Dark Primeape

Dark Primeape is card 43 of 83 in Team Rocket, released in April 2000, an Uncommon. It is a Stage 1 Fighting-type with 60 HP.

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

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

Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.

The card's flavor text gives Primeape a line of lore: "Although Primeapes have always been mean, lately they seem to be becoming even more vicious and frenzied."

The fully evolved Mankey. Larger, more violent. Jungle Rare Primeape has thin standalone demand.

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