Porygon · Team Rocket, what to know.
About the Porygon card
Porygon sits at #48 in Team Rocket, the fifth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Keiji Kinebuchi. Kinebuchi contributed a smaller body of Wizards-era cards but is responsible for several memorable holos. His style runs warmer and more textured than the Sugimori work alongside it.
The flavor text on the card reads: "More and more people play the slots every day, trying to win a Porygon." 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 Porygon in the Pokémon world
A polygonal data-construct Pokémon. The Pokémon famously banned from the anime after the 1997 flash incident. Base Set Uncommon Porygon has unusual cross-cultural collector interest because of the anime ban.
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
Uncommons grade more forgivingly than Rare Holos but the same centering and edge requirements apply. Raw copies in pack-fresh condition are easy to find. A PSA 10 submission on a clean Uncommon is a low-cost way to learn how the grading process scores Wizards-era cardstock.
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.
