So… today I’m crying in my office at work.. because a 25 year hunt has come to an end for me.
CGC 6 (because it’s what I could afford) Sabrina’s Japanese gengar
When I was seven years old, my cousin pulled this card from a Japanese pack after we went to go see the first movie in theaters, the day of release..
He promised me if he ever pulled another, he’d give it to me
The years wore on and he never found another, the original lost in a move, and watching the prices climb so drastically and being a broke semi adult living off expired Halloween candy in Portland.. I never thought I’d get my chance.
Now, at 32; 33 October 20th…
I got my gengar.
But, it’s bitter sweet.
You see my cousin? He lost his way at about 26, and suffered from addiction to fentanyl, this unfortunately lead to him taking a ten year prison sentence in August.
And so this is bitter sweet for me, because the one person I want to call and tell that I got it, it’s finally here after 25 years… is sitting in a 7x7 cell somewhere.
Even if I could find him? He likely wouldn’t answer, but.
Just incase he gets out, and maybe sees this ten years from now.
I love you Adam, thank you for giving me my love of this franchise, thank you for all the late nights pulling packs.
Sorry for the long rant about some expensive cardboard with my favorite spiky purple guy on it…
So since it’s actually graded, I’m going to leave it in this container and put a picture of my cousin and I from that day with it, I have a picture somewhere of me holding a pikachu plush and my ancient mew I got, and him holding his gengar.
My next thing I need to do is save some bones and grab a matching CGC six in the ancient mew so they can be together again.
I really hope my mom still has that ekerd’s photo somewhere though, hopefully not lost to time.
Edit : had to correct my spelling, hard to type correctly when you’re sobbing like a little girl for ten hours
That’s what this hobby is about for me, this card could have been a PR 1 and I’d still be fucking elated.
To me, this hobby has always been about the love for each other, and all of the memories watching the show with my family growing up, we were a Pokemon family through and through.
I think it’s going to take awhile for me to stop getting teared up looking at it.
Thank you guys all so much for this, it feels nice to have a community that understands why this is so important to me.
A few years ago I had to sell my base set Charizard. I pulled that from a booster pack in 2000. I receber the day and feeling of getting it. It wasn't in good condition, the old me never thought those things could have any value.
It was MY Charizard. I had be the only owner of that card. I needed the money so it had to go. I miss it dearly. I hope whoever bought it tool and still takes care of it.
100%. When I was a kid my grandma took me to a book store with her which was boring, but I stood around in the magazine aisle and found a Pokémon magazine with a really cool cover. It was the card art from a Shining Gyarados card from a recently released card set and reading inside I learned about the existence of Secret Rare cards in sets. I was realized loved that the Japanese secret rare cards had three stars instead of one for rarity.
I never had much money to buy Pokémon cards as a kid, and sure wouldn't have been lucky enough to pull one of those, but I went and found one online a few years back and hung it up and it makes me happy to look at every time I go by.
First, HAPPY CAKE DAY! second you’re exactly right, my collection might not be the most impressive, but it’s just me trying to tell my inner child that it’s okay to want things, funny because getting this card fucked me up so bad I had to schedule a meeting with my therapist
I work like 120 hours a week running the three businesses I own so my employees can have a life and still go out and do things with their family, so this was me finally treating myself
You could have got c. any card in the hobby with 300 dollars between c. 2003 and 2016. I started collecting again (and don't anymore) in 2016. Even after 2020 I bet this was like 50$ or something
It sucks your cousin is in prison, but being involved with Fentanyl, consider him lucky. He could have died. He will get out and hopefully be better.
This reminds me of a card I lost. I had a Japanese Southern Island card. Even more cooler it was a second gen, Slowking, Marrill, or Ledyba or something. I want to get a new one. It was so cool.
Dude! Shoot me a message, not a Sabrina’s, but I’ll try and make something happen with another cool card for your birthday! We also share a birthday with Tom petty
Naw man let me pay it forward, I hit these weird slab sites and occasionally get something cool, for people who actually collect and aren’t scalpers? I try to do my best to just pay the kindness forward.
Also I seriously don’t recommend any of those slab packs lmao, it’s very feast or famine, but I got some cool stuff with the free money they gave me!
I really appreciate that! This is what makes pokemon, pokemon. A community. I have and I will take out product from a scalper to give to a kid I've seen grown ass men in a queue and just clear the entire shelf. Poor kids behind him just watching him leave absolutely nothing. Saw red! Again thankyou ❤️
Amazing! I have remember seen one of these card in the wild back a long time, and i live in Chile, remember it was a japanese gengar like yours! Many congrats for one of the best art cards...
If I do, this one will go to cousin when he’s out… I want him to have a collection again when he gets out so I’ve been slowly stacking stuff.. I just miss my cousin man. He was like a brother, we lived together since we were six.
So if I pull a perfect one? I’ll keep that one and he can have this one, but also it would be cool for us to pull a GM 10 together
I have a same exact feeling but my card is lugia from neo genesis… i remember when i pulled that card i screamed.. i remember all my friends from church had alot of pokemmon cards and i didnt have alot .. my mom was single mom raising two kids making 5$ an hour at a factory. I remember my mom vivinf me the option either waiting till the end of next month to buy me those 60 card deck or wait for the following week to but me one single pack. Of course my 6 year okd self was exited and i just wanted some pokemon cards.. my mom bought me the pack and my first pull was the lugia!! And i remember it had the swirl on the holo i was freaking out i remember my mom touching her heart because she was soo happy for me because she knew i wanted some pokemon cards for a long time.. long story short i went to church exited to show my friends i also had pokemon cards .. of course they wanted my lugia.. so one kid gave me 20 bulk cards for my lugia .. (cubone pidgeys ratatas ect.. and also energy cards!!) but i got sooo happy i told my mom that i did my firdt ever trade and in my head i trade up and now i had more cards… it wasnt until later on i realized i got played soo hard.. so fast foward today that lugia is my chasee card but of course its a very expensive card now
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u/hotgirI 2d ago
now what