Nidoking · Aquapolis, what to know.
About the Nidoking card
Numbered 24 of 182 in Aquapolis, released in January 2003, Nidoking is a Rare, a Stage 2 Fighting-type carrying 110 HP.
It evolves from Nidorino, so Nidoking is a later-stage card that set-builders usually slot into a full evolution run rather than buy alone.
Illustrated by Naoyo Kimura.
About Nidoking in the Pokémon world
The Ground-Poison final form of the Nidoran♂ line. Tall bipedal silhouette with a long horn. Considered one of the strongest Ground types in Gen 1. Base Set holo Nidoking is a steady five-figure card in PSA 10 1st Edition. Quieter than the marquee starters but consistently in demand.
What is Nidoking worth?
Nidoking is a non-holo Rare. In Aquapolis, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Nidoking 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
Confirm the print and finish on Nidoking before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Non-holo Rares like Nidoking are easier on surface but no kinder on centering. Wizards-era cards were less protected than the holos, so high-grade Nidoking survivors can be scarcer than expected, with edge whitening the usual cap.
If you are collecting Nidoking
For Nidoking, 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 Nidoking can make sense.
