Me every day on the forum.
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And here I thought you secretly started posting as swoobotā¦
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Not so much. At the current hype its hard to not have people complain and thats a turn off for a lot of people and current values slowed down a lot of people.
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Thatās true. Like I mentioned before things definitely feel different than even a few years ago. Like the vibe is just different
Pretty much, plus a bunch of other, equally worthless shit. It all feels veryā¦post-hahbee. The party ended a long time ago but itās a long walk home and itās tough getting up from the couch. The only reason Iām here is because of my E4 posse, and we talk more about food and this weekās bullshit than we talk about collecting.
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While I agree in concept (because I donāt believe that being over negative helps), i donāt think itās fair to compare your situation in 2017 with that of people struggling nowadays.
I donāt think it has always been like this.
I was a teen back then, collecting on grandmaās allowance, but sure enough 150$/year got me 80% of wotc, a full skyridge non-holo set (mint), a masaki, a NM base2 charizord, a sealed squirtle/bulba intro deck, vending, many JP promos, and ton of fun buying junk lots on ebay.
That world literally got wiped out in a time span so brief that people are still failing to accept the new status quo. Itās not entitlement, many are simply frustrated. Some are starting to be priced out from unremarkable set cards, not trophies or 1st edition grails.
It objectively sucks especially considering that the gap between those who have the āassetsā, a LLC or simply make bank, and the normal dudes, has widened so much that you often have literal millionaires telling you to take a L and move on.
When people will stop complaining then it will mean the replacement of collectors with high-earners, side-hustlers and broccoli-heads will be complete.
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Yeah itās a weird feeling.
It feels like the āpokemon hobbyā donāt even exists anymore. Itās just some old dudes in hoodies talking about how expensive this or that. They not are pokemon fans.
Butā¦where are the fans thenā¦
Nobody even has a genuine conversation anymore. Itās all about if you have that popular card/ETB or not.
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I lost access to my vyvanse prescription due to a move & new regulations, which hindered my ability to focus and write longer term articles. Hasnāt been great I need to get it back.
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I touched grass.
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Another concern is how much of the last year or so desensitises the collecting space to a point weāll forget how good it was before. As for the entitlement point @Cerulean made, I think most understand that PokĆ©mon is a luxury and a form of escapism but to have to even point out it is non-essential becomes a grim reminder of the gradual livelihood erosion down to ā the essentials. It is a fantasy IP and they donāt want to be reminded of that
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I participate to the community via alternative platforms
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Simply put, most of my participation on the forums/Discord happens when Iām buying and I havenāt been buying heavily for the past few years. A combination of my own financial situation, general economic factors, and the steep price increases in many cards has made it very difficult for me to buy often. There are still collection goals I want to achieve, but Iām doing it much slower than I did in the late 2010s/early 2020s. Pokemon cards are not a necessity for survival and accepting that you wonāt get everything you want is a normal part of life.
I think koala made a great point, though. If youāre a person who struggles financially, emotionally, or any other way and Pokemon cards are your escapism, to see your hobby become flooded with toxicity (not on E4, to be clear; I mean toxicity in other spaces) and to see so many cards skyrocket out of your affordability, it may be hard to continue being involved in the hobby. Even if you adjust your goals and expectations, as Iām sure weāve all had to at various points in our collecting journeys, itās hard to deal with your escapist hobby just becoming a reflection of the things youāre trying to escape in the first place.
Sorry if this comes off too much as therapy instead of a straight answer to the question 
itās been on my mind a lot lately.
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I also need you to get your prescription back lol
I enjoy reading your old articles, they inspire me
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I enjoy lurking too much!
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Iāve had a long break from the hobby and efour but now back into collecting as much as Iāve ever been. Canāt give you a reason why Iāve had a break, just that life happens and pokemon isnāt at the forefront of my mind 24/7 all the time - absence makes the heart grow fonder so they say.
I reckon Iāve had 3 pokemon cycles in my life. Must be my addictive personality but funny how it goes in peaks and troughs.
Thereās a reason why I keep getting drawn back to the forum and Scottās patreon.
Heres to the next 20 years
Belch
P.S Having just re-read this post and reflected on the reason why Iāve got back into it, Iām going through a shitty spell in my personal life where Iāve just had a child and going through a breakup at the same time. Violin playing!!
Pokemon has, and always will, be there for me, and as sad as it sounds, shiny cupboard provides comfort and a welcomed distraction.
Shit happens but that shadowless border will always make me smile 
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Sending you good vibes and support from your Efour family
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Welp, glad I opened the forum today to see this lol.
Ill try to summarize my absence in a positive sense, as I know this question for me can be very heavy of an opinion and I truly donāt want to sound like a downer.
