The Hunt For Milotic - A Surging Sparks collection story

A chase to find that Mythical Sea Creature!

Sometimes you just want to pull that chase card. The SMART thing to do would be to stop opening the packs, and buy the card, but then sometimes you take it personally and just can't stop. That's my relationship with Surging Sparks.

I think I will always remember this set (Surging Sparks), even if 20 years goes by and we're all celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Pokémon TCG. This is a set that I'll remember as currently (and hopefully not in the future) the last of the cheap pre-orders. When I say cheap, I mean cheap. I pre-ordered an ETB and Booster Box combo for $140. Think about the current state of things, I could just barely get an ETB for that price currently let alone a Booster box, but I digress, this article isn't about the state of the hobby. It's about a guy and his chase card from a set.

I'd say you are reading this and probably thinking it's that Pikachu ex card, but then well... Hopefully you read the title of the post. If not, go back and read that... I'll wait.

Welcome back. :)

Ever since I saw the set list I've been in love with that Milotic ex SIR (Special Illustration Rare), and well... I've somehow managed to just barely miss it multiple times now. My first booster box that I opened of Surging Sparks had it in there. I opened 34 of 36 packs, giving two of them to my buddy for his daughters. I still remember the text message he sent me and the story of joy he told me the next day about them pulling that card. He was just getting his daughters into the hobby, and well. As much as I want that card, I'd give him those two packs again tomorrow just to know about the joy it put on those girls' faces when they pulled it.

So, fast forward almost two years, and I still rip any Surging Sparks packs I can get, but if I'm honest, this is a set that has it out for me. I've opened maybe just shy of 800 packs and only in the last 3-4 months did I finally get my first SIR from the set, and some of the other Illustration rares that I wanted from it (Latias). Just not the main chase for me, my Milotic. I've been filming a TikTok series as I rip through my stash of Surging Sparks, and well that alone is now up to almost day 150, or packs 290 something.

Knowing I needed some more Sparks packs a buddy of mine reached out and told me that he had gotten a booster box out of one of the Pokémon vending machines near his house, and wanted to know if I wanted to split it. I said sure and sent him the money. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I'm chatting with him and he told me that he'd traded a Milotic SIR for a card that he wanted, and well. I asked him, did you get it from that booster box we split? (I pulled a few things but all duplicates that I gave away to my watchers on TikTok) He said yes, and well. That's now the second time, I've been just a pack's width away from pulling my Surging Sparks chase card.

As such I incorrectly tell myself to keep ripping those packs hoping that one day, I'm going to finally pull the card that has to this point eluded me like the Loch Ness monster it portrays. If you've never seen this card well let me show it to you now, because I'd take it over the "chase" Pikachu ex SIR from this set all day every day.

Charpulls · DexEntry 237 / 191

Take a look at that beauty and you tell me that isn't a gorgeous card.

Slowly but surely my chase just keeps rising in value, but that won't stop me from ripping until the day I finally see that card peek out from behind the reverse holo of whatever card ends up being in front of it. That day... That day will truly be a glorious day, and a day I can finally hang my hat up on opening up this set.

One day when I've built in the ability to comment on these, well I'd love to read about your irrational chase card, and whether or not you finally pulled it. Until then though, this was the rambling of a man on a mission. That mission being to pull that Milotic ex SIR. Hopefully by the time you've read this I'll have finally pulled it, but if not... well rip a pack of Surging Sparks for this weary collector.