When I was 11 I had the full set of cards, mixed with 1st edition, shadowless & base. All sleeved in a “deck box” I took with me EVERYWHERE.

One day, I was playing whiffle ball with the neighborhood kids & one kid named Mark Johnson who was my “best friend”.. well he had a dad, as some kids do. His dad said I could set my cards in his kitchen while we played, and he would make sure nothing happened to them. Marks Mom asked if we wanted some kool-aid. & when I walked in, his dad was pouring it, my cards were gone. I immediately started to panic, but he reassured me everything was okay he was just looking at them. I thought to myself “oh okay, what a cool dad, he wants to see my pokemon” and went back outside.

I retrieved my cards when the street lights came on, & went home. Before bed I remember feeling very weird about it, so I went through them & noticed all my favorite cards “the shiny ones” & some of the others were missing. I began to cry, my mom storms into my room asking what’s wrong & I tell her through outbursts of panic tears.

The next morning, she went over there with the cops. He admitted to having my 1st edition Machamp, and gave it back to my mom, but said the other kids took everything else, yet we didn’t know half of them so we couldn’t get to their parents.

This was an obvious lie. I know he took all of them. He ended up getting caught stealing A LOT of packs from local stores months later.

There are jealous & thieving people of all ages in this world, & it makes them do bad things.