Last updated · prices collected
Team Rocket set overview
Team Rocket is the fifth English expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, released by Wizards of the Coast on 24 April 2000 between Base Set 2 and Gym Heroes. German, French and Italian editions followed in July 2000. The set has 83 cards: 82 in the numbered list and Dark Raichu, numbered 83/82.
The set is built around the villains of Pokémon Red and Blue, and it introduced Dark Pokémon: evolved Pokémon such as Dark Charizard, Dark Blastoise and Dark Dragonite, drawn with a brown and black art window and given lower HP and harder-hitting attacks than their regular versions. Dark Pokémon evolve from other Dark Pokémon or from ordinary Basic Pokémon, so Dark Charizard comes from Dark Charmeleon, which comes from a normal Charmander.
Team Rocket also brought several firsts to the English game. Dark Raichu was the first secret card, numbered past the set's official total. Here Comes Team Rocket!, Rocket's Sneak Attack and Rainbow Energy were the first holofoil Trainer and Energy cards. The English list adapts the Japanese Rocket Gang set of November 1997, with the differences below.
- 83Cards
- 1Secret rares
- 68Pokémon
- 11Trainers
- 4Energy
- 9Illustrators
Set facts
- Released
- 24 April 2000 (English); German, French and Italian editions followed in July 2000
- Cards
- 83: 68 Pokémon, 11 Trainers and 4 Energy, numbered 1/82 to 82/82 plus 83/82
- Rarities
- 17 Holo Rares, 17 non-holo Rares, 24 Uncommons, 24 Commons and the holo secret Dark Raichu
- Holo and non-holo pairs
- Each of the 17 holos (1 to 17) has a non-holo twin with new numbers: 18 to 31, 71, 72 and 80
- Secret rare
- Dark Raichu (83/82), the first card numbered beyond a set's official count
- Printings
- 1st Edition and Unlimited for all 83 cards (Shadowless was a Base Set-only print run)
- Booster pack / box
- 11 cards per pack, 36 packs per box
- Theme decks
- Trouble (Psychic and Grass, Dark Arbok) and Devastation (Grass and Water, Dark Weezing)
- Japanese source
- Rocket Gang, 21 November 1997, 65 cards
- Known errors
- Non-holo Dark Dragonite numbered 5/82; Dark Arbok's “©1999-23000” copyright line; Dark Raichu's “Put Raichu on the Basic Pokémon”
What changed from Rocket Gang
- Added: Dark Raichu (083/082). Wizards of the Coast created it for the English set; it reached Japan later as a Super Rare in the Crossing the Ruins... expansion.
- Added non-holo Rares: the 17 holo cards of Rocket Gang appear twice in English, as Holo Rares (001/082 to 017/082) and again as non-holo Rares, for example Dark Charizard (021/082) and Rainbow Energy (080/082). That is why 65 Japanese cards became 82.
- Rarity changes: Dark Persian (042/082), Magikarp (047/082), Porygon (048/082), Digger (075/082), Nightly Garbage Run (077/082), Full Heal Energy (081/082) and Potion Energy (082/082) are Commons in Japan and Uncommons in English.
- Text changes: English Dark Golbat's Pokémon Power says to apply Weakness and Resistance where the Japanese card says not to, and English Grimer's Poison Gas makes the Defending Pokémon Asleep instead of Poisoned. Neither was corrected.
- Numbering: Japanese cards of the time carried no collector numbers; the English set is numbered 1/82 to 83/82.
Team Rocket chase cards
The six cards below are the most expensive singles in the set by TCGplayer market price on 4 October 2026. The most expensive of all on that date was Dark Dragonite (5) (005/082, Holo Rare). These figures are TCGplayer's main listing for each card, which for this set follows the 1st Edition print; the card list gives 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately under each card, and the Prices by printing table in the prices section shows the top card in each printing. The card in the page header is the holo Dark Charizard (004/082) by Ken Sugimori; its non-holo twin is Dark Charizard (021/082). Mitsuhiro Arita drew the holo Dark Blastoise (003/082) and Dark Dragonite (005/082) as well as the secret Dark Raichu (083/082). Tap a card to jump to it in the list.
