Dark Alakazam · Team Rocket, what to know.
About the Dark Alakazam card
Dark Alakazam sits at #18 in Team Rocket, the fifth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of the Pokémon franchise itself. His TCG illustrations carry a tighter, more on-model feel because they are by the same hand that defined how the Pokémon look in the games. In the games, Dark Alakazam evolves from Dark Kadabra, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
The flavor text on the card reads: "Almost as if it were being controlled by something else, it never changes expressions, even in the middle of battle." Pokédex entries from this era are short and often quirky, written by the original Japanese localization team for a specific stat-block layout that no longer exists in modern cards.
Print variants and how to spot them
Team Rocket shipped in 1st Edition (stamped) and Unlimited prints. The set is famous for Dark Raichu, card #83, the first Secret Rare ever printed. The Secret Rare slot exists outside the standard 82-card numbering and was an unannounced pull from the printer.
Grading and condition
For graded buyers, non-holo Rares are less punishing on surface but no easier on centering. PSA 10 populations for Wizards-era Rares are smaller than the Rare Holo populations in some cases because the cards were less protected and more frequently played. Edge whitening from sleeves is the typical grade-cap on raw copies.
If you are buying this card
For raw purchases of this card, verify centering by eye, edge whitening on all four sides, and surface scratches under angled light. Non-holo Rares from the Wizards era are cheap enough that PSA 10 submissions usually do not break the math if you have a clean candidate.
