I Accidentally Started Collecting Yuka Morii Pokemon Cards

I have been talking a lot about trying to find ways to acquire Pokemon cards without spending too much money. Buying single cards and bulk bin hunting are the obvious choices. Sometimes, those journeys lead you to unexpected pickups. In my case, I somehow stumbled upon a treasure trove of Yuka Morii cards….

Yuka Morii Is Incredibly Popular

It is usually not my style to hunt Pokemon cards tied to specific artists. More specifically, I will pick up cards if they appeal to me, regardless of who illustrated them. Some art styles are easier to recognize than others, and Yuka Morii is very “different” from the rest. Her way of depicting pocket monsters with clay, rather than pencils, paint brushes, or digital artwork, has been a fan favorite for many years now. 

Even when I go hunt for singles – either on Cardmarket or in person – I do not look for her cards specifically. I often have cards I want to look for before opening a browser or entering a shop. Whether or not I will also obtain those cards is a different matter. In reality, it often depends on availability and overall cost. 

Finding random cards you weren’t looking for but would look good in your collection is quite fun, though. With a name like Yuka Morii, you would expect cards to be expensive. And by that, I mean ALL the cards by this artist. Given Yuka’s popularity, that wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. 

When I say expensive, I do not mean double-digit amounts per card. But finding one under 2-3 euro always feels a bit weird, almost as if there was a pricing error I somehow stumbled upon. Even so, when checking out, no one corrects me, so I guess these cards are priced correctly. Peculiar, for such a popular artist…. 

Bulk Bin Treasures 

Going back to this Tuesday, I was browsing my local card game shop’s offerings. First the normal, toploaded singles, costing between 1 and 10 euro a piece. You may find some cool EX cards, or AR cards, or maybe even a Secret Rare that isn’t super valuable. Or, in most cases, you find commons, uncommons, and rares tied to popular artists.

Think of finding a Tomokazu Komiya for 3 euro, or a 5 euro card illustrated by Ken Sugimori or Yukiko Baba. Or, a fair few Yuka Morii cards. I still think 2-3 euro is low for some of these cards, but it is apparently the going market value. Good for collectors like myself, even when we aren’t looking for these specific cards.

Big was my surprise when I moved over to the bulk bin – cards valued at 25 cents – and found more Yuka Morii cards. The first ones I stumbled upon were Grimer and Girafirig. Both are excellent clay models, although the expression on the Grimer is a tad worrisome. Not sure if he is shocked, surprised, in pain, hungry, or something else…. 

Yes, the Grimer is in Italian. I collect across any language, so I will pick up what I like when it’s in front of me. The fact this is in Italian makes the expression even funnier to me. It is very different from the Girafarig, who is just happy to be there and taking in the environments. A very happy, curious, and wondrous card, befitting the Pokemon TCG. 

Will I Hunt For More Yuka Morii?

Now that I know my local shop has a bulk bin with perhaps more Yuka Morii cards, yes, definitely. Maybe not as a main “target” for going there, but I will definitely keep an eye out. That said, I did pick up close to two dozen cards just this week, so we have a lot more of them to go through first. 

Sometimes, life works in mysterious ways and you get to give a Grimer and a Girafarig a new home. They will become valuable parts of future binder pages dedicated to Yuka’s work. I can’t wait to get started on those!