Pokémon · XY
Nidoking
Evolutions · #45 · Rare Holo · 2016
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$4.84
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- 45 / 113
- Release year
- 2016
- Rarity
- Rare Holo
- HP
- 150
- Subtype
- Stage 2
- Evolves from
- Nidorino
- Retreat cost
- 3 energy
- Illustrator
- Ken Sugimori
- Pokédex #
- 34
- Series
- XY
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Bench Damage
- Damage efficiency
- 100 damage
- 33.33 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Stage 2
- Needs its evolution line or Rare Candy to set up
Also does
Strategy & play
How Nidoking plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- Its main attack (Tail Swing) needs 3 Energy — a turn-3 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
- Needs Psychic Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Psychic type, weak to Psychic ×2 — a Psychic attacker doing ≥75 effectively one-shots it.
- A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
- Retreat cost 3 — gets stranded Active if gusted; run Switch / Escape Rope or a Float Stone-style Tool.
- A Stage 2 — without Rare Candy you lose ~2 turns setting it up, and it’s gust-bait before it’s online (you must draw Nidorino first).
How to beat Nidoking
- Exploit its Psychic weakness — ≥75 damage one-shots it.
- Gust it before the evolution is set up.
- Trap it Active — 3 retreat means it can’t escape without help.
More by Ken Sugimori
This card was illustrated by Ken Sugimori.
Building around Nidoking?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"It is recognized by its rock-hard hide and its extended horn. Be careful with the horn as it contains venom."
PCRumble — 40
The Defending Pokémon can't retreat during your opponent's next turn.
PPCTail Swing — 100
This attack does 20 damage to each of your opponent's Benched Basic Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Weakness:P×2
Retreat cost:CCC
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Nidoking was legal.
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/18| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $2.40 | $4.99 | $4,321.00 | $4.84 | $5.92 |
| Reverse Holofoil | $2.80 | $4.95 | $17.75 | $4.85 | — |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/03/07| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €5.40 |
| 7-day average | €6.57 |
| 30-day average | €4.78 |
| Low | €0.49 |
| Trend price | €5.92 |
| Low (excellent+) | €0.96 |
| Reverse holo low | €1.75 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €6.00 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €3.84 |
| reverseHoloSell | €4.08 |
| averageSellPrice | €4.92 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €4.05 |
| Reverse holo trend | €4.46 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Nidoking is real?
Nidoking is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Nidoking worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Nidoking is $4.84; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Nidoking from?
Nidoking is from the Pokémon set "Evolutions" in the XY series, released in 2016.
What rarity is Nidoking?
Nidoking is a Rare Holo card in the Evolutions set.
Other Nidoking printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
