Dark Ariados · Neo Destiny, what to know.
About the Dark Ariados card
Dark Ariados is card 17 of 113 in Neo Destiny, released in February 2002, a Rare. It is a Stage 1 Grass-type with 60 HP.
As a Stage 1, it evolves from Spinarak, which places Dark Ariados deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.
Team Rocket darkened Ariados under its control for the set's villain arc, a grittier repaint of the familiar Pokémon with an altered attack profile.
Illustrated by Toshinao Aoki.
The Pokédex entry printed on Dark Ariados reads: "Wherever it goes, it spins a thread that always leads back to its web."
What is Dark Ariados worth?
Dark Ariados is a non-holo Rare. In Neo Destiny, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Dark Ariados trades modestly, though a clean, well-centered 1st Edition copy in PSA 10 is scarcer than the print run suggests and carries a real premium. Check the live price above for the figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Neo Destiny produced 1st Edition, Unlimited, Shining prints. For Dark Ariados, the print variant can change the price several times over, so identify it before you buy.
Grading and condition
On Dark Ariados, look at the corners and the framed border first. Non-holo Rares took more handling than the chase holos, so a sharp, centered copy of Dark Ariados in a true PSA 10 is harder to find than the print run suggests.
If you are collecting Dark Ariados
For Dark Ariados, check centering by eye, edge whitening on all four sides, and surface under angled light. Non-holo Rares from this era are cheap enough that a PSA 10 submission on a clean Dark Ariados can make sense.
