I have a few major regrets in my life: not telling my parents to buy stock in Apple when I was negative 3 years old; selling my classic consoles to buy new-gen platforms rather than keeping them safe in bubble wrap; and missing Pokémon Paldean Fates' Mew ex #232 chase. 'Bubble Mew' is an SIR card so gorgeous that it's become my holy grail, and one that, at this rate, I'll likely never encounter.
Hindsight is a sobering experience and, while it's usually reserved for more serious situations, skipping out on one of the best Pokémon cards I've ever seen is my most prominent disappointment. As someone who prefers collecting Illustrated Rares instead of playing the Pokémon TCG, not only is it my biggest mistake, but it's also a sign of how much has changed for the card game in a year.
In October last year, I was skipping out on opening Paldean Fates - which is now one of the best Pokémon packs, in my opinion - in favor of buying singles. At the time, I was contemplating whether or not to spend $90 on a piece of cardboard, even if it was my favorite of the expansion (and the Scarlet & Violet era, in all honesty). A mistake that I wake up in a cold sweat thinking about now.
According to Pricecharting, and visibly making me sad, Mew ex #232 is now worth roughly $650. That's ungraded, may I add - if you want a PSA 10 version, look to spend about $1800 on it. Much like the stockmarket, or the cryptocurrency and NFT fads of the last few years, these things can change regularly, but due to the ongoing shortages across all Pokémon sets, it's not likely to come down anytime soon.
That's an issue - for me, not necessarily for you. Paldean Fates, like Prismatic Evolutions or Black Bolt and White Flare, is a special set, meaning production is slowly dwindling down (if not completely halted). Pokémon151 is another example, so it's a matter of looking for potential restocks that may or may not ever come. However, even those restocks will be collections, meaning I'd have to gamble for the chase card again. And, in all honesty, that's not worth the effort. If you do want to buy it, you can find it on TCGPlayer for slightly below market price.
I always knew that Mew ex #232 would become one of the most expensive Pokémon cards of the entire Scarlet & Violet era. Sure, Umbreon ex is a magnificent chase that reigns as Prismatic's most prized card, but a year later, Bubble Mew is the one that got away for me. Forget 151. Forget Destined Rivals. Paldean Fates was where it was at, and I should've poured more time and money into it. So long, old friend.
I may be reminiscing on the past, but if the best trading card game's issues right now have taught me anything, I wish I had returned to Pokémon earlier. Either way, you can make me feel better by sharing your poor pack openings on our Wargamer Discord, or taunt me by sharing your Mew ex #232's. I feel nothing anymore.