Dark Slowbro 29/82 · Team Rocket · 1st Edition

Beating the market, or just riding it?

Moving with the market

Over the last 2 months this card rose 11.7%, while the typical card we track rose 4.6%: it finished 6.7% ahead of the market, inside the 10% either way we count as moving with it. Its price has mostly been riding the market.

Describes the last 2 months, not what happens next. Not investment advice.

Is this card interesting right now?

Notable - 82 out of 100

It ranks above 82% of the cards we track. The score describes the conditions around the card today - how sellers are pricing it, how it is trending, how steadily it trades. Its weights were tuned on how cards moved over the following 60 days, so a high score is a tendency across many cards, not a forecast for this one - and it says nothing about whether you will enjoy owning the card.

Why is it interesting?

Sellers holding firm and very steady price

Median asking prices sit above the recent-sales market reference - sellers are holding firm on price. This has been the strongest historical price signal in this market. The price moves in small, calm steps rather than lurching around. Working against it: asking prices are more spread out than on most cards, so what you pay depends on which listing you pick.

Is it becoming more popular?

Yes - consistently

Compared with the Pokemon market as a whole, so a rising tide does not count as popularity. In this market these trends have tended to keep going rather than reverse.

Is it expensive or cheap?

$19.67 - expensive for its set

At $19.67 it is expensive for its set - number 49 of 166 by price. It costs more than 86% of other Rare cards we track. It is at or near its highest price of the past year.

What makes this card unusual?

An ordinary Rare from a 26-year-old set

Rare is a widely printed rarity - 6,033 tracked cards share it. This is the 1st Edition printing, which is priced as a completely separate market from the other printings of the same artwork. The set is about 26 years old, so surviving copies in good condition get scarcer over time.

Could you actually buy or sell it?

Yes, with patience

The price changed in 30% of our checks over the past year across 365 observations. TCGplayer's market price only updates when a copy sells, so a low figure means the price shown may be stale and any trend reading is built on very few real sales.

How does the grading fee compare?

Fee exceeds raw price

A roughly $22.00 grading fee is 112% of the $19.67 raw price. Raw price plus fee comes to about $41.67, before shipping, insurance or selling costs. That is a cost comparison, not an estimate of a graded copy's value. We track raw ungraded prices only - no graded sales and no population data. We cannot assess this copy's condition or tell you what a PSA 10 is worth. Check condition and comparable graded sales before deciding whether grading would pay off.