Dratini · Obsidian Flames, what to know.
About the Dratini card
Dratini sits at #157 in Obsidian Flames, released in August 2023. Obsidian Flames is part of the modern English Pokémon TCG era and uses the standard contemporary card frame and rarity tiers. Illustration by satoma.
The flavor text on the card reads: "It sheds many layers of skin as it grows larger. During this process, it is protected by a rapid waterfall." 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.
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
Obsidian Flames shipped in Holofoil, Reverse Holo, ex, Full Art, Special Illustration, and Hyper Rare. The Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare (#215) is the marquee modern chase from the set and a defining card of the early Scarlet & Violet era.
Grading and condition
Modern Commons grade easily and trade thinly in graded condition. Raw pack-fresh copies are the practical buy for set completion. PSA 10 submissions on a Common from a modern set rarely return enough premium over raw to justify the service fee.
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.
