Pokémon Journey Together inspired me to give booster packs as wedding favors

As a nineties kid, Pokémon was my childhood. In the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back, it wasn’t Ash’s tears that brought Pikachu back to life – it was mine! Back then, the Pokémon TCG craze was sweeping the schoolyard, and after they got banned, we kept trading them in secret,  like members of some covert Poké-fight club. Nothing was going to get between us and our Pokémon.

Anyway, like a Pokéball falling down stairs, the years rolled on, and as I got older, I entered a world where teenagers, especially girls, weren’t allowed to like things for kids, and so I shelved my love of Pokémon cards, for fear of not fitting in. I forgot about Psyduck, Rapidash, and all my favorite pals who had gotten me through some tough days – and instead embraced make-up and boy bands. Or at least until I met the love of my life.

Pokémon has always been his thing and, to this day, it still is. His story is similar to mine in that Pokémon defined his childhood – but he didn’t ditch it when the going got tough. He was (and is) unapologetically himself, embracing all the things he loves and constantly discovering new interests like Yu-Gi-Oh, forever adding more to his trading card game collection. I am so grateful he reunited me with Pokémon.

When we first got together, my partner bought me one of the best Pokémon packs, a Black and White Dragon Vault booster. The thrill of opening a booster pack for the first time in years, and rifling through those fresh cards, was electric. I pulled a Growlithe, sat admiring the artwork depicting that cute little fella, and somewhere deep within, a switch flipped. My love for Pokémon was dormant no more.

Since then, we’ve collected as many of the best Pokémon cards as possible. We’re one card away from completing the Celebrations collection, and just a few shy from finishing Crown Zenith (easily the best Sword and Shield era expansion). We’ve had so much fun opening packs and attending events together. As cliché as it sounds, our shared love for Pokémon has brought us closer together.

For our upcoming wedding, we’ve managed to incorporate all our favorite things, whether that’s a pop-up arcade or models of our cats on the cake. Since Pokémon means so much to us, we felt we needed to include it, and when Journey Together was announced, it all made sense. We’d create a custom Pokémon card, place copies inside packs of Journey Together, and hand the boosters out to our guests as favors. We’d combine the excitement of opening a booster pack with a Pokémon-themed memento that we and our guests could treasure forever.

As far as Pokémon sets go, Journey Together fits this idea the best. My partner and I both love the classic Gallade and Wally card from the Cosmic Eclipse Sun and Moon series. Journey Together features many cards just like this, with my favorites being Iono’s Kilowattrel and Lillie’s Ribombee. Both these full art cards feature stunning artwork and capture the friendship between trainer and Pokémon.

But the set has more to give. The full art Wailord and Furret are just adorable. We were lucky enough to pull the Furret, which we framed. And, of course, the name of the set alone is appropriate, as we begin our new… Journey Together (yeah, it’s cheesy, I know).

We had loads of fun designing our own Pokémon card, and if you’re even slightly tempted by the idea of making a unique card to commemorate an anniversary or birthday, I recommend it. We looked through our folders of cards and picked out our favourites. Once we had some reference images and a vague idea of the design, it was all gravy! We had our card.

We then ordered two booster boxes of Journey Together, and that’s where the real fun began. Sitting on our living room floor, we gently opened every pack, removing a holo from each and replacing it with our special custom card. Blimey, the adrenaline, the thrill! There’s nothing quite like opening 72 packs of Pokémon cards. And gosh, the cards we pulled! We got Hop’s Wooloo, Lillie’s Clafairy, and Hop’s Zacian. All are beautiful cards that express pure companionship… just what we feel for each other.

If you want to grab some Pokémon Journey Together, perhaps for your wedding (or just to collect), you can grab some at the retailers below:

It’s just two months until the wedding now, and I can’t wait for our guests to see the custom card. Pokémon has meant so much to both of us for our whole lives; it makes sense that it’ll share a part of our special day.

And honestly, the process of making it happen has been so enjoyable. If you are thinking of tying the knot, I highly recommend you make your own custom card and hand out booster packs to share the joy. Just maybe don’t choose Destined Rivals, that might not be the most romantic choice.

If you’d like to chat about all things Pokémon, check our Community Discord. We’d love to hear how you’ve added a touch of TCG magic to your wedding.

Alternatively, we’ve got tons more Pokémon coverage to read right here. If you’re a ’90s kid like me, you might be shocked at how much money the most expensive rare Pokemon cards are worth these days. Or perhaps jump down a Buneary hole and find out about the cutest Pokémon of all time.