Team Rockets Nidoking ex

Holofoil 233/182 · $77.74 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.

Nidoking's connection to Team Rocket goes back to the original anime. The massive, armored poison-type was the type of Pokemon Team Rocket used when they wanted to demonstrate real strength. Team Rocket grunts used Nidorans in the games — the pre-evolution line — while executives had access to evolved forms. Nidoking in Team Rocket's colors carries that original anime authority.

“Part of the Team Rocket SIR collecting subset within Destined Rivals”

In the games, Nidoking appears on Giovanni's team, cementing its status as the leader-tier Team Rocket Pokemon. That specific association differentiates Team Rocket's Nidoking ex from a generic Nidoking SIR. This is Giovanni's Nidoking brought into the modern card format.

The Team Rocket SIR subset in Destined Rivals creates a collecting objective within the set's chase tier. Team Rocket's Nidoking ex, Moltres ex, and Crobat ex, plus the anchor Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, form a natural group. Collectors pursuing the full Team Rocket subset need this card.

Nidoking is one of the original 151 Pokemon, a bulky poison-and-ground type that evolves from Nidorino via Moon Stone. In the original games, Giovanni, the Team Rocket boss and Viridian City gym leader, used Nidoking as one of his signature Pokemon. This association with the franchise's original primary villain gives Nidoking a specific Team Rocket character that few other Gen 1 Pokemon share as clearly.