Hi everyone!
I’m not new to collecting Trading Cards, but I’m new to collecting Pokemon cards. As such, this board has been incredibly helpful to find detailed information about the hobby. And after a long time of consideration, I’ve made my decision: I’m going to create an amazing collection of some of the most glorious cards in PSA 10!
Here are my first achievements. If you can’t recognize a pattern here, you are correct. If anything, these cards show how versatile the Pokemon TCG is, and all of those cards have a special meaning to me. Be it the Red Gyarados and the Pichu that remind me of my old playthroughs of Crystal, or Umbreon which is my favorite Pokemon. These cards remind me of my childhood. And what better way to start a collection than by reviving some fond memories?
Glorious, indeed!
What’s the story behind the Lucario?
Damn, very nice, I’m also looking for that exact gyarados, but ungraded
@t17baller6969, that was the first shiny Pokemon I bred, back when I still played Pokemon X. I have been rather unlucky with encountering shinys despite having played the games for 20 years, so I took matters into my own hands
@papafrankgod,Thanks! I have a hunch that you like Gyarados in general, not sure why 
It’s been pretty much exactly one year since I started collecting Pokemon cards, so this is the perfect time for a collection review. I originally didn’t plan to post in this thread until finishing a collection goal at 100%, but the last week has been very demotivating because of several setbacks. So instead of complaining all the time about prices and scammers and amateur websites as usual, it’s time to take a look at all the good things and accomplishments of the last year. As a reminder that the good experiences in the hobby far outweigh the negative ones and that the only right way is looking ahead.
Gold Stars
This is the big one, and I’m determined to finish it. The Gold Stars are objectively some of the most famous cards in the hobby, and subjectively they hit my art-style preference 100%. If there was only one set I could complete, it would be this one.
Neo Shinings
When I started collecting, I made a list of collection goals, and the original plan was to collect the holy trinity of mini-sets (Gold Stars, Crystals, Neo Shinings), so I started with the Shinings on the side. But soon after that, prices went crazy and collecting them came to a halt. As of now I’m not sure if completing them will be feasible, so I will enjoy the three I have and be content with that.
The Golden Era
Some set cards from the Golden Era. Tbh, the Golden Era doesn’t intrigue me as much as the first Nintendo era because the latter is when I became interested in the Pokemon TCG as a teenager. But there are some cards that are so outstanding that I just had to get them. The Neo Espeon for example. An absolute marvel of a card.
Delta Species Pokemon
Coming next are Delta Species Pokemon. In terms of looks and card design, these are my favorites of all, especially the Steel dual-types. In addition, they have some of the best artwork I have ever seen in Pokemon, for example the Gyarados. The Eeveelutions mini-set is amazing as well.
More Gen 3 and Gen 4 cards
More cards from Gen 3 and Gen 4 (what do we call this, modern vintage?). Play Promos will always be a fan favorite, simply because you couldn’t just pull them out of a pack and because their artwork is awesome and often Japanese-exclusive. Umbreon ex looks amazing in person, like its rings are actually glowing. And then we have some cards from the Gen 4 Shiny Present campaign. Totally underrated cards in my opinion. Distribution of them was extremely limited, for example the Ho-oh has only 1000 copies worldwide. The Entei and Suicune are not part of the Shiny present campaign, instead they could only be purchased on July 10, 2010 at Pokemon Centers and cinemas airing the Zoroark movie. TPC international had no respect for their limited distribution of course, so they put the Legend Perfect dogs in collector tins and the Shiny present campaign cards in the Call of Legends expansion.
Miscellaneous
Last but not least, a variation of other cards. I mostly like these either for their outstanding artwork or because they have a personal meaning to me. Also, this is probably the most badass Larvitar artwork in existence.
Beautiful collection @ripguyfawkes you´ve made fantastic progress in such a short amount of time!
Thanks for showing me the 20th Pikachu EX FA, never noticed electabuzz and jolteon in the background for some reason…going to buy one now!
@shadowless, thanks a lot The 20th Pikachu EX FA was one of the first cards I bought, when I was still trying to figure out what to go for. And I really love the sleeker, more nimble design of Pikachu in that card and in the Legendary Shine Collection version to the left
Absolutely gorgeous and such a great update. I love seeing so many of the Deltas together and enjoy them more than I do the Goldstars. And agreed on the Neo Espeon card. It’d be one of the few non-Gyarados card’s I’d encourage anyone to get because the art is the closest I’ve seen to feeling “perfect”.
Man, incredible collection. I love the variety and the dedication to sticking with 10s.
Re: Your text at the start of the update, whenever you’re feeling discouraged on collection goals - judging from this update, remember that your collection is probably in the top 1% of all people who started when you did!
Amazing collection! That’s huge progress in a year, especially a year so crazy. Congratulations!
@azulryu ,thanks a lot and yeah, Delta Species are awesome. The Steel dual-typing that many have gives them some kind of uniformity that makes them look great when put together. Maybe one can even speak of a shared identity. Combine that with the clear and action-oriented artwork that many have (most prominently from Kouki Saitou, Hajime Kusajima and Masakazu Fukuda)and they have a lot of the things I like so much about the Gold Stars.
@explorer , thank you, I’ll do my best! I’m proud of my progress, but I tend to compare myself to those who already have finished their collections and that’s tough, but it also drives me. I saw a picture in a collection thread of someone whose name I unfortunately forgot, and he had the entire Japanese Gold Star roster in PSA 10. It looked breathtaking, and one day I want a similar picture to appear here in this thread.
@bluebulba ,thanks a lot! Ironically my collection wouldn’t nearly look like this already if I hadn’t had that much pressure to make as many important purchases as possible before prices go out of hand.