Missed Connetions Gaming: Resuming The Childhood Quest for Every Eeveelution

I still remember the first time I saw an episode of the Pokémon anime. I was hanging out in a neighbor friend’s house when Ash, Misty, and Brock caught my attention, walking into the sunset. Even though I never followed Pokémon with the same obsessive fervor with which I watched Digimon, this memory has stayed with me over all these years. For whatever reason, something in my brain decided it was pivotal, and we are covering it today in Missed Connections Gaming.

Pokémon had its first big wave of popularity in the U.S. during my childhood. For a time, Pokémon cards were everywhere, to the point that they actually got banned at my elementary school because they kept causing arguments at recess. I can vividly picture my rule-following horror when, one afternoon, I opened the book I was reading to realize I’d used a Pikachu card as a bookmark and forgotten about it. There I was, accidentally breaking a rule. The horror.

Trading For Favorites, Not Funds

But the biggest thing I remember about Pokémon cards as a kid was trading them. My little brother and I, sitting in our yard, binders out, trying to convince the other kids to swap cards with us. My quest was, of course, to get all the Eevees. That was an easier task back then. You simply needed Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon.

I forgot that I’d ever achieved this quest until recently, when I uncovered my childhood Pokémon cards tucked away in a desk drawer. There they were, a few versions of Eevee and its three original evolutions. But now, there are more Eevees to collect. And so, adult me took up the mantle.

But collecting Pokémon cards is different now than it was when I was a kid. Back then, they were toys, their value only the joy we found in them. I didn’t have a concept of how much a pack cost my mom when I begged her to let me get one, just one, at the grocery store. To me, they were just fun.

When I first got interested in collecting cards again, it was juuuust pre-Prismatic Evolutions. I ran across a few sets in the Aldi Aisle of Shame (that random aisle full of non-food goodies). I thought, why not? From there, I realized that the Giant Eagle routinely had a few packs hanging by the self-checkouts. I would occasionally treat myself to one of these instead of my weekly coffee when grocery shopping.

It felt like a fun, easy way to bring back some of that childhood spark. But then, Prismatic Evolutions came out, and the Costco fighting chaos began. My grocery store doesn’t have Pokémon cards by the self-checkouts anymore. Aldi’s Aisle of Shame hasn’t delivered me random cards in months, because they get snatched the moment they’re stocked.

Empty Shelves and Upcharges Galore

Like so much that felt easy and fun and simple when I was a kid, collecting Pokémon cards has become, for many, a monetized hobby. Child me didn’t care how much a Dark Vaporeon might be worth someday. She cared that her Pisces wannabe mermaid heart liked that Eeveelution best.

Now, the quest feels… different. My love of Eevee is joined up with the fact that my goth girl fave, Umbreon, tends to be a super high value card. I did eventually pull an Umbreon, courtesy of the Halloween fun packs I snagged at Aldi. But part of me wants that beautiful Prismatic Evolutions one. The one that’s worth over $1000 at the moment. I tell myself I’d never sell her, and I probably wouldn’t. But it’s weird that the value of something I played with as a kid, to the point you can really tell which cards come from my original Eevee set, is now something adults fight over.

With its Eevee focus, Prismatic Evolutions felt like the ideal time to resume my quest. And yet, I didn’t even see anything Prismatic Evolutions until late April. My local card store had the new Accessory Pouch Collection… for $80, well over the suggested retail price. I did not opt to buy that, but I lucked out a few days later with a Pokémon Center restock of Surprise Boxes – at MSRP. And so, I opened my first Eevee-centric packs to find… one Eveelution. But it was the one I needed!

And so, even if the hobby is a bit more complicated and a lot more expensive these days, I’ve formally resumed the Eevee quest. I now have at least one of every Eeveelution except Sylveon. They’re not all valuable cards, and I won’t even look up what my OGs might be worth because goodness knows PSA would have nothing good to say about how they’ve held up against time. But I like having them. It’s fun to work towards a complete set. So, even if I have to patiently wait for Prismatic Evolutions restocks and luck to align, I’m back on that Eeveelution full set quest in 2025.

Now, Pokémon Company, please maybe hold off on releasing any new Eeveelutions at least until I get that Sylveon, okay?

Looking for more Pokémon nostalgia? Check out the previous Missed Connections Gaming, where I talk about going back to play Pokémon Sword for the first time.

About the Author

Amanda Kay Oaks

Editor

Amanda Kay Oaks is a writer, book witch, and video game enthusiast based in Latrobe, PA. She writes about books, games, and more from an office packed with crystals and Pokemon plushies. When not engrossed in work or fictional worlds, Amanda can be found in the kitchen, on her yoga mat, or walking her dog, Azula.

Visit Website View All Posts