Backstory~
This is just where I explain a little about the reasons how and why I got into collecting. :P
It may be long, and boring... so you might want to get some biscuits or something if you're planning to stay.
It may be long, and boring... so you might want to get some biscuits or something if you're planning to stay.
The idea for Pokémon stemmed from the hobby of catching and collecting insects. I spent much of my time doing this when I was younger as well, so I suppose it's only natural that I would get into collecting Pokémon.
I first time I found out about Pokémon was in late 1998, and it was by seeing some single TCG cards for sale. The very first piece of Pokémon merchandise I touched and bought was a base set Vulpix card.
I then went on to watch half an episode of the animated show, which happened to be "Pokémon Fashion Flash." (The first thing I saw was Vulpix torching someone's head...) From there, the first Pokemon figure I bought was a Vulpix keychain. You would think this would make me a serious Vulpix collector, but instead I later put most of my efforts into Ninetales. This is probably because the first holographic card I ever owned was a base set Ninetales. And I've always liked sparkly things, and that card has plenty of sparkle!
Being about 10 years old without the power of the Internets or Ebay, I went about madly collecting what I could - TCG cards. How I was obsessed with those damn cards. I ended up trying to collect ALL of them, not just the ones I liked as I had planned. At this point all my friends were playing Pokémon Blue on their Gameboy systems, but I didn't have such luxury then. It wasn't until 2001 that I finally managed to be able to play Red/Blue, and it was on an emulator at first.
I found myself a Pokémon Yellow cartridge and started my first game at a friend's house, on her indigo Gameboy Color. One of the first Pokemon I caught was a Pidgeotto, in Viridian forest. I had a party of mostly Nidoran, which got the crap beat out of them since it was a level 9 Pidgeotto. But I managed to catch it narrowly without whiting out, and then proceeded to destroy Brock with it. I raised that Pidgeotto to level 100 throughout the game, even though Normal/Flying isn't exactly the best type combination to use. That same Pidgeot is still in my PC box in one of my Pokémon Crystal games. I believe this explains why I'm interested in the Pidgey line. Vaporeon was my favourite because of both looks and typing, as Aurora Beam and Surf was enough to get me through the entire Elite Four Championship. (Pikachu wasn't much help.) Gary also ended up with a Flareon at the end of the game, so Vaporeon was a wise choice. Lapras was also very useful, being able to learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam while carrying Confuse Ray.
When I played the Blue version, I always chose Charmander. I remember Charizard as being something like a god after learning Slash. I also remember amusing stories from a friend who was playing through the Blue Version too. Such as killing Articuno in one hit due to Charizard's Slash, and trying to use Cut on Snorlax because it was in the middle of a road.
Because I'd gotten into the franchise much later than most people, Crystal was the first game that I could actually play using both my own Gameboy and cartridge. I have played Crystal a lot throughout my life, especially since it was the first game to have a female trainer available and Pokémon animations. Due to a lack of evolution stones, I often had an Espeon in my party which was quite useful anyway. I always chose Chikorita as my starter, even if it meant I was screwed when I got to the first gym. :D
After the advanced games came out, I played Emerald obsessively after learning about IVs and EV training. I hatched and reset eggs around the clock to try and get a team full of 'wonderfully outstanding' Pokémon. And I managed to do it, with boxes full of high IV parents for breeding, after over 450 saved hours of gameplay in my first Emerald game. I also fought at the Battle Frontier here for a long time, using a team consisting of Swampert, Sheer Cold Articuno, and a sweeper. I always chose Mudkip as my starter, of course.
Up until this point I had never had the chance to buy much merchandise, until I joined pkmncollectors and found out about using middleman services such as SMJ. Since then I've been buying everything I never knew about but always wished for, to make up for the decade I missed out on. Thanks to all of you who have explained or helped me throughout my time here, for without your advice I would never have known about many of the items I have in my collection today. ^^
I first time I found out about Pokémon was in late 1998, and it was by seeing some single TCG cards for sale. The very first piece of Pokémon merchandise I touched and bought was a base set Vulpix card.
I then went on to watch half an episode of the animated show, which happened to be "Pokémon Fashion Flash." (The first thing I saw was Vulpix torching someone's head...) From there, the first Pokemon figure I bought was a Vulpix keychain. You would think this would make me a serious Vulpix collector, but instead I later put most of my efforts into Ninetales. This is probably because the first holographic card I ever owned was a base set Ninetales. And I've always liked sparkly things, and that card has plenty of sparkle!
Being about 10 years old without the power of the Internets or Ebay, I went about madly collecting what I could - TCG cards. How I was obsessed with those damn cards. I ended up trying to collect ALL of them, not just the ones I liked as I had planned. At this point all my friends were playing Pokémon Blue on their Gameboy systems, but I didn't have such luxury then. It wasn't until 2001 that I finally managed to be able to play Red/Blue, and it was on an emulator at first.
I found myself a Pokémon Yellow cartridge and started my first game at a friend's house, on her indigo Gameboy Color. One of the first Pokemon I caught was a Pidgeotto, in Viridian forest. I had a party of mostly Nidoran, which got the crap beat out of them since it was a level 9 Pidgeotto. But I managed to catch it narrowly without whiting out, and then proceeded to destroy Brock with it. I raised that Pidgeotto to level 100 throughout the game, even though Normal/Flying isn't exactly the best type combination to use. That same Pidgeot is still in my PC box in one of my Pokémon Crystal games. I believe this explains why I'm interested in the Pidgey line. Vaporeon was my favourite because of both looks and typing, as Aurora Beam and Surf was enough to get me through the entire Elite Four Championship. (Pikachu wasn't much help.) Gary also ended up with a Flareon at the end of the game, so Vaporeon was a wise choice. Lapras was also very useful, being able to learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam while carrying Confuse Ray.
