Erika's Dratini

Erika's Dratini is card 42 of 132 in Gym Heroes, released in August 2000, an Uncommon. It is a Basic Colorless-type with 40 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Dratini needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Erika is the Grass-type Gym Leader of Celadon City, a calm tea enthusiast who tends the city's gardens. Erika's Dratini is part of that themed lineup.

Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.

A Dragon-type sea-serpent Pokémon. Famous for being the rarest Pokémon in the Safari Zone in Gen 1. Base Set Common Dratini has sentimental demand thanks to game rarity.

Erika's Dratini 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.

Gym Heroes shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The trainer-prefix naming runs across the set, and the 1st Edition Erika's Dratini carries the Edition 1 stamp and a premium over Unlimited in matching grade.

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