She's Collected Numerous of Pokemon Cards with Holes, and Nothing Can Halt Her.
The Pokémon Company unveiled collectors to the card series Diamond & Pearl expansion in the year 2007, showcasing the Bonsly card. On this artwork, the Gen 4 stone creature is shown by artist Midori Harada in a somewhat awkward situation. In the image, the predecessor to Sudowoodo can be seen fallen and shedding tears. But don't misunderstand, though. As its move Fake Tears suggests, the little creature aims to manipulate their opponent's emotions with the goal of lowering their damage output. Iconic piece, isn't it? Harp player Emily Hopkins certainly thinks so. She possesses a binder with 305 Bonsly illustrations to prove it.
The Entire Assortment with Key Pieces
But that isn't the whole collection either. She's got twenty holo reverse editions featuring Bonsly, which depicts the small Pokémon with shiny foil everywhere but the central artwork. The most valuable item, yet, proves to be the PSA 6-graded reverse holo Bonsly card. Sure, it isn't a high-grade Charizard illustration. Yet, do you possess an amusing, almost perfect Bonsly card kept forever immortalized? I thought as much.
Origins of the Collection
Emily dedicated much of 2025 gathering all available Bonsly cards from that year available on the market. She initially learned of this rare card at the start of the year, while talking about the notoriously odd cards in the Pokémon TCG with a worker in a nearby store. Omanyte in tears was considered, as was the forever alone Cubone at the theme park. Yet it was Crying Bonsly, aka Bonsly #17, which captured Emily's focus.
The Concept of Bonsly
Bonsly is obviously influenced from miniature trees, which are typically planted in pots featuring holes for drainage. They are designed to support healthy development, in fact enthusiasts encourage each other to add holes on the bottom if they don't already have one. Bonsai can also be placed in shallow containers lacking drainage, called suiban, where the water stays can help growers style their trees to resemble nature vistas. Bonsly represents the first type, which explains the hole.
The Infamous Hole Card
Although this makes sense, yet, Pokémon's creators appears somewhat overly focused about the drainage feature. Even merchandise like Bonsly plushes ensure they feature an empty space on the underside of the tree-like Pokémon. It doesn't matter if the depiction of the Pokémon is crying or at ease: It's going to show the hole. The opening is an intrinsic part of Bonsly's design. This specific Bonsly card gained meme status among fans because of its distinctive hole, in addition to its status. For years before, the card was the only version of Bonsly available included in the series in which most Pokémon are typically depicted in dozens of different ways. For sixteen years, should you desire this Pokémon card, you were stuck with the hole version.
The Collector's Passion
"When I saw this card on the list of these cursed cards, I knew I located the one for me," Hopkins shares via email, noting that she felt astonished to have never seen it before. She is quick to state her passion for this particular card is completely useless, but it didn't matter. The liking evolved into a major fixation, as Hopkins bought all copies of this card available to her. She adopted a routine of stopping by her favorite shop on a weekly basis, and was dubbed to the employees as "Bonsly Girl". The shop started reserving all incoming this specific card it received aside just for Hopkins. Typically, these cards are priced at one to three dollars, she says, estimating that she's spent approximately four hundred dollars only on the album itself.
Market Trends and Value
These days, pristine the card may reach prices of around fifteen dollars. While that is a premium price, run-of-the-mill versions usually go for starting at $4. This rise in cost more or less coincides with the time Emily began building her set, although there are probably various influences. Even though Bonsly #71 is well-known in the community, her online content about it have also garnered countless views. As awareness about this card continues to spread among more people, it is likely that the value of these cards could keep rising. At the very least, collectors mention how TCG prices are skyrocketing this year overall.
Unstoppable Determination
Nothing can halt her, however.
"The amazing thing is that certain fans and fans from her channel have shipped copies of Bonsly her way for her album, and she is preserving these cards protected always," Hopkins says. Instead of being put off, viewers feel admiration and motivation by her Bonsly binder.
"I've actually always wanted to do this," one commenter says. "Purchase all of a common card|every copy of a common card