When I played the Blue version, I always chose Charmander. I remember Charizard as being something like a god after learning Slash. I also remember amusing stories from a friend who was playing through the Blue Version too. Such as killing Articuno in one hit due to Charizard's Slash, and trying to use Cut on Snorlax because it was in the middle of a road.
Because I'd gotten into the franchise much later than most people, Crystal was the first game that I could actually play using both my own Gameboy and cartridge. I have played Crystal a lot throughout my life, especially since it was the first game to have a female trainer available and Pokémon animations. Due to a lack of evolution stones, I often had an Espeon in my party which was quite useful anyway. I always chose Chikorita as my starter, even if it meant I was screwed when I got to the first gym. :D
After the advanced games came out, I played Emerald obsessively after learning about IVs and EV training. I hatched and reset eggs around the clock to try and get a team full of 'wonderfully outstanding' Pokémon. And I managed to do it, with boxes full of high IV parents for breeding, after over 450 saved hours of gameplay in my first Emerald game. I also fought at the Battle Frontier here for a long time, using a team consisting of Swampert, Sheer Cold Articuno, and a sweeper. I always chose Mudkip as my starter, of course.
Up until this point I had never had the chance to buy much merchandise, until I joined pkmncollectors and found out about using middleman services such as SMJ. Since then I've been buying everything I never knew about but always wished for, to make up for the decade I missed out on. Thanks to all of you who have explained or helped me throughout my time here, for without your advice I would never have known about many of the items I have in my collection today. ^^
Main Collection Items~
Kids~
I found the Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon attack Kids at my local supermarket by chance one evening and bought them. I love Kids for their design and material, since they are soft and rubbery unlike normal figure plastics. They are almost chibi or simplified versions of Pokémon, a style which I have always liked. There are so many different poses for the same Pokémon and they also come in shiny or clear versions in some cases, which is amazing. Personally I like to collect clears, since I've always really loved clear acrylic.
I found the Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon attack Kids at my local supermarket by chance one evening and bought them. I love Kids for their design and material, since they are soft and rubbery unlike normal figure plastics. They are almost chibi or simplified versions of Pokémon, a style which I have always liked. There are so many different poses for the same Pokémon and they also come in shiny or clear versions in some cases, which is amazing. Personally I like to collect clears, since I've always really loved clear acrylic.
Amada Stickers~
I have always liked art, and many Amadas show Pokémon in a way you have never seen before. I think this really brings your favourite Pokémon to life to be able to see them in action. Things like Amadas, VS. Cards and other old art cards are especially useful to people who make custom drawings or models because it gives a much better idea of what the Pokémon actually looks like or should look like. I also find joy in looking at beautiful things, and Amadas are definitely something nice you can go through on lazy afternoons.
I have always liked art, and many Amadas show Pokémon in a way you have never seen before. I think this really brings your favourite Pokémon to life to be able to see them in action. Things like Amadas, VS. Cards and other old art cards are especially useful to people who make custom drawings or models because it gives a much better idea of what the Pokémon actually looks like or should look like. I also find joy in looking at beautiful things, and Amadas are definitely something nice you can go through on lazy afternoons.
Zukan~
The idea of something made to scale also brings Pokémon closer to real life. Zukan are 1/40 scale figures and they are very carefully made. There are some later ones which are quite bad quality (Leafeon/Glaceon) but the earlier ones are quite amazing. They can easily be the focus of a collection because they are some of the best figures ever made, and also because they can be rare nowadays.
The idea of something made to scale also brings Pokémon closer to real life. Zukan are 1/40 scale figures and they are very carefully made. There are some later ones which are quite bad quality (Leafeon/Glaceon) but the earlier ones are quite amazing. They can easily be the focus of a collection because they are some of the best figures ever made, and also because they can be rare nowadays.
Pokedolls~
I don't find many plush to be worth collecting, but I think Pokedolls are the way to go as far as plush collections go. It might be because of the chibi style or because many are extremely well made. Pokedolls are probably some of the best 3D items I can find in a collection.
I don't find many plush to be worth collecting, but I think Pokedolls are the way to go as far as plush collections go. It might be because of the chibi style or because many are extremely well made. Pokedolls are probably some of the best 3D items I can find in a collection.
Why?~
Why do you collect more than one of the same item?
Most of the reason boils down to condition. I do not like having things in my collection which have flaws or are broken. For example, I have multiple Espeon clear Kids and each one is a different colour depending on how they have aged. Sometimes I also like to keep two of the same item in mint condition, one on display and one packed safely away. Other times I might just see an item I really like for sale at a good price and add it to my collection as well.
Most of the reason boils down to condition. I do not like having things in my collection which have flaws or are broken. For example, I have multiple Espeon clear Kids and each one is a different colour depending on how they have aged. Sometimes I also like to keep two of the same item in mint condition, one on display and one packed safely away. Other times I might just see an item I really like for sale at a good price and add it to my collection as well.
Is this all the merchandise you own?
No, this just covers everything I consider to be part of my collection. There are many boxes of extra items in storage which contain leftover merchandise from large lots. If you're looking for a different Pokémon that you collect but I don't, there's a chance that it's somewhere in storage.
No, this just covers everything I consider to be part of my collection. There are many boxes of extra items in storage which contain leftover merchandise from large lots. If you're looking for a different Pokémon that you collect but I don't, there's a chance that it's somewhere in storage.
How long did it take you to get this far?
Most of this collection was gathered over the last three years or so. Older merchandise seems to be getting rarer, so it's advised to buy items when they just come out.
~~~
Most of this collection was gathered over the last three years or so. Older merchandise seems to be getting rarer, so it's advised to buy items when they just come out.
~~~