Ekans PSA 9 - 2000 Team Rocket #56
A 1st Edition from the 2000 Team Rocket set, number 56/82. The 1st Edition stamp is on the original Wizards of the Coast print. This copy is graded PSA 9 Mint, cert 76645522. The PSA population is 879.
- Card
- 2000 Team Rocket #56
- Grade
- PSA 9
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2000
- Price
- €55
About this Ekans
The card
Ekans 56/82 is a common from Team Rocket, the fifth main English expansion, released by Wizards of the Coast on 24 April 2000. The art is by Ken Sugimori, who also drew the original artwork for the Pokémon games, and shows a coiled Ekans with its mouth open, against a swirling orange background. It is a 50 HP Grass Pokémon with two attacks, Bite and Poison Sting.
This copy carries the 1st Edition stamp, which marks the first print run. Wizards printed a 1st Edition run of every set up to Neo Destiny except Base Set 2, and the Unlimited prints followed.
Team Rocket
Team Rocket introduced Dark Pokémon, and in this set Ekans evolves into Dark Arbok. It is a fitting card for the set: in the anime, Ekans was Jessie's first known Pokémon, from the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", until it evolved into Arbok. Team Rocket also had the first secret card numbered above the set total, Dark Raichu 83/82. And the name Ekans is "snake" spelled backwards.
The grade
The card is more than 25 years old, and PSA still graded it 9, Mint: a superb card with one minor flaw at most, such as slightly off-white borders or a small printing imperfection. Only Gem Mint 10 is higher. Look up cert 76645522 on PSA's website.