Learning the Joys of Collecting Pokémon With My Son

In general terms, we can say that the things we collect are directly connected with our childhood, and nostalgia plays an important role with the collectibles we are passionate about as a part of our lifestyle. However, from time to time, we find some articles which become relevant in our daily hobby for different reasons.

In my case, a few years ago in a clearance, I bought a Pokémon guide. And to be honest, after reading it, I thought I could sell or trade it for another collectible in the future, so I didn’t give too much importance to that book before collecting dust in my library.

But now things have changed because my son Alejandro is an enthusiastic fan of the Pokémon universe. At the beginning, I didn’t get involved as a collector, just as a father who spends fun time with his son, until one day he came back from the school, and he just did his first trade, he changed ten cards for one, and the condition of that card was terrible. So, my first thought was, the tailor’s wife is the worst clad.

From that moment, I decided to help him with his collection, that it would mean learning about trading cards and the legendary brand from zero and considering that the franchise has been on the market for almost 30 years, I must say that it is a titanic effort, particularly with the all of the names of the Pokémon characters.

On the other hand, although we are still rookies, we have been learning everything related to the trading card game with some extra helping hands. That invaluable aid comes from one of our local Mom and Pop shops, and as I have always thought, it is compulsory to get in touch with trusted people, who can guide and help us in this kind of quest.

Following with trading cards, we are focused on new series, although we keep an eye on the treasures from the past years too. And it is curious how Alejandro can be so sure to imagine having a Charizard first edition, which holds the title of being the third-highest price ever paid for a Pokémon card, on his collection.

The goal is much humbler and more realistic by now, and he is so proud of having some interesting Japanese cards, highlighting the promotional cards Pikachu VMAX S-P 265 (Corocoro Magazine 2022) and Pikachu SV-P 001 exclusive from the Pokémon Center.

My help and skills are much better with the action figures market in the end. I have been collecting this kind of collectible from other franchises for more than thirty years, and it is easier to teach him all about them. Among the current brands which offer us Pokémon figures in different shapes and scales, we have seen a great variety, spotlighting Bandai, Takara Tomy, Amiibo, Funko, Select and Jazwares.

By far, one of our favorite sets so far is the amazing Pokémon Team Rocket Action Figure Set (2017) from Bandai S.H. Figuarts series, so I will start the hunt for Jessie, James and Meowth figures in the short term.

Finally, about memorabilia, the list of licensing products is endless, from McDonalds’ Happy Meal surprises to luxury jewels, and it would be an impossible task to have an estimate of how many of them are in the market. Among those marvelous products, our preferred is the Mini Aceman with Pokémon Mode, which was presented at 2022 Gamescom (Cologne – Germany), and by the way, it is a real car not a diecast replica. It is simply crazy.

It is in this sense that we also added some interesting pieces to Alejandro’s collection, bearing in mind some of our recent acquisitions, such as a Pokémon TV Series Soundtrack Cassette factory sealed from 2000 and the promotional Scarlet; Violet Art Book Set from the Pokémon Center (2022).

Pokémon is one of the most important and recognizable brands of the last three decades and is a staple of past and present generations, and now it becomes a new member of our family of collectibles too. As a father, I truly believe that I have begun a beautiful journey with my son, no matter what the future holds, because I shall always remember our Pokémon experience today and in times to come.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below.