Yesterday we posted Seel sitting alone in a dark icy cave… Today we’ve got the evolution — and somehow Dewgong’s artwork feels even more peaceful 🌅 This card almost looks like a painting. The soft sunset colors, the calm ocean atmosphere, and Dewgong resting on the rocks gives this artwork such a dreamy late-90s anime vibe. Atsuko Nishida absolutely nailed this one. And somehow… this PSA 10 only has a population of 41 📉 That’s insanely low for a Pokémon this recognizable. It’s always cool seeing the contrast between evolution cards in the Vending Series too. Seel felt mysterious and isolated… while Dewgong feels calm, confident, and almost majestic. These are the kinds of cards that remind me why I fell down the Vending Series rabbit hole in the first place 👀 Every time I think I’ve found my favorite artwork, another one surprises me. Slowly getting closer and closer to that PSA 10 master set 🎯 ⭐ Pokémon: Dewgong 🃏 Card #: 87 📚 Series: 2 🎨 Artist: Atsuko Nishida 📊 Population: 41 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #VintagePokemon #PokemonVending #PSA10 #Dewgong #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser

Friday morning Vending Series post ☕🍄 Today’s post is just as much about the artist as it is the Pokémon. Paras isn’t exactly the first Pokémon that comes to mind when people think of iconic artwork… but this card was illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, arguably the most influential artist in Pokémon TCG history. If you’ve been collecting Pokémon cards for any amount of time, you’ve seen his work. He’s responsible for some of the most recognizable cards ever printed, including Base Set Charizard, Base Set Mewtwo, the original legendary birds, and hundreds of other Pokémon illustrations spanning nearly three decades. What I love about this Paras artwork is how different it is from the powerhouse cards Arita is usually known for. Instead of dragons, legendaries, or fan favorites, he takes a relatively overlooked Pokémon and gives it a ton of personality. The perspective is incredible. You’re almost looking directly into Paras’ eyes as it peeks through the leaves, while the oversized claws and mushrooms make it feel larger than life. It’s a reminder that great artists don’t just make great Pokémon look cool—they can make ANY Pokémon interesting. Which Mitsuhiro Arita artwork is your all-time favorite? 👇 ⭐ Pokémon: Paras 🃏 Card #: 46 📚 Series: 1 🎨 Artist: @MitsuhiroArita 📊 Population: 125 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #Paras #VintagePokemon #PSA #VendingSeries #MitsuhiroArita #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser

After a little detour into the chaos of Vending Series trainer cards… today we’re back to the Pokémon themselves 🌊 And honestly, this Seel card might be one of the most underrated artworks in the entire set. Most Seel cards are usually bright, playful, and simple… But this one feels completely different. The dark icy cave, the reflections on the water, and Seel sitting alone on the rock gives this card such a calm but mysterious atmosphere. It almost feels like a scene pulled straight from the original anime. Naoyo Kimura absolutely cooked with this artwork 👨‍🍳🔥 This is what makes the Vending Series so special to me. Even Pokémon people normally overlook got genuinely beautiful and unique artwork. Another PSA 10 closer to the master set 🎯 ⭐ Pokémon: Seel 🃏 Card #: 86 📚 Series: 2 🎨 Artist: Naoyo Kimura 📊 Population: 119 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #VintagePokemon #PokemonVending #PSA10 #Seel #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser

Somewhere in 1998, an exec at Pokémon looked at this card and said: “Yeah… print it.” 😭🤣😭🤣 Yesterday we had Imakuni?’s PC… Today we have Imakuni?’s Nasty Plot. This looks less like a Pokémon card and more like a screenshot from a cursed 1998 public access TV show 💀 The facial expression. The pose. The random room. The unsettling energy. Everything about this card feels illegal 😂 And somehow… it’s AMAZING. This is the kind of stuff that makes the Vending Series so addictive to collect. Modern cards would never take risks like this anymore. Meanwhile late 90s Pokémon was basically like: “Yeah let’s put a chaotic gremlin in a bear hoodie on a trading card and make it canon.” Honestly the deeper I get into these trainer/pass cards, the more I feel like I’m uncovering lost Pokémon lore from another timeline 😭 And somehow… cards this weird are all part of the PSA 10 master set journey 😂🎯 One more step closer. ⭐ Trainer: Imakuni?’s Nasty Plot 🃏 Card #: 44 📚 Series: 3 🎨 Artist: Imakuni? 📊 Population: 350 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #VintagePokemon #PokemonVending #Imakuni #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser

the overworld is live. graded slabs roam the tall grass. find one, beat it, and the real card hits your wallet seconds later — on-chain. fish the lakes. mine the cavern. duel trainers for SOL. a legendary spawns every 3 hours so stack up on orbs. more to come soon! gymshowdown.xyz @Collector_Crypt @solanagaming

