In hindsight, it was an unfortunate decision: In late 2023, I set out to collect a master set of every English Umbreon Pokémon card. Little did I know the dark cat resembling the night had recently dethroned most other popular mons and even the legendary Charizard, making any cards featuring it increasingly expensive.
Still, when I began, there were only around 50 Umbreon cards in total. How bad it could be, right? I bought some of the newer and cheaper ones to get going, and some older ones in medium to played condition. Gotta start somewhere, right?
In the summer of 2024, however, I found myself at a crossroads: The Umbreon VMAX alternative art from Evolving Skies, a card contending for the greatest artwork ever—it shows Umbreon on a clocktower at night, reaching for the moon—was about to elude my wallet’s grasp. After much debate, I shelled out nearly 400 € for a “Moonbreon” specimen in very good if not perfect condition. It was the most I had ever paid for a single card. I ended up shocked but happy. Phew! One of the big grails secured!
I continued buying some of the smaller cards here and there, but, for over a year, none of the hard hitters came my way. Until September 2025, when I was in Japan. A certain, very special Umbreon card from over 20 years ago was only available in Japanese, but I had always known I wanted it as part of my master set. Copies were rare in Europe and came with a hefty premium. So while in Japan, I visited dozens of card shops, hoping for good fortune. Alas, no Karen’s Umbreons. That is, until the very last day—when I found two in the span of a few hours. It was fate and, perhaps, my last chance! I ended up buying both, which is its own story, and yet again, at around 600 and 800 €, they were the two most expensive, individual cards I had ever bought. And back to back, too.
For better or for worse, the Pokémon hype kept growing over the following months. So when a new set featuring Umbreon as the top chase card landed in early 2025, I prepared for the worst: 1500 € and more was the asking price for the new “Sunbreon,” a crystallized, colorful successor to the “Moonbreon” card I had bought half a year earlier. Thankfully, single prices always plummet after release. Unfortunately, for hard-to-pull grails like this one, they’ll never drop all that much.
Eventually, in late 2025, more than a year after my most expensive purchase ever, rising demand once again knocked at my door. Just as I was mulling over whether I should pull the trigger on what was still an 800 € piece of cardboard, a massive buyout happened on the platform I was browsing. I could see all listings disappear in real-time. I even messaged customer support, but they told me all was well.
Over the next few days, new listings slowly appeared. 2000 €. 1800 €. 1600 €. “Geez!” I thought. “Have I missed the train?” Luckily, I found a vendor elsewhere and, by the time I did, I barely thought about the 910 € price tag. Yet again, it was the most expensive card I had ever bought. I had to breathe into a paper bag a few times but, ultimately, it turned out okay. The card never dropped much lower in price afterwards, at least until now.
Months passed, and I further built out the set in waves. I would order a whole bunch of cards, then forget about it again for a while. In one of my less active phases, I stumbled upon a video where a big Youtuber did the exact same project for a fellow collector: He helped him finish his Umbreon master set! My first thought? “Oh no.” The video racked up three million views in a matter of days, and I knew it would further drive up prices for Umbreon cards. On the other hand, it was incredibly inspiring to watch a grown man hunt down rare collectibles for a stranger turned friend.
“I guess it’s now or never,” I thought to myself—and set about finishing my collection. I already had a vague sense of what some of the more vintage cards were going for, so I braced for impact. Some cards I had simply procrastinated on, so it wasn’t too hard to pull the trigger on those. Others ended up causing yet much more deliberation. Many more hard and easy decisions followed, but, of course, I subconsciously saved “the best” for last: The vintage Umbreon holo from Skyridge, a set from 2003.
The set had a limited print run due to the license for card development and printing changing hands at the time. It also featured a unique e-reader design, which allowed you to scan cards with a special Game Boy add-on device to unlock more goodies in the games. Finally, with everyone’s favorite black cat sitting in a dark field at night, looking over its shoulder, it simply is one of the most iconic card designs in Pokémon history.
With the few remaining, unopened booster boxes most likely in the six-figure price range and most 20-year-old cards not exactly having survived in great condition, this card is a grail of grails. Ergo, you know what’s coming: No prices under four figures for not-completely-shredded versions, and Nik, yet again, had to decide: Do I spend the most I have ever spent on a Pokémon card? After days of comparing, I found a friendly seller with a graded copy in somewhat acceptable condition. I swallowed the extra 300 € compared to the Sunbreon and tried not to think too much about it.
Right now, I’m waiting for said card to arrive. Soon, I’ll sit back at my parents house, sort, sleeve, and catalog all remainders. Then, it’s time to document, finalize, protect, and store away the set for the time being. What am I going to do with it in the long term? I don’t know. I hope to own it for many years. It’s been one hell of a journey. As I already have done many times, I’ll flick through it and cherish the memories. And, maybe one day far into the future, I’ll consider letting it go to a fan with just as much love for the franchise. Who knows? But whether I’ll sell it one day or not, I have no doubt it’ll have been an investment worth making. Financially, sure, but the journey was more than half the fun!
Spending ever higher sums on shiny cardboard may seem a strange example, but if you were to feel these situations as I have felt them, you’d know: This, too, is a way of growing with your challenges. Buying or leasing your first car is a big expense. So is throwing a wedding, and let’s not speak of buying a house. A 500 € gaming console feels to a 12-year-old like a Ferrari feels to a 45-year-old man: untouchable. And yet, we learn, we grow, we think. We feel, we decide, and we understand the true power of money: It’s all in how we spend it, and whether we do so on purpose.
There is one more Umbreon card I’m missing, by the way. It’s a Gold Star version from a very limited edition pack. The card itself is inconspicuous—but it’s so rare, even the shoddiest copy already goes for 5000 € and up these days. For now, it’s far beyond my budget, and it may always remain so. Should the time I can afford it ever come, the price will likely have reached yet higher stratospheres. If so, that’s okay. But let’s wait and see—we’re growing with our challenges, after all, and this one’s not over yet.
