Fan of the Month: Meet the Pickle & Peach TCG Family!

Tell us about you, your collection and what makes it special?

Hey there, I'm Luke otherwise known as Pickle Dad. Myself my fiancé Amber (otherwise known as Peachy Mumma) and our boy Riley (otherwise known as Pickle) are budding content creators with our YouTube channel and Instagram page @PickleandPeachtcg. I have loved Pokémon ever since I was a young boy and first watched Pokémon on SMTV and received Pokémon Red and Blue on the original Gameboy for my 6th Birthday. Only in April of 2025 did Amber and Riley finally succumb to my addiction haha, but since then we have become a fully-fledged Pokémon Family. Our main love being collecting cards and ripping packs on our YouTube channel.

How did your shared collection first begin? Was it your idea, your children’s idea, or something that just happened naturally?

I can remember it now, sitting at the computer desk ripping packs to myself when Amber finally said..."I think I get it now!" Massive shoutout to the likes of Pat Flynn from Deeppocketmonster and Ando of Unlistedleaf who helped push her onto the right path. That led straight to one of our local TCG stores to buy some packs and then back again that afternoon to get Riley in on the action...then spent that evening purchasing goodies to rip from the Magic Madhouse website. Not long after that Pickle and Peach TCG's first video released on YouTube and we haven't looked back. I remember around that time I had the Sleepy Tyranitar Alt Art from Battle Styles from when I was collecting on my own. Seeing how much it was then worth we sold the card to buy packs and cards which ended up kick starting all of our collections. That and the stain glass three birds which I also sold that day are the only 2 cards I have ever thought about regretting the sale. Then I think about what it started and where all 3 of our collections are now. It was the best decision I ever made...I will get them back one day though!!!

What do you collect together, and what makes it special to your family? How has the collection grown or changed over time? And what’s the most meaningful piece in your collection?

We have certainly grown as collectors over the last year. We started off just putting anything and everything that looked good in our respective binders, and though we still do that, we have certainly tightened our collecting style and organised our binders far better. Now we each have our own individual sets we are working on. For myself I am completing the Galarian Gallery from Crown Zenith as well as the four Trainer Gallery sets from across Sword and Shield. Peachy Mumma is working on her Mega Evolution master set whilst Pickle is the most daring of us all, he is attempting to complete Destined Rivals. That being said, we are all together working on completing the newest set Perfect Order as well as our very first Japanese Master set in Ninja Spinner. The sets we do together are the most fun however and mean more. Pickle and I for example had been working on completing Phantasmal Flames, we had one card left, of course it was the Charizard SIR, we had the rest of the set completed by Christmas and kept ripping but no Zard would be found. I had given up and was resigned to buying the card, when it happened. Valentines' day, I get bought 4 packs of Phantasmal Flames...pack one, there it was. We had done it. Me and Pickle couldn't contain our excitement as we leapt around whilst being oh so mindful of what I was holding in my hand. That's why Phantasmal Flames will always be such a special set, our first Master Set as a family, and why the Charizard SIR is my favourite card in our collection.

What do your children enjoy most about collecting with you?

Our other child Baby Peach is far too young at the moment to know about Pokémon Cards. She's 11 months old and knows that the cards taste good, yes she has attempted to eat them, no don't panic it was just an energy haha. We have however been building her a collection of cool girly cards as well as a binder of trade fodder we can teach her with when she is old enough. Pickle however is a whole different ball game, being 10 he knows exactly what it is and loves it. His favourite thing to do...rip, rip and rip some more. For him it's all about the fun of the chase, he's getting better, slightly, in now selecting cards he needs rather than just buying packs and chasing the pulls...make no mistake however he is and always will be a rip and pull collector.

Do you each have favourite items, or do you agree on what to collect?

As I mentioned before we each have our own collections we are working on and our own individual favourites. Peachy Mumma for example is all about the Fairy Cards, she has a whole collection of them, aside from her Mega Evolution master set that she is working on. Pickle alongside Destined Rivals loves Drowzee and Hypno and has a collection of cards that he cherishes and always has his eye out for more. Whereas me, I have too many separate little collections that I am working on to list however, my boy is and always will be big man Charizard. Yes very cliche I know, but I can't help it, he's been my boy since we smashed up Blue in Pokémon Red. Apart from my Phantasmal Zard, my two other prized cards that I had to share are my Japanese Charizard EX from 151 in an ACE 9, was bought for me by Peachy Mumma and not only is it a stunning card on it's own, in that art slab...just wow! The other one I just had to share was Charizard Vstar from the Charizard UPC from Sword and Shield. Such a sick card and I also have the other side of this fight in the Mewtwo Vstar that is safely tucked away in my Galarian Gallery master set. All that being said, when it comes to our joint challenges like right now, Perfect Order and Ninja Spinner we join forces and like the TCG Avengers and will inevitably defeat those pesky blank spots in the binder.

Have you ever had to hunt for a rare or hard to find item together? And how do you decide what to add to your collection next?

Blimey, looking back on it now, as I said the Phantasmal Charizard is my favourite card for a number of reasons one of those being that it was a serious graft chasing it. Collectors that rip packs and don't just buy the cards will know what I mean, not that just buying the card is a bag thing. It's probably better in most cases just to buy the card, I know it would have been for us! But it takes the fun out of it, the anticipation each time you rip a pack, the inevitable disappointment when you don't, then the utter elation when you finally get it...even though you have probably spent 3 times that cards worth to get to it. In that moment it doesn't matter, and to be honest it still doesn't now. Like with the Charizard and how we have refined, sort of, our collection and collecting style. The set's we are working on determines what we are going to add next. Like right now our focus is Perfect Order and Ninja Spinner, that being said if something crazy comes up, that's been on our chase list for a while, we will pounce if budget and trade binder allows. Like the Radiant Collection Pikachu or the Japanese promo Hoopa, they both sit now on my Pikachu pages (Pikachu appears in the Hoopa along with Shiny Rayqayza, Latios and Lugia so Pikachu appears in it so to me that qualifies as going on the Pikachu page okay!) Nevertheless, they weren't cards that I was actively searching for or needing for master sets. Collecting has to be fun and for our family that's our main focus, every now and then its good deviate from the defined constraints of a master set and let loose lol.

Do you share your collection online? If so, where can people follow you and what’s your handle?

I think I have plugged ourselves more than enough but heck let's do it again. Our YouTube Channel is Pickle and Peach TCG, we upload daily shorts called Pickle and Peach Daily packs. Then we upload longform videos every other Saturday, these could be challenge videos, new product openings, Birthday Bonanza's and even Master Sets. We also share lots of on our Instagram page and interact with our rather quickly growing little community of fellow Pocket Monster's. Both our YouTube and Instagram can be found using the handle @pickleandpeachtcg. I guess that all from me, massive thanks to Magic Madhouse for having me as their fan of the month. From Me, Pickle Dad, from Peachy Mumma and from Pickle, all that's left to say now, is Bye Pickle!