Summary
A fan of thePokemon TCGmade a shocking discovery in their attic, stumbling upon folders filled with first-gen cards that had been left abandoned for years. ThePokemon Trading Card Gamebegan in 1996 in Japan asPocket Monstersand made its way to North America a few years later. The earliest edition cards were released by Wizards of the Coast, known as the creators of the popular tabletop card gameMagic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast was responsible for releasing one set of demo cards and eight expansion sets for the first generation of Pokemon and nine expansion sets for the second generation.
In 2003, publishing rights were transferred to The Pokemon Company, which has handled every English-language expansion since. After almost 30 years of thePokemon TCG, it would be expected for lifelong collectors to have stashed a few binders away for safekeeping. Oftentimes, caring forone’sPokemoncard collection can result in a hefty payoutas years pass, once the collection is considered vintage. For one Pokemon fan, however, a pristine collection just wasn’t in the cards.
One Reddit user went rummaging around in their attic in search of their childhoodPokemoncard collection. Instead of finding preserved first-gen cards as anticipated, u/The_Spear808 found an Ultra PRO binder weathered by years of neglect. The binder was in such poor condition that its sleeves were horribly discolored and practically rusted from decay. Unfortunately, almost all of the cards inside were faded and decomposed. Somehow, a lone Paras managed to survive the carnage, but even the resilient Bug/Grass Pokemon has seen better days. Considering somePokemon fans will do anything to get their hands on original cards, this is an unthinkable loss.
Years of Neglect Ruin Pokemon TCG Fan’s Childhood Card Collection
Although many of the cards are too spoiled to identify, it seems the collection consists of many original Pokemon, including Koffing, Spearow, Pikachu, Venonat, Rhyhorn, Bellsprout, Eevee, Cubone, Goldeen, Jigglypuff, Vileplume, Wigglytuff, and other familiar faces. Ventures into the attic often result in the discovery of old baby photos, long-lost toys, aged collectibles, and maybe even some early-gen gaming consoles, but nothing could have prepared this fan for a find as heartbreaking as this. Thankfully, thePokemon Trading Card Gamewill soon be available on mobile, so future disasters like this can be averted by the digitally-inclined.
The rarest card in existence is the 1998 Pikachu Illustrator, which was only obtainable from one of three contests held in Japan: thePokemonCard Game Illust. Artist Contest, the “Mewtwo Strikes Back” Illust. Contest, and Pikachu’s Summer Vacation Illust. Contest. WWE star and YouTube celebrityLogan Paul is obsessed withPokemon, having purchased a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator card for $1.275 million in June 2021. Thankfully, one of these extremely rare cards was not included in this poor fan’sPokemon Trading Card Gamecollection - a PSA 10 recently sold for over $5 million.
