Dark Primeape

Dark Primeape sits at #43 in Team Rocket, the fifth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita was the original Pokémon TCG illustrator and the artist behind the Base Set Charizard. His vintage-era art has a painterly quality that distinguishes it from the cleaner reference-style work of the Sugimori cards. In the games, Dark Primeape evolves from Mankey, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.

The flavor text on the card reads: "Although Primeapes have always been mean, lately they seem to be becoming even more vicious and frenzied." 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.

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.

Uncommons grade more forgivingly than Rare Holos but the same centering and edge requirements apply. Raw copies in pack-fresh condition are easy to find. A PSA 10 submission on a clean Uncommon is a low-cost way to learn how the grading process scores Wizards-era cardstock.

Raw copies of this card are inexpensive enough that the grading math rarely justifies submission unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completionists, picking up a clean raw copy and sleeving it is the practical move.