So I started collecting a few months ago after a bunch of fake Pokémon packs brought back my inner childhood, and I discovered Coop Collection, DPM, Beard Dadz, and PokeSean on YT.
It made me want to be part of this community, so I did a little research on the Indian Pokémon community and came across this sub, a few Instagram pages, and a few websites that sold cards and packs.
I bought a Cheap Glory of Team Rocket pack from TGC hub and ripped it open, hit nothing but at the time I had no idea what Hits were or what packs and generations meant, all I knew about Pokémon was the Gen 1 cartoon I grew up watching and whatever I knew about Collection was from DPM Shorts and vids on YT.
A few weeks later, I saw 50 random Pokémon cards for 600rs on Amazon tho skeptical, I bought them. It was all Japanese commons in NM condition, and had like 30 Gen 1 Pokémon. By now, I was more aware of the niche of the hobby and the expensive card prices, which discouraged me quite a bit. So I didn't know what my goal was or if I really wanted to be a collector, but when I saw those 30 Gen 1 common cards, I immediately knew what I wanted: to collect the 151 set.
So I started actively browsing this Sub with a clear goal in mind, but then quickly realised there is no way I'll ever be able to collect all 151 sets because SIR, AR, and the set itself is too expensive lol.
So I realligned my goal "All 151 Pokemons any set any language", this is doable.
And that is when I came across u/justanormalsid, who not only sold me my very first gen 1 bulk but helped me understand the market and navigate the hobby better, and has helped me constantly. Thank you, dude.
So now, with a Clear goal in mind, I set myself a 500rs/month budget (which has gone over sometimes), actively looking for Bulk sellers on the sub. That is when I found u/IMG_Anirudh u/Forward_suit8236 u/Yogi2095
who again not just sold me Gen 1 bulks but actively helped me in my journey.
Thank you guys so much for the assist.
So, I couldn't afford expensive cards for dopamine hits, and buying common cards to just store in a binder didn't feel enough for me, c'mon, there has to be more to the hobby, right?
Then one day, while I was watching DPM video, I learned about Mitchi method, and it clicked, yes, this is what I want my collection journey to be, curated, personalised, and fun.
So the next question is, how do I go about this? Just artworks and screenshots? Nope, I grew up watching Gen 1 cartoons on TV, watched Ash lose Indigo League, watched him win Orange Island, watched him say goodbye to Charizard, Butterfree, and so much more, that was personal to me, and that is what I want in my binder.
I am going to create the entire anime in chronological order, page by page, in my binder with all 151 Pokémon cards having their own Slots and space that makes sense cartoon-wise and is meaningful to the binder and the Pokémon.
So the next month and a half, I did a full analysis of the cartoon, created Excel sheets to track every Pokémon episode-wise, and re-watched S1 of the anime to know what is the best place for each Pokémon. Made a tracker, a planner, etc., I started designing each page 1 by 1, all 151 Pokémon, deciding on the type of binder I want the number of slots I need, the extra non-Pokémon card I require, analysing and re-analyzing the design, theme, and order of cards over and over again with heart, soul and love poured into it, because for me this entire process is my collection journey, not just chasing cards.
Pictures of My Excel Sheets and Trackers:
So after over two months of Excel, I decided on a 4x4 binder and got one from Pokedex, and now I am designing the pages. All cards are in their respective slots (except those I am still missing) , I will now start printing and arranging screenshots and artworks to fill the slots and tell the story.
Some of the pages in my binder (Without the artworks and fillers)
Final Designs of how it'll look in the binder (Have finished designing the first 15 pages so far)
I have loved every minute and every second of this, and while I am still short of a lot of cards, I love that this is my collection journey so far and while I am super excited to get all the cards to fill all the slots, I am also excited to search for cards, design artworks, create my excell sheets and everything this hobby has give me over the last few months.
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me so far and to anyone who'll help me in the future. We all have our own collection journey, and this has so far been mine, "To be the very best like no one ever was."
List of cards I still need, if anyone has it and wants to sell, please reach out (I can't afford expensive and rare ones tho)
Anyone who made it this far, thank you for your patience and for reading. If you have any comments, suggestions, or anything in general, my DMs are open, and I will reply to all comments. Thank you.