I think I would still end up collecting something but pokemon has definitely been a very dynamic, unique hobby for me, I’m not sure what could ever replace it!
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I probably wouldve gotten more sucked into yugioh or mtg. I played quite a bit of magic up until around 2012 and ive always loved the original yugioh anime and card game. I still play on my consoles, but dont collect either of the cards anymore. Maybe would have put more effort into dnd as well. I got to play when 3.5 was a thing and i loved it, but its hard to find groups that take newbies these days.
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Like many here, I am just a huge collector as a whole and always have been.
Lego and Yu-Gi-Oh I also was heavily involved in playing/collecting throughout my childhood alongside Pokémon, Therefore, I likely would be even more into that now (which both are much more casual collections currently) if Pokémon didn’t exist.
Without a doubt, my main collection would be hockey cards and hockey memorabilia. It is already a big part of my collecting focus, but without Pokémon I would likely be completely engulfed (more than I already am) in all things hockey collecting.
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I feel like I probably would have stuck with Neopets more. It’s pretty nostalgic for me. The online game, plushies, magazine subscriptions, tcg. It’s kind of lack luster in comparison to Pokémon, but I know I created my first neopets account back in 2005 (with my grandmothers help, I was 8/9 years old 
). If not, probably gems. 
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If Pokemon never existed, I would have probably gotten into another competitive TCG like MtG or dare I say it… Yugioh 
But I already collect sports cards as well, so that’s an easy fall back
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I was also really into Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid, so I could definitely see leaning in that direction. I also collected a ton of Red Sox memorabilia (not just cards) and that could be fun to get into again!
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I think if Pokemon was never made I would have gotten into collecting more Mario or Zelda merchandise. I also think I would’ve been more intentional about going back and buying more sealed games that I grew up with.
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My father was always a collector of various things, mainly dog tags (and cat tags actually…kind of an oddball item), chauffeurs badges, deer hunting badges and licenses, arrowheads, police badges and patches, and license plates. I think he gave me the collecting itch early, and had Pokemon not come into my life I likely would have continued on with one of these collections.
I was always particularly fond of his State Police license plate collection as well as the old Michigan license plates that showed “Winter Wonderland”, “Water Wonderland”, and “Water-Winter Wonderland”. Hunting down those plates and meeting new collectors throughout the state (and country) was always so much fun for me. Such great memories!
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Seeing as sports cards are almost impossible to get the correct variation in a 1/1 of rarity and beanie babies were made out the wazoo… nah, Pokemon or death!
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