so I’m to believe we have two metapod species collectors? That was unexpected!
Also to answer @xileets I don’t gots no origin story. I don’t have a species collection! I just like that other people do. It just doesn’t feel like something I want to do, but its cool to see those who are.
I suppose the reason i wanted to make this thread was that I was absolutely impressed with @quuador and his dedication to pikachu collecting. I read I think the whole thing over a few days from start to finish before I first posted. I not only was impressed, but I learned quite a bit about the TCG itself. There is some really valuable info on obscure TCG stuff that he shares, so i kept reading, hoping to extract more info. Because of this, I learned of the Donald Duck Magazine non-holo delta species pikachu promo. I knew about the dratini and larvitar, but not the pikachu. I think its really cool. And I was crestfallen that he had to restrict his collecting down to just english, but I understand. These days there are way more actively printed languages, and pokemon prints way too many cards per set( we could do with sets being half the size). So naturally this inflates the number of pikachus needed to an unsustainable level.
If I did do a species collection I think it would be hard to choose. I like a lot of pokemon for different reasons, and I’d probably want to swap to something new.
I’m happy to see people read my collection posts. It took quite a while to make, although I mostly did for myself to catalog my entire collection with pictures. Nonetheless, I’m always grateful it’s not only entertaining for others to read it, but informative as well. I learned a lot from reading all kind of posts and threads here on the forum, so I’m always happy others can learn from me as well.
I’ve wanted to start a fun, inexpensive, and cohesive binder collection of cards I enjoy for some time now, but have always struggled to come up with a theme that fits my criteria.
I’ve never considered species collecting but recently realized that I buy nearly every Butterfree I come across, then realized Butterfree hits all my criteria for the binder, then realized I’ve been subconsciously species collecting for some time now. It’s just not organized in a binder yet .
My initial goal for the binder is obtaining every English & Japanese Butterfree via in person purchase, online purchase from an e4 member, or gift (Hmm…Secret Santa?).
We’ll see where it goes after that.
My affinity for Butterfree comes from the anime. When ash traded him for Raticate I was bummed for 5 minutes, when “Bye Bye Butterfree” aired I was bummed for much longer.
I can’t speak for competitive play but I just finished a play through of Leaf Green using Starmie for the first time and I must say it’s an absolute destroyer.
I replay the game about once a year with a new team each time and Starmie stands out as the most underrated Pokemon (so far & to me at least).
I still remember going to a Walmart with my Pops and seeing one pack of Base Set left. I used my monthly chores allowance and bought the pack. Inside it was a Beautiful Zapdos Holo. From that moment on, it became my favourite Pokémon. I didn’t care if Mewtwo took 281 Ultra Balls, Zapdos deserved my Master Ball every single play through!
Unfortunately being a kid, I leant my Zapdos to a friend for one fateful night. The next day he told me that he played with it during bath time and unfortunately ruined it. My first holo was never to be seen again.
But because of this I cherished all my future Zapdos cards and kept them whenever I could! Recently though I’ve decided to make Zapster a main collecting priority and have loved revisiting the arts. I’ve got my Yellow 360 Card Binder and I hope one day it is filled with Zappers of all different languages and designs!
My Grail Card - T.M.B. Zapdos Phone Card PSA 10. My goal is to own it by the year 2035! It’ll be a Lt. Splurge move, but I hope to pull it off down the road!
