That's the fate pokemon cards were created to have. To be played with and loved until they're a fuzzy faded piece of trash in their 4th kid's closet.

Yup, gave mine to a neighbourhood kid that I babysat.

Honestly, over the years I think I've come to sour on the whole notion of collecting things as a hobby.

It's one thing if you're collecting stuff that no one wants and will be junked otherwise, or are collecting things to restore them and get rid of them again, but collecting stuff that is either highly desired or potentially used, just to collect it and have it sit there, feels really wasteful and self indulgent.

Everyone did that, that's why they're valuable now

Mine were stolen at church camp. I had planned on keeping them until they were worth something.

That’s the opposite of me… when I was in my early 20s and worked retail, a lady at my store saw my Pokémon hoodie and was like “my kids outgrew Pokémon, do you wanna buy their stuff for cheap?”

I go over there and there’s four containers (two of them Pokémon themed backpacks) full of minis, plushies, and more. I asked her how much and she’s like “ehhh fifty bucks?” I have never said yes so quickly in my life.

As I’m leaving, she’s like “oh do you want their cards for another forty?” And busts out three albums, complete sets of base, jungle, and fossil, with some other sets at the end. Base set had a bunch of first editions (not Charizard, unfortunately… just regular foil.)

I still have everything she sold me, 18 years later. I dunno if I can ever sell them.