1Dark Dragonite (5)005/082 · HMitsuhiro Arita$502.30£379.94
2Dark Blastoise (3)003/082 · HMitsuhiro Arita$488.59£369.57
3Dark Raichu083/082 · SRMitsuhiro Arita$360.12£272.40
4Dark Gyarados (8)008/082 · HKagemaru Himeno$222.18£168.06
5Dark Charizard (21)021/082 · RKen Sugimori$184.51£139.56
6Dark Alakazam (1)001/082 · HKen Sugimori$178.88£135.31Team Rocket card list
Every card in the set is below in set-number order, with its rarity, illustrator and market price, and a line giving the 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately. The 17 Holo Rares come first (001/082 to 017/082). The non-holo twins of the 14 holo Pokémon follow at 018/082 to 031/082, and the Uncommon and Common Pokémon run from 032/082 to 070/082. The Trainers start at 071/082 and the Energy cards at 080/082, which is where the non-holo Here Comes Team Rocket!, Rocket's Sneak Attack and Rainbow Energy sit (071, 072 and 080). Dark Raichu comes last at 083/082. Search by name, number, artist or rarity, or narrow the list with the type, rarity and price chips. The Own button marks a card as collected and saves the mark in your browser only.
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Team Rocket card prices
Market prices in US dollars, collected on 4 October 2026, with pounds at that day's rate (1 USD = 0.756 GBP). They are a snapshot, not live quotes. The bars show each card's price against the most expensive card in the set. The buy links are affiliate links and Bill's Archive earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- $3,711.21£2,807.19One of every card
- 10%Of that value in the 1 secret rares
- 27%In the top two cards alone
- 46Cards at $10 or more
- 82Cards at $1 or more
- 1Bulk cards under $1
Prices by printing
| Printing | Cards priced | All priced cards | Top card in this printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Edition Holofoil | 18 | $2,812.46 | Dark Dragonite (5) 005/082 · $502.30 |
| 1st Edition | 65 | $894.93 | Dark Charizard (21) 021/082 · $182.61 |
| Unlimited Holofoil | 18 | $1,553.29 | Dark Charizard (4) 004/082 · $381.69 |
| Unlimited | 65 | $439.26 | Dark Charizard (21) 021/082 · $90.36 |
TCGplayer market prices in US dollars by printing, from tcgcsv.com, collected on 4 October 2026. The headline price on each card is TCGplayer’s main listing for that card; the line under the card name splits it by printing. Holo and non-holo prints have their own rows. Rare vintage holos sell infrequently, so their market prices can lag behind recent sales.
