Pokémon · HeartGold & SoulSilver

Ariados

HeartGold & SoulSilver

HeartGold & SoulSilver · #15 · Rare · 2010

Listings

No active listings

From

—

Market reference

$1.13

TCGPlayer

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Current listings on The Game Traders

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Card facts

Quick reference for collectors and graders.

Set position: 15 / 124
Release year: 2010
Rarity: Rare
HP: 80
Subtype: Stage 1
Evolves from: Spinarak
Retreat cost: 1 energy
Illustrator: Ken Sugimori
Pokédex #: 168
Series: HeartGold & SoulSilver

Card analysis

Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.

Primary role: Status Conditions
Damage efficiency: 50 damage; 16.67 per Energy
Prize liability: 1 Prize given up; Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
Setup: Stage 1; One evolution step from a Basic

Also does

Attacker

Strategy & play

How Ariados plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.

Inflicts Poison — guaranteed chip damage every turn between turns (no coin flip). It stacks with your attack math to cross KO thresholds the attack alone misses.
Its main attack (Poisonous Saliva) needs 3 Energy — a turn-3 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
Needs Grass Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
Grass type, weak to Fire ×2 — a Fire attacker doing ≥40 effectively one-shots it.
A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
A Stage 1 — one step up from Spinarak; doesn’t help your opening hand, but quick to set up.

How to beat Ariados

Exploit its Fire weakness — ≥40 damage one-shots it.
Gust it before the evolution is set up.
On the receiving end of a condition? Retreat, switch, or evolve to wipe it — conditions only stick to the Active.

Competitive performance

From real Standard tournament decks over the last 180 days.

Meta inclusion: 0% of decks; 2.65 copies on average · 17 decks

Plays well with

Cards most often run alongside this one in tournament decks over the last 180 days — ranked by how distinctive the pairing is.

Spinarak

in 82% of decks · 14 seen

Gravity Gemstone

in 65% of decks · 11 seen

Telepathic Psychic Energy

in 59% of decks · 10 seen

Buddy-Buddy Poffin

in 82% of decks · 14 seen

Boss's Orders

in 100% of decks · 17 seen

Poké Pad

in 82% of decks · 14 seen

Lillie's Determination

in 82% of decks · 14 seen

Night Stretcher

in 76% of decks · 13 seen

More by Ken Sugimori

This card was illustrated by Ken Sugimori.

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Building around Ariados?

Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.

Open the Deck Builder →

About this card

HP: 80Type:GGrassSubtype: Stage 1Evolves from: Spinarak

"It spins string not only from its rear but also from its mouth. It's hard to tell which end is which."

GCLeech Life — 30

Remove from Ariados the number of damage counters equal to the damage you did to the Defending Pokémon.

GCCPoisonous Saliva — 50

The Defending Pokémon is now Poisoned.

Weakness:R×2

Retreat cost:C

Tournament legality

Current legal status across competitive formats.

unlimitedLegal

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 2026/07/01

Variant	Low	Mid	High	Market	Direct Low
Normal	$0.40	$1.00	$19.98	$1.13	$1.20
Reverse Holofoil	$1.50	$2.95	$36.50	$2.36	—

Cardmarket (EUR)

Updated 2026/07/01

Variant	Price
1-day average	€0.80
7-day average	€1.19
30-day average	€1.22
Low	€0.12
Trend price	€1.32
Low (excellent+)	€0.20
Reverse holo low	€0.49
reverseHoloAvg1	€1.19
Reverse holo 7-day	€1.57
reverseHoloSell	€1.49
averageSellPrice	€1.37
Reverse holo 30-day	€1.54
Reverse holo trend	€1.60

Frequently asked

How can I tell if my Ariados is real?

Ariados 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 Ariados worth?

As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Ariados is $1.13; 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 Ariados from?

Ariados is from the Pokémon set "HeartGold & SoulSilver" in the HeartGold & SoulSilver series, released in 2010.

What rarity is Ariados?

Ariados is a Rare card in the HeartGold & SoulSilver set.