that continue to be released!
I’m incredibly close to completing both and English and Japanese Mega sets, with just one card left to go: the Japanese Golden Mega Ultra Rare. I’m currently in the process of tracking it down, which means the finish line is finally within sight!
Some especially exciting highlights in the collection are the Prize Pack Series 8 and POP Series 8 cards.
Thanks for reading as always, very exciting times to be a Lucario collector 
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Hello again, everyone! Not a massive update today, but I wanted to show off a few very interesting slabbed Lucario that I’ve managed to add to the collection.
First and foremost, a huge shoutout to @sylveonthebeach for the incredible help with these recent pickups!
The first addition is this beautiful Lucario signed by the one and only Midori Harada. Considering Harada no longer signs cards and there is only one Lucario card illustrated by her, this could very well be the only Lucario ever signed by her. I absolutely love the little goofy Ditto detail as well!
The second pickup is this lovely coin, which is the first graded coin I have ever owned, and what a way to start! It’s an absolute beauty.
The weirdest thing also happened and I found a bargain on PWCC, with this massive jumbo of one of my favourite Mega Lucario cards.
On top of that, I somehow managed to randomly grade a Pop 1 Thai B2S promo.
As for the Master Set progress, it remains parked for now, but I’ve been putting a lot of effort into improving the overall quality of the collection while continuing to maintain the list. Since 2025, I’ve managed to increase the GPA weighted score by 0.12, which I’m really happy with.
Looking ahead at future collection goals, I’ve unfortunately been priced out of some eras, such as XY and Diamond & Pearl. However, whenever I see a 9 or 10 of a more obscure card come up, I’ll definitely be looking to jump on it.
I also recently took a pretty disheartening hit to my confidence in the Master Set after a few 079/PCG-P cards came back as PSA 8s. Despite that, I’ll continue to keep my head held high. A massive thank you to @xscizorr for helping lift my spirits when I was feeling down.
The journey continues, and I’m excited to see where the collection goes next!
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I love reading these updates! I am so glad that you are still continuing to pursue the masterset my friend. You have been a big inspiration to my own collection and many others!!
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