The 15 most expensive singles
- 1Dark Dragonite (5)005/082 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$502.30£379.94TCGplayer
- 2Dark Blastoise (3)003/082 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$488.59£369.57TCGplayer
- 3Dark Raichu083/082 · SR · Mitsuhiro Arita$360.12£272.40TCGplayer
- 4Dark Gyarados (8)008/082 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$222.18£168.06TCGplayer
- 5Dark Charizard (21)021/082 · R · Ken Sugimori$184.51£139.56TCGplayer
- 6Dark Alakazam (1)001/082 · H · Ken Sugimori$178.88£135.31TCGplayer
- 7
Dark Machamp (10)010/082 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$143.19£108.31TCGplayer - 8
Dark Charizard (4)004/082 · H · Ken Sugimori$121.94£92.24TCGplayer - 9
Dark Slowbro (12)012/082 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$101.43£76.72TCGplayer - 10
Dark Magneton (11)011/082 · H · Miki Tanaka$97.26£73.57TCGplayer - 11
Dark Hypno (9)009/082 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$95.87£72.52TCGplayer - 12
Dark Dugtrio (6)006/082 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$92.15£69.70TCGplayer - 13
Dark Golbat (7)007/082 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$77.30£58.47TCGplayer - 14
Dark Dragonite (22)022/082 · R · Mitsuhiro Arita$72.20£54.61TCGplayer - 15
Dark Vileplume (13)013/082 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$71.10£53.78TCGplayer
Team Rocket illustrators
9 illustrators are credited across the 83 cards. Kagemaru Himeno, Mitsuhiro Arita and Ken Sugimori share most of the set between them. Arita drew Dark Blastoise, Dark Dragonite, Dark Machamp, Dark Slowbro and Dark Raichu; Sugimori drew Dark Charizard, Dark Alakazam and the Trainer art for Here Comes Team Rocket!, Rocket's Sneak Attack and The Boss's Way; Himeno drew Dark Gyarados, Dark Dugtrio, Dark Hypno and Dark Vileplume. Takumi Akabane drew Rainbow Energy and Keiji Kinebuchi the other two Energy cards. Because each holo has a non-holo twin with the same art, most artists' counts include pairs. Each tile leads with the artist's highest-value card in the set; the name links to their entry in the illustrator database.
Show all 9 illustrators
Japanese source: Rocket Gang
Japanese source setRocket GangReleased 21 November 1997 · 65 cards→
Rocket Gang (ロケット団) was the fourth Japanese expansion and came out on 21 November 1997, about two and a half years before the English set. It had 65 unnumbered cards, with each of its 17 rare cards printed only as a holo. Wizards of the Coast split those 17 into holo and non-holo versions and added Dark Raichu, which is how the English set reached 83 cards. Dark Raichu later appeared in Japan as a Super Rare in Crossing the Ruins..., which made it the first card released outside Japan before it was released there.
| Property | Rocket Gang (JP) | Team Rocket (EN) |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | 21 November 1997 | 24 April 2000 |
| Card count | 65 | 83 (82 + Dark Raichu) |
| Holo cards | 17 | 18, each of the 17 also as a non-holo Rare |
| Collector numbers | None | 1/82 to 83/82 |
Team Rocket products and sealed prices
Team Rocket was sold in booster packs of 11 cards, 36 packs to a box, in both 1st Edition and Unlimited, plus two 60-card theme decks. Bulbapedia's gallery shows English booster wrappers with Gyarados, Jessie and James, and Giovanni art. Trouble is a Psychic and Grass deck led by Dark Arbok, and Devastation a Grass and Water deck led by Dark Weezing; each came with damage counters, a custom coin, a rulebook and a card list. Only Trouble has a tile below, because the price data gives both decks the same name. Sealed prices are TCGplayer market prices from the same snapshot as the singles, and a tile reads No listing when TCGplayer has no recent market price for it.
No photo yetNo photo yetNo photo yetNo photo yetNo photo yetTrouble Theme Deck
60-card Psychic and Grass deck with Dark Arbok, damage counters, coin and rulebook
Collector's notes
1st Edition and Unlimited
All 83 English cards were printed in a 1st Edition run and an Unlimited run, and Bulbapedia records both editions for the German, French and Italian releases too. A 1st Edition card carries the black 1st Edition symbol just below the artwork, on the opposite side from the R set symbol; Unlimited cards have no symbol there. The Shadowless run was unique to Base Set, so there is no Shadowless Team Rocket. Bulbapedia's error list records smudged 1st Edition stamps on non-holos (thick, smeared or incomplete, most often on Trainers) and rare grey stamps on Commons and Uncommons, so look closely at the stamp before buying or grading one. Prices differ a lot between the two runs: the line under each card in the list and the Prices by printing table give them separately.
The secret Dark Raichu
Dark Raichu (083/082) was the first secret card in the game: a holo numbered beyond the set's 82 cards and made especially for the English release. It has two uncorrected quirks: its evolution text reads “Put Raichu on the Basic Pokémon” instead of “Dark Raichu”, and its Evolution box is light grey where the other Dark Pokémon have dark grey. Bulbapedia, citing the Pokémon Jamboree book, says creating it delayed the set by three months. Legendary Collection later reprinted it with the text fixed, so check the set symbol and number when buying one.
