The Question of the Day is a way to facilitate community discussion to help members ponder the unanswered questions of the world that are somehow relating to the hobby. Questions are many times open ended and up to interpretation. Feel free to post your thoughts in as much or as little detail as you’d like.
Helpful Considerations may or may not help some people focus their answer, these are blurred to not bother those who have their own ideas.
Today’s Question: QotD: Is Charizard still top dog?(This was a suggested question)
Helpful Considerations: Do you think Charizard is still the most popular Pokemon in the TCG? Has that title gone to another Pokemon like Umbreon, Gengar or Rayquaza lately? Will younger generations still see Charizard the same way as older collectors do?
long answer: those other ones u mentioned def seem more popular currently but only coz their cards have stonked the most (has any charbar even stonked past the 2021 price???)
gengar: great pokemon from 1st gen, the only ghost type (although there were basically no ghost type moves in the game so wasnt really used outside of competitive). dragonite was always the best pull and worth the most from fossil until very recently.
rayquaza: king of gen 3, probably always has been the most popular poke from that gen. but gen 3 isnt gen 1.
umbreon: probably the most popular poke today, basically only due to moonbreon/evolving skies basically being the best ultra modern set. still not entirely sure how we got there since i dont remember it being even close to the most popular poke of 2nd gen (espeon was way more useful in game)
charizard: king of gen 1, has always been the most popular poke in the entire franchis after maybe only pikachu. 1st edition charbar has always been the most valuable card (as a kid i remember card shops stonking the single since basically it came out )
Charizard has taken a back seat in the latter half of S/V TCG sets. Umbreon seems to be the TCG favorite these days. With regard to the S/V anime, Rayquaza - specifically ‘the black Rayquaza’ - has become the most idolized.
This is the year of Eevee, so I expect that Umbreon will reign supreme for some time. That said, trends come and go, I expect Charizard to have staying power regardless of whether it is featured often in the TCG.
I think it will remain among the top dogs, as one of the kings of vintage.
My theory is that Charizard gained its status thanks to the people exposed to the anime, the og gameboy games and base set, which combined with the solid ‘dragon-like’ design (trendy in the90s?) gave birth to a predestined fan favorite.
As the demographic shifted toward people who haven’t grown up with all these factors in mind, other Pokemon are getting prioritized instead, like Umbreon, Gengar, Mew and Rayquaza.
There’s also the possibility that collectors simply got tired of Charizord, after being everyone’s favorite, after all the reprints, new forms in the games, seeing the same damn Arita art everywhere during the pandemic.
The third possibility is that people like doing what’s others are doing, but also they love feeling “special” and more unique in doing so: in a society where collecting cards isn’t as exclusive as it once was, the charizord club maybe doesn’t meet the coolness criteria anymore, and it’s actually considered a “too basic” form of collecting.
Charizard is still a top dog, and its prominence has only fallen a bit because of intentional placement of other characters at the forefront. They knew what they were doing when they put that damn moon on the umbreon card, and rayquaza and mewtwo are always strong “bring back players that have fallen off games and TCG” levers
Charizard from first gen always will be top dog in my opinion.
Umbreon is definitely a close second.
I feel like Rayquaza really only has its gold star card that is making it in 3rd place.
Remember when 1st edition Lugia from Neo use to be part of these types of conversations?
If trends do change from what we are seeing now I think it will depend on what the ptcc does for the mega evolutions in the new game coming out , then what they decide to do for the 30th anniversary. Maybe gold star reprints of the hard to purchase cards like Rayquaza.
almost 2,000,000 graded charizard cards at PSA
More than any other character in the world
More than michael jordan (second place) more than pikachu. Much more than umbreon and the like
charizard cards routinely sell the fastest for me including the current gen. The psa10 prices dont necessarily command top dollar outside of 151 zard in the current gen but there is reason as to why. Terastal crowns dont seem to work well with a menacing mon like charizard and there is fatigue from him being thrown in so many sets and promos. Just needs a break. No doubt that zard will reign supreme and be the top chase in the upcoming gen with Mega pokemon
also, his vintage cards are through the roof right now. 1st edition base psa10 just sold for $325k. and all his 1999-2016 cards are soaring in price atm
I always thought Pikachu was the top dog. Most expensive card, probably the most set card appearances, the number of promos, trophies… beyond the tcg I think its fair to say pikachu, being the mascot and all, is and will always be the most recognized/popular pokemon there will ever be.
(has any charbar even stonked past the 2021 price???)
