Nidoking · Aquapolis, what to know.
About the Nidoking card
Nidoking sits at #24 in Aquapolis, the fourteenth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Naoyo Kimura. In the games, Nidoking evolves from Nidorino, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
About Nidoking in the Pokémon world
The Ground-Poison final form of the Nidoran♂ line. Tall bipedal silhouette with a long horn. Considered one of the strongest Ground types in Gen 1. Base Set holo Nidoking is a steady five-figure card in PSA 10 1st Edition. Quieter than the marquee starters but consistently in demand.
Print variants and how to spot them
Aquapolis shipped in Standard, Reverse Holo, and Crystal Type prints. Crystal Type cards are rare alternate-art holos with a colorless rainbow holofoil pattern, pulled at significantly lower rates than standard holos. They are the marquee chase for this set.
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.
