Dark Muk

Dark Muk is card 41 of 83 in Team Rocket, released in April 2000, an Uncommon. It is a Stage 1 Grass-type with 60 HP.

As a Stage 1, it evolves from Grimer, which places Dark Muk deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.

Team Rocket darkened Muk 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.

The card's flavor text gives Muk a line of lore: "Muks appear suddenly, spreading sludge everywhere. Whenever one appears in a city, panic ensues."

The fully evolved Grimer. Larger sludge mound. Fossil holo Muk is a quietly underrated card. Its Pokémon Power 'Toxic Gas' was a tournament-defining mechanic in 1999, which means surviving high-grade copies are scarcer than the print run suggests.

Dark Muk is an Uncommon, so raw copies are inexpensive and easy to find. The value is in condition: a genuine PSA 10, especially 1st Edition, can still reach a surprising figure for an otherwise common card. The live price above breaks it down by grade.

Team Rocket shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The 1st Edition Dark Muk 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.

Dark Muk grades forgivingly, but the same centering and edge standards apply. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find, which makes a clean PSA 10 submission a low-cost way to learn how the cardstock behaves under grading.

Raw copies of Dark Muk are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Dark Muk is the practical move.