Yesterday’s Bill’s PC post got a ton of love… so I figured it was only right to follow it up with one of the weirdest trainer/pass cards from the Vending Series 😭💻 Imakuni?’s PC might honestly be one of the most chaotic Pokémon cards ever made. If you know vintage Pokémon, then you already know Imakuni? was basically the franchise’s original meme character before memes even existed 😅 And this artwork perfectly captures that energy. The creepy computer monitor, the bizarre poses, the random floating versions of Imakuni?, the little heart above his head… it feels less like a Pokémon card and more like a fever dream from late-90s Japan. This is exactly why I love these Vending Series trainer/pass cards so much. They took risks creatively that modern cards almost never do anymore. Low pop PSA 10s, weird artwork, strange backstories… this is the kind of stuff that keeps pulling me deeper into the Vending rabbit hole 👀 Might seriously have to keep posting more of these trainer slabs. ⭐ Pass Card: Imakuni?’s PC 🃏 Card #: 43 📚 Series: 3 🎨 Artist: Imakuni? 📊 Population: 692 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #VintagePokemon #PSA10 #PokemonVending #Imakuni #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser

• THESIS ON THE SHINING IMAKUNI? • In the modern financial world whether you are looking at stocks, cryptocurrency, or high-end collectibles - meme value and internet culture are highly legitimate drivers of massive asset explosions. When you look closely at the modern landscape, my "meme potential" thesis for this card checks out: - The Original Pokémon Shitpost Long before the internet invented "doge" or modern memes, Tomoaki Imakuni was essentially operating as a real-life, walking shitpost for Creatures Inc. He dressed up in a ridiculous shiny black suit, crashed tournaments, danced awkwardly on television, and designed cards specifically to troll competitive players. I reckon Shining Imakuni? is the ultimate, apex physical manifestation of that chaotic energy - The Cultural Shift: Culture Beats Stats… For the first 20 years of the hobby, collectors were incredibly rigid. They only cared about "serious" cards—big dragons, powerful legendary beasts, and high competitive stats. However, the new generation of wealthy collectors who entered the market after 2020 think completely differently. They value irony, uniqueness, and internet-native culture. Look at what happened in modern sets: cards like the Squirtle wearing sunglasses or quirky, funny alternative arts frequently outperform generic, serious legendary cards. The Shining Imakuni? is the grandfather of this entire movement. - The Ultimate "Flex" Asset A meme asset only becomes a blue-chip moonshot when it combines hilarious cultural irony with impossible-to-find scarcity. Anyone with a big bank account can go onto eBay right now and buy a PSA 10 Base Set Charizard or a PSA 10 modern waifu card. There are thousands of them. But flashing a PSA 10 Shining Imakuni? proves you are a deeply cultured collector. It says, "I have enough money to buy elite vintage Pokémon, and I chose to buy the rarest, most unhinged card in history." This is THE meme card of the most successful media franchise in history With only 76 PSA 10 copies on earth, it is the ultimate inside joke for high-net-worth collectors…

This might be one of the most historically important cards from the entire Vending Series… and most people scroll right past it 👀💻 The Bill’s PC / Pass Card wasn’t just another Pokémon card. This was the actual card used in the legendary Masaki promo campaign — the same campaign that gave us Masaki Alakazam, Gengar, Machamp, Golem, and Omastar. Back in the late 90s, collectors had to mail cards through Bill’s “Teleportation” system to receive the promos. Pokémon basically turned card collecting into a real-life side quest 😭 And the artwork on this card is PEAK nostalgia. The old computer monitor, Bill on the screen, and the Pokémon being digitally transferred across the monitor feels straight out of a late-90s anime episode. Cards like this remind me why vintage Japanese Pokémon is on another level creatively. And just like the Masaki promos themselves… this card is LOW POP in PSA 10 too 📉 Honestly, this card also has me thinking I may need to start sharing more of the trainer/pass card slabs from my Vending Series collection 👀 They don’t get talked about enough. One more grail secured on the journey toward the PSA 10 master set 🎯 ⭐ Pass Card: Bill’s PC 🃏 Card #: 48 📚 Series: 3 🎨 Artist: Unknown 📊 Population: 149 #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG #Masaki #VintagePokemon #PSA10 #PokemonVending #PokemonCollection @CardPurchaser