🔗 Share this article

Pokémon creators released collectors to the Pokémon TCG Diamond & Pearl set in the year 2007, including the Bonsly illustration. In this card, Gen IV stone creature is shown by designer Midori Harada in an unusual pose. In the image, this pre-evolution appears fallen and weeping. Don't be fooled, however. As its move Fake Tears suggests, the little creature attempts to manipulate the foe's feelings to decreasing their attack. Memorable card, isn't it? Electroacoustic harpist Emily certainly thinks so. She possesses a collection book containing over 300 Bonsly illustrations as evidence.

Her Complete Set Including Rare Finds

However, that's not the whole collection also. She has acquired 20 holo reverse copies of the Bonsly card, showing the little guy in reflective foil all over except the primary illustration. The prized possession, though, turns out to be the professionally graded PSA 6 reverse holo of Bonsly. Admittedly, it isn't a top-graded Charizard from the base set. However, can you claim a quirky, nearly pristine Bonsly illustration kept forever immortalized? Probably not.

How It All Began

Hopkins has spent most of the current year gathering every 2007 Bonsly card available on the market. She first heard of this rare card earlier this year, while debating the most infamous cards among collectors with a staff member at a local shop. Crying Omanyte was a contender, along with the lonely Cubone at the theme park. Yet it was The sobbing Bonsly, or the seventeenth card, that caught Hopkins's attention.

The Concept of Bonsly

The design of Bonsly is based from miniature trees, which are typically planted in pots featuring holes for drainage. These are meant to help the plant grow, to the extent that growers advise one another to drill holes on the bottom if they don't already have one. Bonsai can also be placed on low dishes without holes, called suiban, and the retained water could aid caretakers style their trees to resemble natural landscapes. Bonsly is the former, hence the hole.

The Infamous Hole Card

Despite this logical explanation, yet, The Pokémon Company seems almost excessively attentive regarding the hole in Bonsly. Also, products such as Bonsly plush toys ensure they feature a hollow cavern on the underside of Bonsly. It makes no difference if the depiction of Bonsly in question is weeping or content: It's going to show a hole. The opening is a key element in Bonsly's appearance. This specific Bonsly card gained meme status within the community thanks to that drainage hole, in addition to its status. Until recently, the card remained the sole iteration of Bonsly available printed in a game where many of its monsters usually appear in various forms. Over a decade and a half, if you wanted a Bonsly card, you had to settle with the hole version.

Emily's Dedication

"Upon noticing this card on the list of oddball cards, I felt I had found my favorite one," Emily states via email, mentioning how it was unexpected to have missed it until then. She admits freely to tell you her fondness for this particular card is completely useless, but it didn't matter. The appreciation turned into a major fixation, as Hopkins bought each available Bonsly card she could possibly find. She quickly got into a practice of stopping by the nearby card store every week, and was dubbed among the staff as "Bonsly Girl". The shop started setting aside any recently acquired Bonsly #71 cards that came in aside just for Hopkins. Most of these cards are priced at one to three dollars, she says, approximating she has invested about $400 only on the album itself.

The Financial Side

Currently, pristine the card may reach prices of around fifteen dollars. While that is a premium price, standard Bonsly #71 cards are often priced at $4 and above. That price increase more or less coincides with her starting point building her set, though there are likely multiple reasons. Even though Bonsly #71 is well-known among collectors, Emily's social media updates regarding the card have also garnered a huge audience. As awareness about this card expands further among more people, it is likely that their market price may continue to shoot up. If nothing else, enthusiasts note that card market costs are climbing in 2025 across the board.

Her Relentless Pursuit

Emily remains undeterred, yet.

"The amazing thing is that some supporters and viewers of the YouTube channel have shipped their Bonsly cards her way for her album, and I am keeping them secure indefinitely," Emily states. Far from being alarmed, fans feel admiration and motivation by this project.

"I've actually always wanted to do this," a viewer notes. "Buy up all of a common card|every copy of a common card