I consider myself a species collector, yet I really do not collect one specific species. I collect a Height species. I collect 4’11 Pokémon. My favorite sport to play growing up was basketball, yet I have always been a person on the “short” end of the bell curve for height. I am also 4’11. At first this bothered me and I struggled with it, then I realized it offered me some unique assets even in the game I loved made for taller folks. I was fast and agile, and played smart and I was often hard to see among the “trees”. It offered me great opportunities to excel. When I became interested in Pokémon I was immediately drawn to those flashy Pokémon like Charizard and Blastoise. Then I quickly realized they all had heights and began looking for Pokémon that shared my vertical prowess. Many had abilities that allowed them to compete with bigger, taller, flashier Pokémon. They were agile, intelligent, fast, tough and elusive. The Gen 1, 4’11 Pokémon demonstrate these qualities. Pidgeot , Venomouth, Alakazam, Machoke, Cloyster, Gengar, Hitmonlee, Syther and Pinsir. I really identified with Ash’s Greninja in the Anime, watching it grow and evolve struggling to find and prove itself. So Greninja is one of my favorite 4’11 Pokémon. The trend of cool 4’11 statured Pokémon continues in the new generations with Meowscarada, Iron Leaves, Iron Boulder, Glimmora. The 4’11 species are such an interesting and awesome group! I feel fortunate to share a stature with them and am very happy Pokémon chose this height for so many very cool Pokémon. Someday I will figure out how to best organize my binders to show off of this species and share.
I began collecting in 2024, but I’ve had a strong fascination with cardboard since my youth. Here, you’ll find various Starmie-related items (my favorite Pokémon) along with some Dragalge cards and merch as well. I like to have things graded because I enjoy the idea of preserving and sealing them, though the grade itself isn’t my top priority—I’m not focused on maximizing profits.
For me, it’s about the joy of collecting and gathering. For this reason I collect without a spreadsheet and am not interested in a masterset of sorts. Most importantly, collecting should deepen the connection between ourselves and our memories - and it should be great fun.
At this point I want to highlight the most significant card in my collection: the 1st Edition German Base Set Starmie. You might think it’s nothing special, especially given its grade of 3—but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This card has a unique story. It was given to me by a friend who wanted to clear out his old Pokémon cards, so I gladly took them. As a child, I had my own Pokémon card collection, but sadly, it was stolen by another kid.
When my friend gave me his cards, I felt such happiness and nostalgia. These were the very same cards we used to play with in school, and this Starmie card is the actual card we battled with back in the day. That’s why it’s the most meaningful card to me. It’s like holding onto a piece of my childhood—a physical keepsake filled with emotions and memories from the past.
A few people have messaged me during some time away to say I should introduce myself to you when I see you - nice to meet another Starmie collector. I really like how broad and diverse your collection is.
My origin story is a bit different that most people when it comes to my Pokemon of choice, mainly because its sort of the main reason I got back into Pokemon cards in the 1st place.
I owe it all to Super Smash Bros! I was really into that for a while, and ended up as a Greninja main in Ultimate using the shiny skin. From there I wanted to get something for that and stumbled on the SV56 shiny Greninja GX from Hidden Fates and graded cards in general. A PSA 10 of that card was the 1st Pokemon card I had gotten since I quit collecting as a child with Base Set 2.
I then from there stumbled directly into cards as a while with the Logan Paul stuff happening literally the next week. Further down the rabbit hole I went until I made the decision to focus on Greninja instead of chasing set releases. Charizard has and continues to be my favorite Pokemon, but collecting that exclusively is too difficult, expensive, and had too much competition. So, I jumped on the Greninja train as a cheaper alternative not knowing the extend of some of the cards I’d be concerning myself with. Like the Lottery card and Art Academy Pikachu card I’ll never see.
Continuing to refocus my collection goals I eventually settled on PSA graded English/Japanese master set. This was mainly because I like the PSA Registry and I use what is added on there as the end all be all for my collection. Anything that I can get added to that has become what my focus is. Unfortunately, they will grade a ton of non-TCG things, and I have learned over the years. Like Uno cards, Lotte wafer stickers, and my hated jumbo cards.
I do try and grab anything unique in other languages, like there is an exclusive holofoil on the Premium Champion Pack Greninja in Korean, as well as any different stamps as I deem those unique cards. While I don’t feel the need to chase 10s on all of those due to them being optional on the Registry, I still want to get them. I have a plethora of Greninja plushies and sleeves, as well as some random merchandise I can get a hold of if it isn’t expensive.
It took quite a while to make, although I mostly did for myself to catalog my entire collection with pictures. Nonetheless, I’m always grateful it’s not only entertaining for others to read it, but informative as well. I learned a lot from reading all kind of posts and threads here on the forum, so I’m always happy others can learn from me as well. 
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