She's Collected Numerous of Pokémon Drainage Hole Cards, and You Can't Stop Her.
The Pokémon Company introduced collectors to the trading card game DP edition in the year 2007, showcasing the Bonsly card. Within this depiction, the Gen 4 rock-type is portrayed by artist Midori Harada in a, shall we say, compromising situation. Here, the predecessor to Sudowoodo appears toppled and crying. However, don't mistake this, yet. Like its ability the move Fake Tears, this Pokémon attempts to influence their opponent's emotions to lowering their damage output. Iconic piece, no? Harp player Emily absolutely agrees. She possesses a collection book with 305 Bonsly illustrations to show for it.
The Entire Assortment and Its Highlights
That's not everything she has either. She's got 20 holo reverse editions featuring Bonsly, which depicts the tyke with shiny foil covering everything except the main image. The most valuable item, though, turns out to be the PSA 6-rated holo reverse Bonsly edition. Certainly, it isn't a mint-condition Charizard illustration. But do you have a quirky, close to mint Bonsly illustration kept in its eternal glory? I didn't think so.
Origins of the Collection
She invested much of 2025 stockpiling all available Bonsly cards from that year available on the market. She initially learned regarding this discontinued card earlier this year, while debating the notoriously odd cards in the compendium with a worker in a nearby store. Omanyte in tears was considered, along with Cubone by itself on a park ride. However, the one that Crying Bonsly, or the seventeenth card, that caught her interest.
The Design and Inspiration
The design of Bonsly is based by bonsai plants, that are commonly placed in containers featuring holes for drainage. They are designed to help the plant grow, in fact fans encourage each other to create openings into their pots if they don't already have one. Bonsai can also be placed on low dishes without holes, referred to as suiban, and the collected moisture can help caretakers decorate their plants to mimic nature vistas. Bonsly is the former, which explains the hole.
The Infamous Hole Card
Despite this logical explanation, yet, Pokémon's creators seems almost overly focused regarding the hole in Bonsly. Also, products including stuffed Bonsly ensure they feature a hollow cavern at the bottom of Bonsly. It makes no difference if the depiction of this particular Bonsly is crying or content: It's going to show the hole. The opening is an intrinsic part of Bonsly's design. Card number 71 became a meme in collector circles both due to that drainage hole, as well as its unique position. Up until last year, this Bonsly card remained the sole iteration of Bonsly available printed in a game in which most Pokémon are commonly shown in dozens of different ways. For sixteen years, should you desire this Pokémon card, you needed to accept with the hole version.
A Growing Obsession
"Upon noticing this card on the list of these cursed cards, I knew I located my favorite one," Hopkins shares in a message, mentioning how she was surprised to have never seen it before. She admits freely to inform you her passion for this particular card is completely useless, but she didn't care. The appreciation became a major fixation, as Hopkins bought all copies of this card she could possibly find. She quickly got into a routine of going to her local card shop every week, and became known to the employees as the Bonsly fan. The store began putting any new copies of Bonsly #71 it received aside just for Hopkins. The majority of these are priced at one to three dollars, she mentions, approximating she's spent somewhere around $400 just on the binder alone.
The Financial Side
These days, pristine this Bonsly card might be valued at nearly $15. While that is a premium price, standard copies tend to cost four dollars or more. This rise in cost corresponds to her starting point building her set, but it's possible that various influences. While it's true that the card is notorious in the community, Emily's social media updates regarding the card have received a huge audience. With information regarding Bonsly #71 keeps growing among more people, it's possible that the price of Bonsly #71 cards might increase even more. At the very least, collectors note that TCG prices are climbing currently across the board.
No Signs of Stopping
Hopkins cannot be stopped, yet.
"The wonderful part is a few followers and viewers on social media have mailed their own Bonsly cards to Emily for her album, and they will remain them secure indefinitely," she declares. Rather than recoil in horror, the audience are impressed and inspired by her Bonsly binder.
"For years, I wished to do this," one commenter says. "Buy up all of a common card|every copy of a common card
