Dark Dugtrio

Numbered 23 of 83 in Team Rocket, released in April 2000, Dark Dugtrio is a Rare, a Stage 1 Fighting-type carrying 50 HP.

It evolves from Diglett, so Dark Dugtrio is a later-stage card that set-builders usually slot into a full evolution run rather than buy alone.

Team Rocket darkened Dugtrio under its control for the set's villain arc, a grittier repaint of the familiar Pokémon with an altered attack profile.

Illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno. Himeno is one of the most-recognized vintage illustrators, with a softer, more textured style that shows up across the Jungle and Neo runs.

Printed on the card, the Dugtrio Pokédex entry reads: "Digs large sinkholes in the ground and tries to trap its enemies in them."

Three Digletts in a row. One of the only Pokémon with a literally pluralized body in Gen 1. Base Set Rare with steady raw demand.

Dark Dugtrio is a non-holo Rare. In Team Rocket, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Dark Dugtrio 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.

Team Rocket shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The 1st Edition Dark Dugtrio carries the Edition 1 stamp under the artwork and trades above the Unlimited copy in matching grade. The set is also home to Dark Raichu, the first Secret Rare ever printed.

Non-holo Rares like Dark Dugtrio are easier on surface but no kinder on centering. Wizards-era cards were less protected than the holos, so high-grade Dark Dugtrio survivors can be scarcer than expected, with edge whitening the usual cap.

For Dark Dugtrio, 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 Dugtrio can make sense.