Dratini · Team Rocket, what to know.
About the Dratini card
Dratini sits at #53 in Team Rocket, the fifth 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.
The flavor text on the card reads: "The capture of the first Dratini inspired the search for other legendary Pokémon." 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
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
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.
