She Has Amassed Hundreds of Pokemon Cards with Holes, and Nothing Can Halt Her.
The Pokémon Company unveiled fans to the card series Diamond & Pearl edition in the year 2007, showcasing a Bonsly trading card. On this artwork, Gen IV rock-type is portrayed by designer Harada-san in a, shall we say, compromising situation. Here, Bonsly, which evolves into Sudowoodo is depicted toppled and crying. But don't misunderstand, however. Like its ability Fake Tears suggests, this Pokémon is trying to influence their opponent's emotions with the goal of lowering their attack. Unforgettable artwork, right? Musician and harpist Emily Hopkins is a firm believer. She possesses a binder with 305 cards of Bonsly to prove it.
The Full Collection and Its Highlights
But that isn't the whole collection as well. She's got a score of holo reverse copies of the Bonsly card, portraying the tyke with metallic accents everywhere but the main image. The crown jewel, yet, turns out to be the professionally graded PSA 6 reverse holo Bonsly edition. Sure, it isn't a top-graded Charizard illustration. But do you have an amusing, close to mint card of Bonsly preserved forever immortalized? I thought as much.
Origins of the Collection
She invested much of 2025 accumulating each Bonsly card from 2007 available on the market. She initially learned about the out-of-print card in recent months, while debating the most cursed cards in the compendium with an employee at a local shop. The weeping Omanyte was considered, just like the lonely Cubone on a park ride. However, the one that Bonsly crying, or the seventeenth card, that grabbed her interest.
The Design and Inspiration
Bonsly draws clear inspiration from miniature trees, which are typically planted in containers that have drainage holes. These holes are intended to help the plant grow, so much so that enthusiasts encourage each other to create openings in their containers if they don't already have one. Bonsai can also be placed on shallow pots hole-free, referred to as suiban, and the collected moisture may assist enthusiasts arrange their bonsai to look like nature vistas. Bonsly is the former, thus the hole exists.
A Memorable and Notorious Card
Even with this reasonable background, however, The Pokémon Company seems almost excessively attentive with Bonsly's hole. Also, products including stuffed Bonsly make sure to include a hollow cavern on the underside of Bonsly. It doesn't matter whether the portrayal of the Pokémon appears sad or content: It will display the hole. The opening is a fundamental aspect of how Bonsly looks. Bonsly #71 turned into an internet joke within the community because of its distinctive hole, in addition to its rarity. Up until last year, Bonsly #71 was the single type of Bonsly available released in the TCG where many of its monsters usually appear in various forms. For sixteen years, were you seeking a card of Bonsly, you were stuck for hole Bonsly.
A Growing Obsession
"Upon noticing Bonsly among the selections of infamous cards, I knew I had found the one for me," Hopkins shares in a message, noting that she was surprised to have missed it until then. She admits freely to tell you her love of Bonsly #71 serves no practical purpose, yet that didn't stop her. The initial interest evolved into a major fixation, with Emily purchasing all copies of this card she could possibly find. She quickly got into a practice of visiting her favorite shop on a weekly basis, and earned the nickname among the staff as the Bonsly collector. The shop started putting any new copies of Bonsly #71 that came in only for her. Most of these cards are priced at one to three dollars, she says, approximating her total expenditure is approximately four hundred dollars just on the binder alone.
Market Trends and Value
These days, mint-condition this Bonsly card can cost up to around fifteen dollars. While that's on the higher end, ordinary versions are often priced at four dollars or more. The upward trend more or less coincides with when Hopkins started building her set, but it's possible that several factors at play. Although Bonsly #71 is well-known in the community, Hopkins's posts on it have also garnered countless views. As news of its existence continues to spread to new fans, there's a chance their market price could keep rising. If nothing else, investors note that card market costs are skyrocketing currently overall.
No Signs of Stopping
Hopkins cannot be stopped, though.
"What's incredible is that a few followers and viewers of the YouTube channel have sent copies of Bonsly to Emily to expand the set, and she is preserving these Bonsly safe forever," she declares. Rather than recoil in horror, viewers feel admiration and motivation by this project.
"I've long desired to attempt something similar," one commenter says. "Buy up all of a common card|every copy of a common card
