I’m nearly 40 and my 5 year old has started his interest with Pokémon, I want to get him into collecting Pokémon cards as something we can bond over.
Is Paldea Evolved a good starting point?
9 Likes
What Pokémon does he like?
For collecting, go to tcgplayer and get some of the cheapest cards of his favorites to get him started.
I’d get him a few packs to open and maybe a pre built deck to learn how to play and have some fun.
6 Likes
any SV era set is a decent place to start if you want to open some packs and get the excitement pumping through your blood. Paldea Evolved has A LOT of amazing hits, so yall should have a lot of fun if you get any.
It also has quite a few strong playable cards in case your kiddo wants to learn how to play some day
2 Likes
Yup. I think tins are great options too since you get the flashy promo cards. For a 5 year old I think just about anything card related is fine. When I was that age I didnt really know what I was opening, but I liked it still.
Also, if you havent already I would get them a binder to store their cards. The 151 binder collection is a neat product and the set is great too.
2 Likes
I’d see which pokemon they like and you can search for cards on ebay, tcgplayer or other sites. There are very affordable cards for pretty much every pokemon, especially modern cards! Modern is also the most accessible for openings. There is plenty of product available at major retailers or online. Perhaps after finding out what pokemon they like, you can search set lists online and buy product for a set that contains more of what they enjoy.
5 Likes
He plays Pokémon sword and Scarlett on the switch. I guess anything to do with those two games would be a good starting point.
1 Like
If you guys are just starting out random booster packs are a pretty good bet. Walmart, target, gamestop, pretty much anything you will find there will have pokemon he will recognize. Once you guys find what you really like dial in your niche and start looking at tcgplayer or local fb marketplace for deals on things you guys really like! My 8 year old still loves packs, but has really started to hone in on the eevee evolutions so i think once he realizes he can get more of what he likes for cheaper and without the let down of a gamble his collection will really start to grow. Glad to have you here!
3 Likes
niece
8
Welcome!.As others have said start with Pokemon that are their favorites. Maybe what Pokemon they use on switch. Rip some packs and just enjoy!
1 Like
For a 5 year old would suggest a couple different options, pick whichever sounds most fun for you guys:
-
Go on tcgplayer, look up favorite Pokemon, buy some cool looking holos or ultra rares. If you don’t care about the playing meta decks or collecting the 1 card everyone wants (which a 5 year old shouldn’t), there are a ton of great cards in this category available for 25 cents to a dollar or two available. You will get wayyyy more bang for your buck going this route compared to ripping packs.
-
Buy packs or tins/boxes of modern packs. The modern market has cooled off from the pandemic, so there are even deals avaialble occasionally. If you just want ot have some fun ripping packs and don’t care much about the set, keep an eye open for deals, plenty of them for 20-50% off popping up lately. Great place to follow this is: https://www.reddit.com/r/PKMNTCGDeals/
-
Or if finding the absolute best deal isn’t of top concern, find a local game store, let the little guy pick out a couple packs, and support a local business 
To give you an idea of expected pack odds (this example is Paldean fates, similar pattern for any set):
Packs are around $5. Basically Shiny Ultra rares are 1 in 13 packs. Normal holo shiny rares are 1 in 4 packs. Or you can buy a bunch of them for $1-2 each.
koala
10
2 starter decks to learn how to play together
and a 1-2 booster packs from each of last year’s sets to experience all different types of cards, Pokémon, and card art
- Scarlet & Violet
- Paldea Evolved
- Obsidian Flames
- 151
- Paradox Rift
I’ll also suggest the anime series Pokémon Horizons coming in English to Netflix this March 7, if he’s too young to play games on Switch
3 Likes
bk2021
11
Scarlet & Violet and Paldea Evolved are 100% only Pokemon you find in the video games. So if you did want to get packs those would be the best.
Paldean Fates has a lot of shiny Pokemon from the games as well.
Dyl
12
I agree with @koala about the Pokemon anime. If you have trouble finding a specific season on existing platforms, I would recommend using this website. I would also recommend watching the Pokemon movies together. Anime + the video games should help your kid develop relationships quicker with the Pokemon. And it’ll be a ton of fun to watch together with some snacks.
1 Like
This is more unpopular of an opinion but I wouldn’t even bother with buying singles. When i was that age all I wanted to do was buy packs and open them. Most of the time it didnt matter if I got a hit cause at that age we appreciate the simpler things like the cool looking common. I also think with the current card pool that it could get too overwhelming for him at this moment with how many different variations of one pokemon there can be. Just keep going to your local store and buy packs here and there. And also unpopular, let him destroy the cards if he wants to (if you are getting very valuable like $20+ pulls maybe try not to on those) but at 5 years old, his enjoyment is in the moment and not what the card can be worth in 15 years. I personally think that trying to restrict how he enjoys his cards by forcing them to be in sleeves and binders might damage how he feels about collecting cards at that age.
2 Likes
