Can confirm, shining gyarados is objectively the best shining pokemon.
Also that clip shows that during our childhoods in the shows and movies, gyarados was truly not a pokemon to be fucked with. A lot of pokemon were powerful or cool but just about anytime gyarados showed up, you ran.
@brendantheclayboy , thank you so much! It means a lot to me that you say that. One of the things I’ve noticed with newer members is the genuine excitement over people’s collections. I’m sure I bore a ton of people on here with my obsession and my constant talks about the Pokemon like a broken record, but it’s new members like you who breath new life into the hobby. So thank you again! And agreed, I love my Dragonhide Binders - need to give them a wipe down eventually to bring back the clarity.
@krill , I think that’s why I loved Lance so much in the anime and games. He was the only one who stood up to the creature head on - especially the Red Gyarados in the anime and the Gold/Silver games. I enjoyed the Pokemon Generations episode on their interaction:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlh4jKv184E
And agreed. Shining Gyarados is the best Shining Pokemon. Will never tire of that art. 
I loved seeing your updates on your collection, its so pretty and I still remember the meetup we had at worlds some great times
I remember it as well, @legendslugia251 ! It was a great time meeting you and others so I hope we can do that soon again some day! You helped identify the guy who traded me my Unlimited Gyarados ex I needed. 
Anyways, got a few updates! On top of some comics and hopeful surprises I have coming in the next two months (with some luck), got a few updates for the new year though I opened this live on our discord at an earlier time:
First off some generic stickers. The bottom two are from a Bread company I believe? Not sure about the top two but I’ve been focusing less on stickers that have re-used images - though I do enjoy the Bromide ones.
Next up is this 1996 Banpresto Pokemon Jumbo Card (Volume 4):
I’ve always been a fan of the stamp sets they came out in the 90’s from Japan. And ever since I got my two sets that have Gyarados as a focus, I wanted more. So I was ecstatic to see a “damaged” lot for only 1,000 Yen!
I have been slowly cutting them out bit by bit, but had to keep some favorites aside:
My favorite of course being the Lance set:
In two separate lots, I found these perforated sticker cards. They came in sets of 3 attached cards. I found the Red Gyarados solo in a lot with the stickers, but the regular Gyarados came attached to an Ivysaur and Tyranitar. Not sure where these are from so if anyone has an idea, please let me know! I love the backs the most:
Now something unusual! I don’t care much for sealed stuff but I came across something I had never seen before. The seller marked it as “XY Unbreakable Anger Aeon Limited Special Pack” which holds 4 packs and this special box pack holder. Since I’ve been focusing on the Rage of the Broken Heavens set, I felt intrigued. I’m tempted to open it and see if the packs are unlimited but will avoid that currently:
And finally! Another Unlimited from RotBH set finally retrieved! This time it’s the Mega Gyarados 082/080 Secret Rare:
Only one Unlimited left before the set is completed! 
And then?
Azul the stamps are so sick. And your gif at the end? What is the saying? GOD TIER.
I legit cant wait for the day you actually get snap gyarados 
GL!
@brendantheclayboy, @krill, thank you! It’ll require a lot of tricks out of the bag but I’m determined to give it a serious shot!
@azulryu Awesome collection dude!!! A big Gyarados collector myself, but nothing compared to what you have here, mine is probably similar to @reina Seirpe’s one… a fair amount of TCG cards, a couple old Bandai Cardass and Topsun cards as well as some of the Pack arts. Brilliant to see all the little nicknacks, cards, stickers, and stamps you have too. That Pokemon Snap card is a cool one, never been able to find one but would snap it up fast if I did lol.
Best of luck finding the rest of those additions to add to your collection Devin!
Thanks @headlessape! I saw in your intro post that you like Typhlosion, Tyranitar, and Gyarados - I see you even put all three into your avatar design (I’m assuming Gyarados is the heart inside the Tyranitar and Typhlosion since we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts). 
And thanks! I don’t have much faith that I’ll be able to get Snap Gyarados but I have to give it a serious try at the very least!
Yes @azulryu, of course it’s the Gyarados Heart! I Will look out for your “Wishlist” items for you and will get in touch if I find any! Happy New Year!
The start of 2021 has been a hell of a year and apparently I forgot to post some things as well. Strap in, we got lots to go over, so let’s get into it.
