This is absolutely not true. Charmander is infinitely more popular than most of the Pokemon with holo representation in Base Set, but no one is more pleased to pull a Charmander than they are to pull something like a Hitmonchan or a Poliwrath.
As for Jungle, Pikachu and Eevee are in that set, and the vast majority of people would prefer to pull a holo Venomoth rather than a common Pikachu or Eevee.
The Dark Weezing example is more of an extreme exception rather than the rule, and I’m not even sure it’s entirely accurate. Dark Jolteon is a great uncommon, but I don’t think anyone is going to be excited if that’s their only pull. Pulling pretty much any non-holo from a WOTC pack that isn’t 1st Edition Base Set Dragonair (and even that’s a stretch) is a loss.
maybe this was true back when packs were msrp, but spending 300$ or whatever on a pack, i think most people would be more excited to pull a charmeleon than a magneton or a butterfree over a mr. mime(holo)
and if we’re talking about back when packs were msrp, we’d also have to factor in back when we were kids, and i can assure you kids still enjoy pulling regular holos.
I’m unphased when pulling a normal v/gx. They just suck from a collecting standpoint. Character rares on the other hand have breathed life into the ‘common pull’. Most of those are like 2 bucks but I still love pulling them.
It would be vastly better to pull the holos in both of those comparisons (in terms of $ value, at least).
Also, I will say this: I collected as a child between late e-Series and mid-EX. And I can’t recall caring about holos at all. It was all about exs at that point. Now, I feel differently. But if that was my feeling as a kid back during early EX, I can only imagine that kids now opening modern sets are even less excited to pull holos.
I’m sure he feigned excitement at the holos, but don’t kid yourself that anyone was happy to pull a regular holo for however much they spent per pack lol. Though I guess a Glaceon, Leafeon, or Mewtwo might be an exception.
For me it was probably call of legends as it was the last set of the increased size of the art box as well as my favorite holo pattern. After that I just didn’t enjoy what the holo’s did for the sets as much. There are some specific exceptions within sets, but if I had to pick a cutoff it would be COL.
If we’re talking about just normal holos and not secret rare holos then I’d say Skyridge. That really feels like the last set where the holos feel on par with previous sets where there were only holos.
Personally I resonate quite strongly with this question, particularly because I recently started collecting again BECAUSE of holo patterns.
I’ve read plenty of interesting and valid opinions here, but I’m taking an aesthetic/nostalgia approach. Basically, I’m chasing that feeling when you received a holo as a kid - that extra touch to a card that makes it special. Now this manifests as tasteful holos which actually complement details in the artwork. I have a few non holos cause the art is amazing (yes even rando commons) but majority are holos selected this way, both modern and classic.
With disposable income, and an acquired and more complex aesthetic preference that comes with age, I can really dig deep into collecting cards I enjoy. I plan to catalogue every card in my small collection in greater detail, then I will share what I personally feel was the last set where holo really matters. As of now I simply don’t know enough detail to rattle off a set name… I can name cards in my collection though!
Ill tell ya when i got back in the hobby in diamond and pearl era the holos were still hits for everyone i knew. Yeah you were chasing the secret rares, but there were only about 1-3 secret rares in the whole set lol.
For me and my friends around the time the holo hype ended going into Black and White era. The BW holo was not as good as prior sets, and they introduced the full arts as a official rarity. It started with 2, 3, then 5… by the 4th set of the block (Next Destinies) you had like 10 cards to chase in the full art or higher tier. That was the point where TPC really ramped things up to lead us to today’s situation!
Computer scans don’t do BW holos justice, and XY holos are so sleek and refined. SM is when holo sets started to become a jumbled mix of random Pokemon. In BW and XY, the holo sets maintained a consistent theme in each set. There really weren’t any extra or unnecessary additions.
When I was collecting as a kid from 2008-2014, I was excited to pull any sort of holo. I didn’t open many packs - I never got any booster boxes, and opening a $20 tin was a big deal. The less packs you open, the more you value even the smallest of hits. Particularly in BW, holos were just as much of a chase to me as full arts. I only pulled a few full arts, so holos are what I have the most memories with.
I can say I remember being happy with a holo pull up through XY Breakpoint. After that, I can’t really say.
What I CAN say, is holo patterns that aren’t cosmos foil are over-hated, and cosmos foil itself is romanticized heavily. Modern cosmos is a poor imitation of what once was great, and I’d rather have no holo than modern cosmos. Additionally, I feel the tone around cosmos foil would be significantly different had Pokemon continued to use it on all holos post-Gen 4. Most people would have gotten tired of it long ago and would beg for a new pattern. Cosmos is as loved as it is because it doesn’t exist anymore. We only want it because we can’t have it.
I still enjoy holos, theres always a few in each set that i really want. That being said, not a fan of the liney holo texture, but at least Japan makes u feel nice with the holo border.
So yea idk, theres holos up and down the pokemon timeline that slap regardless, but in general, probably BW-XY
I’d probably say BW era but only because going forward rarity tiers start increasing. I remember watching a Plasma Storm box opening and even pulling a holo seemed difficult. It’s been a while since I’ve watched one but it felt like pulling anything greater than a holo, they were lucky to pull one, maybe two from the entire box?
Also kind of leads me to be a bit surprised that a lot of those holos are still 1-2 dollars but they were imo legitimate chase cards for their respective sets.
