Looking good Mike! Glad I could help.
Very nice! You just need the other ANA promos and they would look smashing besides eachother (Trio birds)
Thanks everyone 
I do agree…the ana cards are a must. They are part of what I affectionately call “the staple cards”. I will most likely complete the set but they are not too high on my list atm…well maybe articuno! There are a bunch of cards that I need to get graded in the next couple months that have priority.
What are the staple cards in your opinion Mike? I’m just wondering! I always had the Fan Club trio and the Masaki quintet in mine but I’m looking to see which other cards members value like those ones.
2003 Sweepstakes Lottery set
Pal city set
8 lucky stadiums
Grand Party
Masaki set
The fan club set is A more expensive set compared to the above mention so anybody is lucky to have a set IMO.
For me, I keep my staple cards “old school”…and relatively modest in price.
Here are mine:
Jp Birthday Pikachu ( 2nd anniv)
Jp Ancient mew
ANA cards
Jp Surfing Pikachu
Jp Flying Pikachu
Jp Lily pad mew
Grand party Promo
1st edition charizard
To me these cards embody what the pokemon phenomenon was about…I can’t think of one single card that does that better than birthday pikachu. (Shame for those who paid $500) 
I would agree that the masaki and fan clubs are a must have for every serious collector but those are getting more in the top-tier level in my mind. Just my two cents.
I agree Mike. I think the 1st edition charizard is a must must. I remember hoping for a charizard in every pack! I pulled one and remember the exact memory of it.
LOL that is a little ridiculous of me to call a $800 ish set a “collection staple”. My perception of expensive has been shockingly warped after paying over 4K for individual cards… Maybe I’d be better to call the Fan Club trio a “want list staple”, they make a unique and brilliant set in my opinion.
I must say that Grand Party, Birthday Pikachu, and 1st edition Charizard are definitely up there. The grand party has that trophy card feel at an affordable price, it’s a big must have for me. The Birthday Pika has really nice artwork and a cool backstory. Don’t even get me started on 1st edition Charizard, anyone who can muster the money to pay its sky-high price tag should do so. It sums up everything that got me into Pokemon and it’s a symbol of the TCG to non-collectors and those want to be collectors alike. Some of my friends couldn’t care less about trophy cards but ALL of them would love to own that priceless childhood relic that is Charizard.
Haze - you have me eternally jealous, who knows what I would give to have the opportunity to open one from a pack. I pulled two Blastoises a couple years ago however, 
one got a 9 and one got a 10.
@jason it’s a moment I won’t forget. Blastoise is the second best though 
and would love to eventually get one.
@jason: Hahaha It’s understandable…$800 for three cards are seems like a bargin when compared to $4k for one. I guess whenever you have been collecting for a while its hard not to get jaded as these card prices continue to increase. For me, any card over $200 in the “expensive category”.
On a side note: The grand party promo card is in the same “certification card” category as the original trophy cards/illustrator in the official guide book 2000.
@haze: I remember pulling a first edition German charizard from a pack back in 2000. Ahhh good memories Sadly that card store closed its doors within a year and a half. Man i miss physical card stores… That reminds me…I need to add the German and English 1st edition charizards on the ever expanding “grade” list 
Yeah my perception is now very off 
I buy cheaper cards without a care now, it’s rather alarming.
I have a phenomenal local card store 5 minutes from my house. They stock all new Pokemon cards and all that stuff and they organise play etc. I’m thinking one of these days I’ll bike over there and show them a trophy Pika or something. I frequently wonder if anyone there would be interested in seeing that stuff! They’re pretty hardcore about trading cards.
I wish there was a local card store around me! I am honestly jealous. If you want Starbucks, whole foods, nordstroms, Tiffany or a new Lotus then your in luck. But if you actually want to do something interesting or fun…nope! Ugh I need to move.
Ditto to that!
We have a card store, but it is MTG and I’m not stepping inside when they are RPing, which they always do…
I live in a small town Mike, cool things like that card store are a dime a dozen but we certainly don’t have any of the things you have listed (we have one Starbucks in a Chapters lol). Some people like small towns some people hate it. I’m moving to a big city as soon as I can get into a grad school in one!
I would love to live in a small town that had neat stores like that. I have nothing out here that caters to hobbies or interests. But like you said, it is all a matter of preference. I would like to visit a large city one day but i don’t think i could live in one.
hahaha wow we got side tracked from cards
That seems to be my specialty I ALWAYS seem to get off topic.
I live in a city like Mike. There’s plenty of high end store/ Starbucks but no small businesses anymore. It is sort of sad 
You guys are forgetting the CoroCoro Shining Mew ;D
Oh good one! That one is too nice not to have