I don’t recall if I ever posted this before so apologies if these first few items are a repost. They were a bunch of items released back in 2015 with the Rage of the Broken Heavens set as well as the opening of Pokemon Center Hiroshima in 2016 that I got years ago.
Sealed Rage of the Broken Heavens Booster Box (complete with fold out instructions):
First Release of the Rage of the Broken Heavens Deck Box:
2016 Pokemon Center Hiroshima Poncho Pikachu Poker Set:
Sad to say that the only cards with special images are the face cards (but they are a joy to behold):
Also an original TOMY Gyarados figure that I had ever since I was a kid at my local Newbury Comics:
Finding some of this stuff made me realize how much I need to make an actual shrine in my closet. Just need to clear some space since it’s being currently upheld by an assortment of books.
Excellent. Now that’s out of the way. Onto the new goods!
2006 Gyarados Clearcard from Edibas Lamincards:
Having decided to do non-creature specific cameos, had to get a few bandai cards I was missing.
#116 & #118 Cards from 1998 Carddass Pocket Monsters Anime Collection:
An incredible gift from our own @dizzle24 , I was mentioning how I need to get this Pokemon Fan Club Magazine (Volume 3) at some point and the mad lad pulled one up quick - so now I have more appreciation for my current Himeno obsession:
Some great Gyarados references inside:
Thanks again, man. 
Next we have some small bits. I’m actually questioning whether or not to keep collecting Lenticulars because I have yet to actually enjoy them in general. Keeping them is also tedious as they slowly rub away at any and all sleeves and create internal buildup. If anyone has recommendations for keeping Lenticulars let me know as I’ve acquired quiet a few now.
Here’s a 3D Magikarp Lenticular from Meiji:
I’ve also been avoiding purchasing Gyarados stickers the last couple of years. Never felt justified to spend 10 bucks a pop on each sticker with 5 bucks added due to Buyee fees, but luckily I met someone on Yahoo Japan who was happy to put up a lot of the ones they had:
I also thought this was a fan-made one when I first found it, but here’s a B Side Label Pokemon Gyarados Sticker:
Also, been searching for this for a bit. Hiroshima has a professional Baseball Team called “Hiroshima Toyo Carp” as part of the Nippon Professional Baseball league. And in April 2019 the Pokemon Company collaborated with them. They came out with a bunch of Magikarp merch but I had eyes for their Gyarados Hiroshima Toyo Carp Sticker:
Now.
A couple of things.
Recently I’ve been obsessed with what is known as 4- Frame Gag Theatre Comics. Sadly, they have never been translated to English but I hope to get a scanner soon and make a project of it because some of this stuff is absolute gold.
This is the main 4-Frame Gag Theatre Comic series:
I’ll make a separate post about them and a few other books that host “guest” 4 gag theatre comics, but here’s a few depictions of Gyarados from them not seen by many on the Western front:
That being said, this new obsession wasn’t started from nothing. One day I’m minding my business when I get tagged by @pottsinator to a particularly exciting listing:
I watched it diligently until the morning of when I began to get ready for work. However, I started getting in a constant bid war with another person. Running up the clock, I put in my final bid and rode to work that morning. The notification from my email let me know later that I had lost my opportunity to someone else.
Moments later, our own @prochaos shared it on our discord, revealing my bidding rival, and so we had a chat. Though I couldn’t convince him to sell it or trade it to me, he did say he would consider it and let me know given some time.
Because of this, however, I started frantically searching where this insert could have come from. I fell in love with this depiction of Gyarados and to this day it might be my favorite artwork yet of it. I grew up loving Himeno’s work because my local comic store had a bunch of her artwork showcased on Japanese merchandise around the store. From old school comics and magazines, to postcards and toys. My favorite cards were by Arita and Sugimori, but I associate so much of Pokemon and Japan specifically to her artwork.
Convinced I had to find at least the origin, I started grabbing 4-frame gag theatre comics until I realized that the emblem was CoroCoro. However, the few CoroCoro comics that showcased 4 Gag Theatre also did not showcase any kind of insert or artwork and for a while, my frantic search came to a grinding halt.
A few weeks ago, however, Elliot would come through with something different. 2 listings by the same seller. I doubled down on one and least to say:
I am now the happy owner of one of these beauties.
