Now that Ash’s journey is coming to an end - figured this was a good time to post this. (It’s a moderate essay fyi, It is what it is ha.)
I first got into Pokémon in 1999 and was the first person to bring Pokémon cards into my school and kicked off the Pokémon craze in my year. I went on collecting until Rocket/Gym era and then got way too distracted with girls, relationships, Habbo hotel, and going out drinking.
Then came 2016 and Pokémon Go. (I downloaded a few weeks earlier than the UK release by using some weird location tactic) I became slightly obsessed with it. But the game wasn’t enough. I felt the pull back to cards. So I bought 4 evolution packs on Amazon for (and I kid you not) about 15 quid (15 pounds/ 20 dollars ish) and I pulled some cool full arts of mewtwo and dragonite. Which I thought was awesome. But it wasn’t quite it.
I thought to myself - wait why don’t I just buy the originals of these as the evolution cards just seemed lower quality and weird. I ransacked my entire flat and found my folder of childhood Pokémon holos ( all the good shiz) and then found a shopping bag of Pokémon bulk in the back of a box in a cupboard. I was fully back in.
So - this is when I lost control like a scatter gun. And in all the good ways. I was single at the time with very little responsibility and just went ham buying fossil, jungle and rocket packs on eBay for 15-20 quid a pop. I restarted collecting wotc stuff I had as a kid - I discovered Scott and E4 who I can’t thank enough for multiple reasons - financial, goals wise and just general discussion. For the next few years I grew a pretty serious card and sealed collection up until covid hit.
Yeah - then the covid hit. And I lost my job and moved into my girlfriends house. Pokémon stuff went to the moon. So I sold some stuff. For way more than I bought. And I started making a fair wedge in stuff I didn’t want or need. I then reinvested this stuff and created a full time collectables business ( I’m a general memorabilia and games collector also - not just Pokémon )
One day during lockdown - I was sifting through Pokémon bulk and thought wait - I’ve never ACTUALLY played this game or ever tried to learn properly. So I looked up the rules and watched some vintage games on YouTube. And thus created a new obsession. Vintage deck building and learning to play vintage Pokémon took my collecting and knowledge to a different place entirely. I was suddenly collecting heavy played versions of playable and versatile cards as well as cards for binders. It really gave me a new appreciation for collecting and I can’t recommend it enough. Seriously. And I know there are lots of you on here who collect these cards that have never played the game. It’s fun as hell. The vintage game is nothing like the modern game which in my opinion sucks. They ruined it. But if you’ve got a stack of bulk energy and some played base-rocket I really recommend learning the game and giving it a go with friends. But you may be at risk of collecting too many dog-eared fossil ditto and jungle Scyther.
If you’ve read this far - this is where me and my girlfriend split up - the country opened back up. I worked a shitty kitchen job for a while and then quit to do full time eBay which I’ve been doing since May 2022. And yeah life is good man. I’ve sucked all my school friends into playing vintage Pokémon with me and they like it. And I have cool Pokémon slabs all around my flat much to the amusement and bemusement of visitors. Don’t care. It doesn’t matter what people think. They actually usually find it cool after they realise how cool I think it is.
Collect what you want. And travel across the land.
James