"It's not a card, it's art!" How a 5,000 yen Lisia, which everyone around me strongly opposed, became the treasure of my life [My First Note]

Hello, I'm KotoTane!

Today, I'm going to talk about the "one card I'm proud of" that I love more than anything in the world and that shines the brightest in my home.

The name of that card is "Lisia".

Seven years have passed since I got it, before I even realized it.

This card now has an unbelievable value in the Pokemon card community, but the price at the time I actually got it was only "5,000 yen".

This time, let me tell you about those passionate memories of when I fell in love with this Lisia and brought it home, even after facing strong opposition from those around me.

It all started with love at first sight for "Lillie (Full Art)"

Everything started with that legendary card, "Lillie (Full Art)."
The overwhelming transparency and the sense of life in the character drawn by illustrator Naoki Saito. I was instantly captivated by its beauty.

"I just have to have a Pokemon card drawn by Naoki Saito...!"

However, by the time I learned of the existence of Lillie (Full Art), the market price was already 40,000 to 50,000 yen. From the perspective of that time, paying such a large amount of money for a single card seemed like insanity. (Ah, the regret of "I should have bought it even if I had to push myself...!" is still etched in my heart. Lol)

Even so, I wanted to have Naoki Saito's art in my hands no matter what. I searched desperately, unable to give up, and the one I set my eyes on was "Lisia".

"That's so damn expensive!" Opposition from those around me and my scream

The price of Lisia at the time was 5,000 yen.
Thinking about it now, it's an exceptional price, truly as cheap as a "bug," but for me at the time, it was still a large amount of money. Standing in front of the register, I agonized intensely while making a bitter face in my heart, thinking, "That's so damn expensive!"

Furthermore, my friends around me added insult to injury by saying:

"Hey, don't spend that much money on a single card!"

Normally, one might shrink back here. But my desire had already broken through its limits. I shouted back at those around me like this:

"No! This isn't a card, it's art!! It's a painting!! It's art on the same level as the works of Van Gogh or Picasso!!"

It was half an excuse driven by momentum, but it was my true feeling. I believed without a doubt that that sparkling illustration was absolutely worth more than 5,000 yen. And so, I welcomed the long-awaited Lisia into my hands.

The miracle a few years later and the defense of my home

A few years after that.
Lillie (Full Art), which was an unreachable existence, became even more of an existence in the clouds, and the Lisia I loved also saw its price jump to nearly 500,000 yen at one point.

Seeing how much the price had soared, my wife's eyes lit up as she gave me a strong push, saying "Hey, you should sell this!!" (lol).

It is true that if I sold it, I would get a decent amount of money. It would be a lie to say that my heart didn't waver. But I didn't sell it.

Because this is proof of my passion—the one I fell in love with back then, calling it "art," and the one I protected by trusting my intuition even while everyone around me opposed it. This single card is packed with a value that money cannot replace.

Seven years have passed since that day. Lucia is still being kept carefully, very carefully, in my possession.

I intend to continue cherishing it for the rest of my life as my partner and as a family heirloom.

Do you also have a treasure that you obtained even though people around you opposed it, saying "I won't give this up no matter what!"? Please let me know in the comments!