I collect Japanese cards from 96 to 99. Trying to get as many as I can can, PSA graded not really my priority… Just want a few nice folders! My favourite art is from this period.
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Great reply and thank to everyone for the welcomes!!
Pokenastic… you are about 70% of the way to the 1st edition set… which ones are you missing!?
I am building one myself- maybe I can help you! ( I can’t wait to get to 50 posts so I can finally post a WTB post and hopefully grab some from the members here!!)
I’m just getting back into the hobby myself, starting off by collecting ungraded 1st edition (unlimited for the more expensive holos) base set-fossil cards to get the original 151. Also, graded WOTC cards that have artwork I enjoy or have some emotional connection with since I grew up during that era. I’d like to expand out to other avenues but I figure I’ll start off with what I know and grow from there.
I just got back into it but i’ll most likely go back to WOTC and collect what i know.
I Collect Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise cards. I also collect cards with artwork that I like 
I collect vintage gyarados all versions all languages (base set to skyridge) and all magikarps.
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Wow, that’s a lot! Have you solved all of them?
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Not all, but most I have. I’m more of a collector than solver tbh. I do try to solve all new puzzles myself at first, and a lot of times I succeed and am able to solve it with a solution I came up with myself (usually requiring algorithms of 200+ moves while skilled solvers do it in 30 rofl, but I still succeed either way and am sometimes pretty proud of that for harder puzzles).
But the pretty hard puzzles usually not, in which case I resort to a tutorial if available, to be able to solve a puzzle after all. For some puzzles (3D printed ones), no such tutorial exists however, since only a handful of people own these puzzles. So for those puzzles they haven’t been solved even once thus far.
I also once scrambled my entire collection when I had 198:
But that’s something I did once and never again… Took almost a year on and off before all those puzzles were solved again, haha. (PS: Unfortunately part 3 got removed due to music copyright in case anyone wanted to watch all three videos…)
But I haven’t solved puzzles in quite a while tbh (except for one coincidentally last week). I’m mainly focusing on my Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh collections right now, and am actually downsizing my twisty puzzles collection a bit by (trying to) sell duplicated puzzles, or those I simply don’t like that much.
Greetz,
Quuador
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Base Set unlimited for me - same as when I was a child
I collect pretty much anything WOTC but specialize in Gym Challenge. I also have a psa 4 trophy kangaskhan which I’m really proud of.
I’ve found a passion for mini sets that have a shared visual identity. What does that mean?
If you showed someone who doesn’t collect Pokemon cards 10 cards, and 3 of them are from the same mini set, if that person can clearly see that those 3 cards belong together, it’s a shared visual identity. Examples are Gold Stars or the new Amazing rares. You immediately see the gold star icon and similar art style on the Gold Star, and you immediately see the colorful blotch on the amazing rare. It’s this identity that makes collecting these sets so much more rewarding, because once you look at them all on the same page, it paints such a harmonic picture.
I also have a soft spot for point cards. It’s simply the most wholesome method of distribution for a card. You can’t just buy it with money (at least originally). You have to register and then work for the card - attend events, do Pokemon-related activities etc. On the other hand, you don’t have to win/qualify for a major tournament to get the point card, as opposed to trophy cards. Anyone who engages in the hobby enough can get a point card, not just the ones who are super skilled. I think that’s very fair and rewarding.
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Japanese base, jungle, and fossil holos (PSA 9/10)
Also started collecting a variety of pikachu cards recently
Holy Grail trophy cards.
PSA 10/9 1st ed / Shadowless Base, Jungle, Fossil.
WOTC cards for my binder collection.
Vintage Japanese exclusive cards (TCG and non-TCG) for my binder collection.
Bulbasaur cards.
A sprinkling of random cards I really like.
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I collect Japanese cards, vintage and modern.
If I like an artwork, I will most likely buy it, so it makes sense for me to collect cards based on artists I grew to appreciate. Hajime Kusajima and Kagemaru Himeno, particularly their contribution to the e-Card and EX era, are my go to.
My preference of Pokémon comes secondary (Mew, Umbreon and Jirachi to name a few)
My absolute favourites are bought graded, and the rest go to the binder.
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I’m a super casual collector in most part because I have other financial priorities, my house, my pension, holidays etc., and if there was a ‘basic bitch’ category in the world of Pokemon collecting, I’d be in it. Despite that, I feel really tapped-in to the market and collecting culture out of pure interest and enjoyment. I tend to collect individual cards that stood out to me in childhood that provoke some kind of nostalgia or memory, or ones that I desperately wanted but didn’t have the means to acquire.
Saying that, as with many other basic bitch collectors out there, Shining Legends got me into the modern scene, but I’m very picky about modern and if I’m gonna buy it, it’s gotta be something that echos the art, design or nostalgia of the WOTC/early ex scene, i.e. something that I genuinely enjoy. I will definitely be going after the amazing rares if they’re released in English because of their new and unique style that reminds me of the new releases during the WOTC era, e.g. omg wtf, STEEL Pokemon?!! reverse holos?!?. My nostalgia pretty much stops at Ex Dragon/Sandstorm/TMTA and the other Ex sets released around those years. Was very glad to pick up a PSA 10 Dragonite Ex from Ex Dragon for £140 last year; I remember 11 year-old me getting so frustrated after spending a whopping £25 buying Ex Dragon packs from Woolworth’s trying to find that card and failing miserably.
Also, what @ripguyfawkes said.
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My current focus is filling out the gaps in my WotC-era childhood collection. I also have a growing collection of everyone’s favorite punch puppy Lucario. Other than that I’ve recently had my eye out for PSA 9/10 Japanese Misty’s Tears.
Started collecting as a child during the end of the EX/DP era
When I came back to the hobby a little over a year ago, I started off with gold stars and then realized they would be too expensive to complete
Then I wanted a full Ho-oh and Lugia collection, but also realized that they would evaporate my budget after getting both crystal PSA 10s
Then I basically started collecting anything that I could find at 33% or less of its market value so I could then flip it to get the actual cards I wanted
This led to me stumbling across a seller who helped me basically complete all of jungle/fossil/shadowless in mint condition for insane prices
Now I basically just sell off any of my cards that I have that aren’t in mint condition. I do have one cool binder to flip through as well but my collection is essentially a bunch of high PSA grade cards, way too many mint raw cards, and then some sealed wotc product
Nowadays I just buy anything that I really like artwork wise with no end goal in mind. After a lot of hard work, my collection is worth multitudes more than what I originally put into it, dollar wise. I really do need to make a collection post and talk about my journey… maybe in the near future
Got into the TCG with diamond and left at the end of Black and White for MTG.
My next four months at home because of Covid will be going towards completing the Diamond and Pearl sets, and working on the Platinum runs.
Trophy and limited run cards are always on the radar though
I collect pretty much everything. All languages. I also collect around 90 other TCGs besides Pokemon.
Anything that has a certain je ne sais quoi.
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