Many individuals eagerly await the arrival of spooky season all year long, and now that October has arrived, the excitement of Halloween is here. From dressing up in costume as that beloved or bizarre character you adore, to binging the classic horror films found on every top ten, or cutting a couple years off your life with a fright from a local haunted attraction, this holiday is celebrated in countless ways.

Some may find an abundance of Michael Myers wandering the streets, while others may stroll past a sad, deflated giant pumpkin decoration that became a casualty of the family pet. No matter what oddities, events, and celebrations you personally take part in on Halloween, most people can agree one topic usually comes to mind – candy!

I can agree for the most part, that candy is a pretty decent highlight. I mean, c’mon, everyone has that one they’re weak to (I’m looking at you, Hershey’s). However, while most individuals are heading to their local candy shop or grocery store to stock up on sweet treats for Halloween, I’m making a beeline to drop a small fortune on Pokemon Cards. Yes, that’s right. I’m opting for booster packs over chocolate bars, my wallet screaming the entire way… and all due to my unhinged obsession with Ghost Types.

A few years ago, the Pokemon TCG began releasing special Halloween expansion packs called Trick-or-Trade, featuring three-card booster packs. They can be purchased in bags of around 35 packs, because they’re intended to be an alternative item to hand out to trick-or-treaters instead of candy.

You’re probably sitting here thinking something like ‘oh, that’s pretty cool. A Pokemon fan handing out Pokemon cards’, right? Wrong. Oh, so very wrong. There’s no hypothetical trick-or-treaters in this tale, and indeed no hypothetical handing out of said Pokemon cards. My grubby little gremlin hands are grabbing them one by one and hoarding them into a mass pile for opening, like an absolute trash panda.

Sure, they may just be a collection of various spook-tacular Pokemon from different TCG expansions, but I couldn’t care less. Something about this set being featured for Halloween, alongside all the chocolates and candies, as well as consistently featuring artwork involving Ghost and Dark Types, triggers something in my strange little Pokemaniac mind, compelling me to collect.

You see, Ghost Types are my absolute favorite kind of Pokemon. The Halloween sets heavily feature many of my beloved little ghosties, from Gengar — my massive purple boi with his big cheesin’ grin — to the adorable little zipper-mouth of the often-underrated Banette, and the popular mischievous Mimikyu. Each of these Pokemon hold a special place in my heart, and every Halloween, they beckon me to join the hunt once more.

What does this mean for me? It means I find myself in an annual predicament: falling into the trap of thinking I can collect ’em all, every damn October. For three years in a row, I have bought a couple packs of the Trick-or-Trade cards, just wanting to collect these mini sets in their entirety. With some of the Trick-or-Trade sets only having 30 cards total, and the thrill of card-chasing on my side, I thought this to be a pretty reasonable, or dare I say easy goal, Right?

Wrong again! Three times in a row, I have come ridiculously close to completing the entire Trick-or-Trade Pokemon TCG set, only to be missing one or two Pokemon at the end. The first time, it was on me — I bought single boosters instead of the packet of them, so I only had fifteen packs to pull from. The following year, I had awful luck finding Darkrai, who was the only spooky fella I needed to complete the set.

While sour candy may cause some to twist their face in disgust, Last year’s Trick-or-Trade set (2023) in particular, is the culprit for my grimace. All I needed to complete the set was one silly little Polteageist. Instead, what do I get? Greavard-Gastly-Murkrow, in some sort of cruel repetition. The Pokemon Gods decided I would not be achieving the completion of this set. As much as I wish I could file a complaint with big Arceus, I’ve accepted the fact that I am just extremely cursed with Halloween sets. Also, I now have a very strange and specific hatred towards tea cups.

Has this stopped me from trying again with the 2024 Trick-or-Trade Pokemon card set? Absolutely not. At this point, the act of opening up Trick-or-Trade booster packs in search of these little Ghost Types has become a sacred ritual in itself — I will never learn my lesson. Perhaps I’m just the Ash Ketchum of Pokemon card collectors, and I need to lose several Leagues before becoming Champion years later — or in my case, fail time and time again, until I finally complete one of these silly little card expansions, targeted specifically at children.

Could I spend my time and money opening other expansions that 1: have some monetary value and big hits to find, or 2: feature new art prints instead of previous card art? Absolutely. Will I choose to do so? Never. It’s akin to failing a side quest in a video game —now I’m going to abandon the main story entirely until I complete this silly little one-off adventure and get my dignity back.

As Halloween approaches once more, I brace myself for the inevitable: the familiar pang of disappointment when I come up short again. Yet, in the back of my mind, there’s always a glimmer of hope. Maybe this year will be different. Maybe this year, I’ll finally collect ’em all. Nah, let’s be real. Trick-or-Trade, I’ll catch you again in early 2025, once your set finds itself in the out-of-season clearance sale.

That last card will be mine.