Error cards worth knowing
The best-known Team Rocket error is the non-holo Dark Dragonite numbered 5/82, the holo's number, instead of 22/82. Bulbapedia's error list says a non-holo Dark Dragonite on the holo #5 template was put on the Uncommon print sheet, so it turns up in both 1st Edition and Unlimited; its card page puts the total at about 5,000 copies. Every Dark Arbok, holo and non-holo, has the copyright line “©1999-23000 Wizards”, and the non-holo Dark Vileplume (030/082) shows a Fighting Weakness instead of Fire. Bulbapedia also lists ink errors on Unlimited prints, including a holofoil shifted to the left on some Dark Arbok holos.
Theme deck holos
The holo Dark Arbok (002/082) and Dark Weezing (014/082) were the two holos in the Trouble and Devastation theme decks as well as in booster packs. Bulbapedia notes that the shifted-holo error is known on Unlimited Dark Arbok holos but not on Dark Weezing, which suggests the two were printed separately.
More Original era set guides
Every English set of the Original era in release order.
- Base Set9 January 1999 · 102 cards
- Jungle16 June 1999 · 64 cards
- Fossil10 October 1999 · 62 cards
- Base Set 224 February 2000 · 130 cards
- Team Rocket24 April 2000 · 83 cards
- Gym Heroes14 August 2000 · 132 cards
- Gym Challenge16 October 2000 · 132 cards
Team Rocket FAQ
When did Team Rocket release?
The English Team Rocket set released on 24 April 2000. The German, French and Italian versions followed in July 2000, and the Japanese original, Rocket Gang, came out on 21 November 1997.
How many cards are in Team Rocket?
83 cards. The numbered list runs 1/82 to 82/82, and the secret Dark Raichu is 83/82. That breaks down into 68 Pokémon, 11 Trainers and 4 Energy cards, with 18 Holo Rares, 17 non-holo Rares, 24 Uncommons and 24 Commons.
What is the most valuable Team Rocket card?
By TCGplayer market price on 4 October 2026, Dark Dragonite (5) (005/082, Holo Rare) at $502.30 (£379.94). That is TCGplayer's main listing for the card, which for Team Rocket follows the 1st Edition print. Unlimited copies usually cost less: the line under each card in the list gives both prices, and the Prices by printing table shows the top card in each printing. The prices table on this page shows the top 15.
What is the Team Rocket secret rare?
Dark Raichu, numbered 83/82 and illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. It was the first secret card in the Pokémon TCG and was created for the English set by Wizards of the Coast. It was later printed in Japan in Crossing the Ruins... and reprinted in English in Legendary Collection.
How do I tell a 1st Edition Team Rocket card?
A 1st Edition card has the black 1st Edition symbol just below the artwork, on the opposite side from the R set symbol. Unlimited cards have no symbol there. Both printings use the same card numbers, and this page lists their prices separately under each card.
What are Dark Pokémon?
Dark Pokémon are a kind of Pokémon card introduced in Team Rocket: evolved Pokémon with a darker card design, lower HP and stronger attacks than the regular versions, such as Dark Charizard and Dark Blastoise. Because they have different names, a deck could hold four Dark Arbok as well as four Arbok. Later sets added more Dark Pokémon.
Where do the prices on this page come from?
TCGplayer market prices for the US singles market, collected on the date shown above the prices table and converted to pounds at that day's exchange rate. The main price on each card is TCGplayer's main listing, which for this set follows the 1st Edition print; the line under it and the Prices by printing table split 1st Edition and Unlimited prices from TCGplayer through tcgcsv.com, in US dollars. Graded copies are not included. They are a snapshot and will drift; the buy links show a live figure.