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Pokémon creators released fans to the card series DP expansion during 2007, showcasing a Bonsly trading card. On this artwork, the Gen 4 Rock Pokémon is shown by artist Midori Harada in a somewhat awkward position. On the card, the predecessor to Sudowoodo is depicted knocked over and shedding tears. But don't misunderstand, though. Similar to its attack Fake Tears suggests, the little creature attempts to influence the foe's feelings with the goal of decreasing their offensive power. Unforgettable artwork, isn't it? Musician and harpist Emily Hopkins absolutely agrees. She possesses a collection book filled with 305 cards of Bonsly as evidence.

Her Complete Set and Its Highlights

However, that's not everything she has also. She obtained 20 holo reverse copies of this particular card, showing the little guy in reflective foil everywhere but the primary illustration. The crown jewel, however, proves to be the professionally graded PSA 6 reverse holo Bonsly card. Admittedly, it's far from a top-graded original Charizard card. However, can you claim a goofy, close to mint Bonsly card maintained forever immortalized? Probably not.

The Start of the Obsession

She invested most of the current year gathering each Bonsly card from 2007 she can possibly find. She first heard regarding this discontinued card earlier this year, while talking about the notoriously odd cards among collectors with a worker at her favorite card shop. Crying Omanyte was in the running, just like Cubone by itself at the theme park. Yet it was The sobbing Bonsly, or the seventeenth card, which captured Emily's focus.

The Design and Inspiration

Bonsly is obviously influenced by bonsai plants, which are typically planted in pots with holes at the bottom. They are designed to help the plant grow, to the extent that enthusiasts suggest to peers to create openings into their pots if they don't already have one. They can also be positioned on shallow pots without holes, referred to as suiban, and the collected moisture may assist growers decorate their plants to resemble natural landscapes. Bonsly is the former, thus the hole exists.

A Memorable and Notorious Card

Although this makes sense, though, Pokémon's creators looks a bit a little too concerned with Bonsly's hole. Also, products such as Bonsly plush toys make sure to include a hollow cavern below of Bonsly. It doesn't matter whether the portrayal of Bonsly in question is weeping or content: It's going to show a hole. This hole represents an intrinsic part of Bonsly's design. This specific Bonsly card gained meme status among fans because of its distinctive hole, as well as its status. Until recently, Bonsly #71 remained the sole iteration featuring Bonsly printed in a game where numerous creatures usually appear in various forms. For 16 years, should you desire this Pokémon card, you had to settle for hole Bonsly.

A Growing Obsession

"When I discovered this card on the list of oddball cards, I felt I had found my favorite one," Hopkins shares via email, mentioning how she was surprised to have never seen it before. She'll be the first to tell you her fondness for the Bonsly card serves no practical purpose, but it didn't matter. The liking evolved into a full-blown obsession, with Emily purchasing every Bonsly #71 card available to her. She soon developed a practice of going to her local card shop every week, and became known by workers as the Bonsly collector. The shop started setting aside any recently acquired Bonsly #71 cards that came in exclusively for Emily. The majority of these are priced at one to three dollars, she notes, estimating that she has invested approximately four hundred dollars only on the album itself.

Market Trends and Value

Currently, excellent the card may reach prices of around fifteen dollars. While that is a premium price, standard versions are often priced at four dollars or more. That price increase roughly aligns with the time Emily began building her set, but it's possible that various influences. Although Bonsly #71 is well-known in the community, her online content about it have received millions of views. With information of its existence keeps growing to a wider audience, there's a chance the value of these cards could keep rising. At the very least, collectors note that TCG prices are climbing this year in general.

Her Relentless Pursuit

Nothing can halt her, though.

"The amazing thing remains that some supporters and fans of the YouTube channel have sent their own Bonsly cards to Emily to expand the set, and she is preserving these Bonsly safe forever," Hopkins says. Rather than recoil in horror, fans are impressed and inspired by her Bonsly binder.

"I've long desired to try this," an observer mentions. "Purchase all of a common card|every copy of a common card