Dark Blastoise #3 — Team Rocket Pokémon card

Dark Blastoise #3 Value

Name: Dark Blastoise #3 — Team Rocket
Brand: Pokémon

Team Rocket · Card 3/83 · Rare · 2000

Dark Blastoise is one of those Team Rocket cards that collectors from 2000 still talk about, and it holds up well today. As a Rare pull illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, it carries that moody Rocket-era artwork that made this set stand out from the base games. If you're checking Dark Blastoise value right now, a raw copy sits at $98, which is a solid number for a card over two decades old.

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Market value & price

Raw / Ungraded

$98

Grade 9

$408

PSA 10

$1.4k

PSA 10 is 14.3× the raw price

Value by grade

Where it drops

Pulled 63× on PackSpy across Mnstr, Collector Crypt, Courtyard · biggest hit $930.

Found in packs: Pack 3 · Water Pack · Starter Pokémon Gacha Pack · Pokémon Master Pack · Grail Pokémon Gacha Pack …

Want to pull Dark Blastoise?

Rip a live pack on the sites that drop cards like this:

Rip on Monster (MNSTR) →Rip on Collector Crypt →Rip on Courtyard →Rip on Packs.com →

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PriceCharting history ↗eBay sold listings ↗PSA price guide ↗

Card details

Set: Team Rocket
Card number: 3 of 83
Rarity: Rare
Type: Water
HP: 70
Stage: Stage2
Weakness: Lightning ×2
Retreat cost: 2
Illustrator: Mitsuhiro Arita
Released: 2000

Attacks

Hydrocannon30+
Water · Water
Does 30 damage plus 20 more damage for each W Energy attached to Dark Blastoise but not used to pay for this attack. You can't add more than 40 damage in this way.
Rocket Tackle40
Water · Colorless · Colorless
Dark Blastoise does 10 damage to itself. Flip a coin. If heads, prevent all damage done to Dark Blastoise during your opponent's next turn. (Any other effects of attacks still happen.)

Dark Blastoise — collector's take

Is Dark Blastoise worth grading?

So is it worth grading? Here's the honest math: a raw Dark Blastoise runs $98, a Grade 9 jumps to $408, and a PSA 10 tops out at $1,393, which works out to 14.3x the raw price. That's a real jump, no question. But gem mint is called gem mint for a reason, it's hard to hit, especially on a card from 2000 where surface wear and centering issues creep in more than people expect. Grading costs money and takes time, and there's no guarantee your copy comes back a 10 instead of a 9 or lower. If your copy looks sharp under a loupe, corners crisp, no whitening, it's worth the gamble. If it's a well-loved card from a binder, you might be better off enjoying it raw or selling as-is.

How rare is it?

Team Rocket cards from 2000 weren't printed with today's collector boom in mind, and Rare status back then meant something different than it does in modern sets. We don't have exact population figures to point to here, but the gap between raw at $98 and PSA 10 at $1,393 tells its own story: gem mint copies are genuinely tough to find in this condition, and that scarcity is a big part of why the price climbs so steeply at the top end. It's a card that rewards patience if you're hunting for a true gem.

Where to pull it

This is where PackSpy actually earns its keep, because we don't just guess at rarity, we track real pulls. Dark Blastoise has been pulled 62 times across sites we monitor, including mnstr, courtyard, and collector-crypt, with the biggest recorded pull hitting $930. We've seen it show up in Pack 3, Pokémon Master Pack, Grail Pokémon Gacha Pack, Elite Pokémon Gacha Pack, and Water Pack. That said, opening packs is still gambling, most rips don't beat what you paid, so if you're chasing this specific card, buying a known copy on the secondary market is often the steadier path compared to hoping it lands in your next pack.

Questions people ask

How much is Dark Blastoise worth?

A raw, ungraded Dark Blastoise is worth $98 right now. Once graded, that value climbs fast, a Grade 9 sits at $408 and a PSA 10 reaches $1,393. So how much is Dark Blastoise worth really depends on condition and whether it's been graded.

Is Dark Blastoise worth grading?

It can be, since a PSA 10 is worth 14.3x the raw price. But gem mint copies are genuinely hard to pull off, so weigh the grading fee and wait time against the realistic condition of your specific card before sending it in.

What set is Dark Blastoise from?

Dark Blastoise comes from the Team Rocket set, released back in 2000. It's card #3 in that set, a Rare illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, and it's held its place as a fan favorite from that era ever since.