So the question of where it came from? Well, so far from what I’ve found, it looks like, according to the seller, this was signed in Fukuoka by Himeno for some promotion for CoroCoro and/or 4-Frame Gag Theater around 1996/1997. It’s printed on some poster board that is roughly 10.5 x 9.5 inches (thanks Lucifer on discord for the dimensions of his) and is pretty thick. There’s no way it was part of any kind of insert for any of the comics or books. So the idea is that is must have been some kind of Promotional Board or part of some display that was then used for signing.
Still much research to do but thank you again to @pottsinator and @prochaos again for bringing this into my awareness and making it a part of my existence. I hadn’t felt this excited about a Gyarados item since I pulled my Shining Gyarados as a kid all those years ago. I always wished Himeno did more Gyarados artwork for the TCG and now I have a legendary piece of it that sits at the top of my favorite for my official flats collection.
It is also my first and only artist signature!
But now for something even more incredible than that.
Over the summer at the height of Covid, I was scrolling across the “#gyarados” hashtags on Instagram when I came across this post by RiceMasterFlexx:
https://instagram.com/p/CFHBe5uDbII
In it, he talked about his own struggle during the creation process of this Gyarados board. I was touched by his words and reached out, telling him I wanted to give him one of my favorite cards. He accepted and after several long months (including nearly 1 month in China), my card and note of encouragement arrived to him in Australia. He made an incredibly heartwarming opening video and it moved me to see how much it meant to him. Some time later, he told me he wanted to give something to me in return, and a few months later, I was greeted with this:
I was speechless.
The length of the painting is about the size of a horse’s head. It is one of 50 original printings and I was given one personally signed by him. The man is absolutely talented and has a heart of gold, so I hope you folks check him out at www.instagram.com/ricemasterflexx/ - Opening this brought me to tears at a time where I’ve been feeling somewhat distanced towards Pokemon collecting, bringing me right back into its center with profound appreciation.
If you’re new and you’re reading this, don’t get lost into the fray and buzz of money and the numbers game that has unfortunately come to be common place in this type of hobby. At the center of it are some incredible people who just love collecting - people who can still feel joy as much as a child who opens up a pack to find their first Charizard. It is full of people who care for others, look out to help others find their biggest wants, and people who appreciate others particular differences. Good souls who, at the end of the day, just want to share the joy of Pokemon with others. And in others. To me, this gift meant everything my 20 years of collecting has amounted to. I aimed to make someone’s day a little bit brighter, and in that, he made mine brighter a hundredfold.
To me, this is what collecting has become about. And it reminds me so much why I joined here in the first place.
Keep sharing those good vibes.
Thanks all, more to surely come. 
(yeah you ruined my own joke, or… maybe you knew your next post just HAD to be so good I had to unleash my opportune reaction…)
Wow! The stamps caught me off guard, and are absolutely beautiful! I think I have another new freakin collectible that I may start going after now…thanks @azulryu …
@azulryu wow, what a month. So many great items, congrats. I love the stamps and that CoroCoro promo is absolutely incredible 
@brendantheclayboy, haha, there it is! Didn’t expect to see it so soon. XD
@kromaticlanturn, yeah, I definitely caught the Stamp bug. @brendantheclayboy actually drew me to some other stamps I didn’t know about. I always loved the sets as a kid, seeing them in magazines and such, but having them in hand has made it all the more tempting to get sets and individuals - but I got to focus on other priorities first unless a deal pops up. 
I hope you share yours if you decide to dive in! First couple of gen stamp sets are absolutely stunning - more so than the ones I showcased too!
@dizzylochs, thank you! Some of this stuff was amassed over the period of a couple of months, just hadn’t pulled the trigger yet on shipping from Japan since I didn’t want to experience delays during the Christmas holiday. I’m so pumped to get some of this stuff framed!
Glad to see you were able to reignite the collecting passion with some non-TCG Gyarados art! How freaking cool is that painting, I love it and the story behind it.
Thank you, @lamplamp ! Between secret santa and this, I feel really back into it. 
Speaking of, I never shared my secret santa gift here so here are the Gyarados highlights thanks to the lovely @parkermrparker !
A wonderful rendition of what reminded me of the battle between Lance & Leon (we all know who should have won that battle):
It was a lovely gift of Vending Machine cards (my secret santa wish come true including Ooyama’s Pikachu ), some Breakpoint Sealed Packs, and this beautiful framed Gyarados (absolutely in love with the background):
It’s been a wild year but these past couple of months have shown some real heart in the community to balance out all the stonk talk. XD
My mom is to thank for the background on the framed gary!
