Notas del episodio
I haven’t seriously collected Pokémon cards since around 2001… and coming back to the hobby now feels absolutely insane. I was there for the original cards, the playground trades, the binders, the Game Boy games, and the first wave of Pokémania. I followed the hobby off and on over the years, but in 2017 I sold my original collection for basically pennies compared to what those cards are worth today. Now I’m jumping back in as a normal nostalgic collector — not a scalper, not an influencer, not a hardcore investor — just a guy trying to understand what happened to Pokémon cards. @WhiteBatAudio In this Off THE COUCH TOK livestream podcast, I’m talking about the current Pokémon card market, scalpers, crazy prices, sealed product, nostalgia, old-school collecting, modern sets, and what it feels like to come back to the hobby after growing up with the original cards. I’ll also be rewatching the Pokémon movies over the next couple weeks, so this is the start of a bigger nostalgia trip through Pokémon, collecting, childhood memories, and what this franchise has become. Music @WhiteBatAudio Pokémon TCG is also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026 with special worldwide releases, which makes the timing of this nostalgia wave even crazier. Recent reporting has also highlighted how scalping, sold-out product, and retailer anti-scalper efforts are still major issues in the hobby.