Discord was my first reason for abandoning the forum since itās just easier to use. I much prefer the fast chatting format so I can speak more naturally since once I get into post style talks im mostly criticizing myself for the way im writing and constantly editing my words for fear of how I sound to others (self doubt has a lovely way of showing up to the occasion, amirite?)
Moving forward, Iāve since been pretty MIA from there as well these days. Ill still pop in once and a while, and thereās some great friends Ive made that ill DM with here and there too, but I feel a weird disconnect from myself as a person now and the community around Pokemon overall. I know things never stay the same and life moves on, ever changing and moving in cycles, but im at a very complex time of my life where I just donāt feel the same connection I once did with others.
Iāll elaborate on that a little more in depth. Most people know me to be a very open person, especially about feelings and emotions and my mental health and well being. I come from a very tough life (another well known fact about myself which ive spoken about a lot) and Pokemon for me was always my fun escape (and still is, naturally). I love talking with others about what I enjoy and what I love, and I love hearing others profess the same to me, and through that bond the most joyous thing is when I see a hobby break from an activity to a lifelong friendship. And thatās exactly what I believed to have made through lots of people the more I was around. Though this is where it gets dicey. I had a series of well, hardships hit me in my personal life (ongoing, but holding up) which coincided with all these wild new changes in the collecting sphere. This is nothing really new to me, since hitting walls and experiencing things like loss and other grief filled things are not foreign to me. However, what I started to see was the longer I was away from Pokemon as a whole, the more I just felt like I was never there to begin with and that primary reason kind of stemmed from what I believe I represented when I was more active. I remember a time people would describe me as āthe plush guyā or āthe gen 2 guyā, or even āthe dedenne collectorā and these were all lovely and nice things I too enjoyed hearing, but I began to see and feel that maybe I wasnāt being looked at for me overall. The Dizzle I know in my heart is very multi-faced, and while online in forums and discord I felt like I was just this person known for buying things that my morality complex would say ādonāt matter at all in the endā. I feel very ashamed to admit that, and of course a lot of this comes from my already intense inner dialogues, but itās just how I felt as time has gone on. This isnāt a target towards anyone either, its mores just my odd interpretation of the time and how I saw myself inside of things. In addition to this, it seemed at these moments that others have also began to sort of split into groups in ways. I always had a hand in multiple aspects of Pokemon, like collecting and sometimes selling to make way for new things, but in the here and now its quite clear that many have broke into sectors of business that I canāt relate to at all. This isnāt of course a bad thing, but its now a large portion of everyone to where I just donāt have words anymore that can match or mix in (again, just kind of how I feel). On days where I want to just talk to someone and say āhey man, im hurting a bit here, whatās something that makes you happy?ā or āhear any good music lately?ā etc id try that and then seconds later itād be back to talks on āvaluesā āmoneyā āmarketsā ābuyingā āsalesā and other things that well, are just not in my wheelhouse to that extent. Of course saying this would get met with āThis is a Pokemon Discord/Forumā and thatās respectfully true as well, but I make the point here that while it is, Pokemon in my case was always secondary to me and for fun so with that Ive found it hard to engage anymore since well, the grouping around and culture now are just beyond my statue. I really am so anxious in writing this all for major fears of judgement, but at the same time I just wanted to let that out for my own (hopefully) cathartic release.
Anyways, as I mentioned I just have felt so lost in where I actually fit in anymore, and since not chatting as much ive been mostly engaging with other casual plush and Dedenne fans in Japan through twitter because there ive felt a bit more at ease there. I have met some amazing friends that I chat with now daily, and itās been a joy to just express love for Pokemon without seeing or engaging with anything that would negatively affect me personally. I prefer it because I donāt feel a need to talk about buying or money and I can just express myself artistically and lovingly and be seen for those elements in full. Thatās not to say that it wouldnāt be the case here or on discord, but itās just what comes up for me internally while doing so. Id love to be more engaged here and in Discord again too, but at the moment it just feels like itās not my place anymore to be and I just donāt belong. Thatās probably all in my head for sure (and ill keep owning that because again, everyone has their feelings and opinions and I donāt want this to feel like im targeting something or someone in an ill light), but its not something that ive been able to truly shake off yet. Maybe that will change, but for now ive been relearning to appreciate myself and the loved ones in my life while embracing that entirely through other means.
So yeah, I think that sums it up (and as previously stated, here I am rethinking posting this before I hit reply with feelings of possible regret and self judgement) but I hope that brings some insight to others about me, or maybe helps someone else to see something within themselves. 
Back to lurking lol
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Nobody likes me
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Youll always fit in in my book. I have at least one part of my forever collection that i bought from you on ebay and you indeed are viewed as a dizzle/plush guy with some other cool interests, but not in a bad way.
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I liked this for answering the question but also dont like this. I like you, and your passion.
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