Dratini · Expedition Base Set, what to know.
About the Dratini card
Dratini sits at #107 in Expedition Base Set, the thirteenth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Kagemaru Himeno. Himeno is one of the most-recognized vintage TCG illustrators. Her work shows up more in Neo-era and later sets, but earlier appearances carry a small premium with art-focused collectors.
About Dratini in the Pokémon world
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.
Print variants and how to spot them
Expedition shipped in Standard and Reverse Holo prints. The defining feature is the dot-code strip printed on the bottom of each card, designed to be scanned with the Nintendo e-Reader peripheral for bonus minigames. Functional collector value of the dot codes is minimal today, but they make Expedition cards visually distinct.
Grading and condition
Commons grade most forgivingly of any tier in the set. Centering is the typical grade cap; the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily but the high print runs mean clean copies remain affordable. A first-time grading submission on a Common is the cheapest way to learn what each grading service is actually looking at.
If you are buying this card
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.
