A Pokémon card sells for $16.4 million, Barna research sheds light on the three things resilient families prioritize, and everyone seems to relate to an abandoned monkey in a Japanese zoo. But first:
Resource of the Week – The Conversation Starter
Our resource of the week is about arguably the most significant piece of media released in 2025, KPop Demon Hunters. It was watched for over 20 billion minutes, and the songs also topped the music streaming charts. This February, Axis is focused on relationships—and while KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t say much about romance, it does have a lot to say about friendship. It’s a movie that can open up conversations with teens about shame and isolation, the power of community and friendship, and, believe it or not, the Gospel. For more about these themes in KPop Demon Hunters, check out the newest episode of our YouTube series, The Conversation Starter.
And now for our three conversations..
1. One Pricey Pikachu
What it is: Content creator-turned-WWE personality Logan Paul set a Guinness World Record for selling the most expensive trading card at auction. And it wasn’t an autographed Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan rookie card… but a Pokémon card.
What’s all the hype about? Turns out, those cards collecting dust in your parents’ basement may be worth something. Paul’s ultra-rare Pikachu Illustrator card—encased in a custom diamond necklace—sold at an online auction for $16.4 million. Kids and adults alike have been chasing the rush of ripping open a pack of Pokémon cards and finding a “rare” or even a “hyper rare” card. Some cards are valued at hundreds of dollars, and over 26 million cards were graded (proven authentic and given value) in 2025. Some Millennials and Gen Zers are even opting to buy trading cards instead of investing in the stock market. (Note: This story was reported and written by our friends at The Pour Over, a Christ-first news resource. We recommend their free newsletter to stay current on the news cycle—sign up here.)
Continue the conversation: What is the appeal of physical cards in such a digital world?
2. Building Resilience
What it is: Newly published research from Barna indicates that resilient families have three things in common.
Why it’s encouraging: Barna obtained their data from three sets of interviews conducted in 2024 with over 3,500 married adults. Based on this sample, they concluded that only 14% of families fell into the “resilient” category, with 36% being classified as “fragile.” Families who seek reconciliation by apologizing to a family member after a conflict, families who seek support from a clergy member, a nonprofit organization, or a professional counselor after a trauma, and families who engage in practices outside the home together (such as community service or going to church) were all more likely to be classified as “resilient.” In short, families that are quick to apologize to each other, that ask for help from others, and that engage with community life are most likely to be resilient. That means building resilience isn’t circumstantial—it’s intentional. And most, if not all of us, have the tools.
Continue the conversation: Which of these three do you think we’re best at? Which do we struggle with?
3. Do Not Punch The Monkey
What it is: Footage of an adorable baby macaque monkey named Punch, and his attempts to fit in with other monkeys at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Tokyo, has been making the rounds on social media.
Why it’s poignant: Punch was abandoned by his mother and hand-fed by the zookeepers, who gave him an orangutan doll for comfort. Eventually, Punch and the doll were reintroduced to the exhibit where the rest of the monkeys live. But when online viewers saw footage of what looked like Punch getting bullied and rejected (again) by other monkeys, many felt emotionally overwhelmed. One video in particular showed a larger monkey dragging Punch across the ground. Zoologists have pointed out that for monkeys, this sort of dynamic does not represent aggression or contempt, but is part of a standard socialization process. More recent reports suggest that Punch has succeeded in this socialization process and has begun to integrate well with the other monkeys.
Let’s translate this one further…
In Proverbs 6:6, King Solomon was concerned about laziness and apathy on the part of his audience. As an illustration, he instructs them to pay attention to ants, saying, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!”
Ants, if you watch them, are always on the move, often carrying something back and forth across the sidewalks and dirt paths of the world. And Solomon’s point was that their near-continual activity creates an opportunity for us to consider: how might I be more industrious and intentional with my time and energy?
It’s just one of the beautiful, significant truths we can learn from studying God’s creation. So what can be learned when we look at the life of Punch the monkey?
Dr. Curt Thompson wrote that, “Everyone is born looking for someone looking for them.” Created beings were made to crave the care and community that others bring into our lives. Especially when we’re young, we crave this from our mothers. But sometimes, like Punch, we don’t find what we’re looking for.
For decades, the primary paradigm through which the gospel was shared in the cultural West was through the lens of guilt and innocence. The courtroom was the dominant metaphor; we were guilty, but in Christ, we are now innocent. And yet this way of framing the gospel can keep the focus entirely on individuals—whereas the gospel of the kingdom also has communal ramifications. As Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the lonely in families.” And as 1 Peter 2:10 says, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Part of the restoration God offers us in Jesus involves bringing isolated individuals into the community of love.
No animal provides a perfect metaphor. But if the recent reports of Punch’s initiation into the monkey community are true, what we’re getting is actually a glimpse of the sort of belonging that we, too, were made for.
For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to help you continue the conversation with your teens:
- Why do you think so many people resonated with the story of Punch the monkey?
- When is a time you’ve felt abandoned? When is a time you’ve felt accepted?
- What gives you hope when you’re feeling alone?
Parenting together,
Evan Barber and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- USA hockey set viewership records at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, with both men’s and women’s teams winning gold, setting hockey up to hang on to its place as the fourth most-followed sport in the US—at least, until the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles enters the chat.
- The so-called “boy blush” trend is gaining traction, with artists like Sangwon and Bad Bunny wearing noticeable blush on major stages, and teen boys increasingly experimenting with makeup as part of their personal style.
- A TikTok meme called “baby boo” started with people dancing to a clip that repeats “she gon’ call me baby boo” and has since morphed into users calling it “baby boo syndrome.”
- Eric Dane, known for his roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, passed away on February 19, one year after announcing his ALS diagnosis. Since then, TikTok has been filled with edits of his most emotional scenes.
- At the BAFTA film awards, a guest with Tourette’s syndrome involuntarily shouted a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. The moment sparked conversations about the real harm that racial slurs carry for Black people, alongside questions about the awareness around Tourette’s and the responsibility of live broadcasting.
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!