She's Collected Numerous of Pokemon Cards with Holes, and You Can't Stop Her.

Pokémon creators unveiled collectors to the trading card game Diamond and Pearl set during 2007, including the Bonsly illustration. In this card, the fourth generation stone creature appears by illustrator Midori Harada in an unusual situation. On the card, this pre-evolution appears toppled and shedding tears. But don't misunderstand, though. Like its ability Fake Tears, the little creature attempts to influence the other player's mood with the goal of lowering their offensive power. Iconic piece, no? Musician and harpist Emily certainly thinks so. She possesses an album with 305 Bonsly illustrations to prove it.

The Full Collection and Its Highlights

That's not everything she has as well. She obtained a score of reverse foil copies featuring Bonsly, showing the little guy with shiny foil covering everything except the primary illustration. The crown jewel, however, turns out to be the PSA 6-rated holo reverse of Bonsly. Certainly, it's far from a top-graded Charizard illustration. However, can you claim a quirky, nearly pristine Bonsly card kept forever immortalized? I didn't think so.

Origins of the Collection

Hopkins has spent most of the current year stockpiling every 2007 Bonsly card she can possibly find. She discovered of this rare card earlier this year, during a discussion the most infamous cards in the compendium with a staff member in a nearby store. Omanyte in tears was a contender, along with the lonely Cubone on a park ride. Yet it was Bonsly crying, aka the seventeenth card, that grabbed Hopkins's attention.

The Concept of Bonsly

Bonsly draws clear inspiration on bonsai trees, which are typically planted in planters featuring holes for drainage. These holes are intended to aid growth, so much so that enthusiasts advise one another to add holes in their containers when none are present. Bonsai can also be placed on shallow pots lacking drainage, referred to as suiban, and the collected moisture can help growers style their trees to resemble nature vistas. Bonsly is the former, which explains the hole.

A Memorable and Notorious Card

Despite this logical explanation, however, Pokémon's creators looks a bit a little too concerned about the drainage feature. Also, products like Bonsly plushes make sure to include a cavity on the underside of Bonsly. Regardless whether the portrayal of this particular Bonsly appears sad or at ease: It features hole. This hole represents an intrinsic part of how Bonsly looks. Card number 71 turned into an internet joke within the community because of that drainage hole, as well as its rarity. For years before, this Bonsly card remained the sole iteration featuring Bonsly printed in a game where many of its monsters usually appear in multiple editions. For sixteen years, were you seeking this Pokémon card, you were stuck with the hole version.

The Collector's Passion

"When I discovered this card on the list of oddball cards, I felt I had found my new favorite," she explains over email, adding that it was unexpected that she hadn't encountered it earlier. She is quick to inform you her fondness for Bonsly #71 serves no practical purpose, but she didn't care. The liking turned into a major fixation, as she acquired every Bonsly #71 card that she could get her hands on. She soon developed a habit of stopping by her local card shop regularly, and became known to the employees as the Bonsly collector. The shop started putting any new copies of Bonsly #71 that came in only for her. Typically, these cards cost between $1 and $3, she notes, calculating that her total expenditure is somewhere around $400 for the collection book.

The Financial Side

Currently, excellent the card can cost up to $14.99. Although that is expensive, run-of-the-mill Bonsly #71 cards are often priced at starting at $4. That price increase more or less coincides with when Hopkins started building her set, although there are probably several factors at play. Although the card is notorious among collectors, Hopkins's posts regarding the card have received countless views. As news about this card expands further to new fans, there's a chance the value of these cards may continue to shoot up. At the very least, enthusiasts note that trading card game values are skyrocketing this year across the board.

No Signs of Stopping

Hopkins cannot be stopped, however.

"What's incredible is a few followers and viewers from her channel have mailed their own Bonsly cards to me to expand the set, and I am keeping these Bonsly safe forever," she declares. Instead of being put off, fans are impressed and inspired by her collection.

"I've long desired to try this," one commenter says. "Buy up all of a common card|every copy of a common card