Nidoqueen

Nidoqueen sits at #23 in Jungle, the second of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of the Pokémon franchise itself. His TCG illustrations carry a tighter, more on-model feel because they are by the same hand that defined how the Pokémon look in the games. In the games, Nidoqueen evolves from Nidorina, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.

The flavor text on the card reads: "Its hard scales provide strong protection. It uses its hefty bulk to execute powerful moves." 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.

The Ground-Poison final form of the Nidoran♀ line. One of the rare "queen" Pokémon. Jungle holo Nidoqueen is a quiet collector favorite. Centered PSA 10 examples are harder to find than expected for the print run.

Jungle shipped in two print waves: 1st Edition (stamped) and Unlimited. There is also a famous "No Symbol" error on some early Unlimited prints where the set symbol was accidentally left off the artwork. No Symbol variants trade for a meaningful premium over the standard Unlimited print and are a quiet specialty within Jungle collecting.

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.

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.