Pokémon · EX
Ekans
Team Rocket Returns · #55 · Common · 2004
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$0.57
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
- 55 / 111
- Release year
- 2004
- Rarity
- Common
- HP
- 60
- Subtype
- Basic
- Evolves to
- Arbok
- Retreat cost
- 1 energy
- Illustrator
- Atsuko Nishida
- Pokédex #
- 23
- Series
- EX
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Status Conditions
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Basic
- Plays straight down — no evolution needed
Strategy & play
How Ekans plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- A Basic — hits the board turn 1 with no evolution tax.
- Inflicts Paralysis — the Defending Pokémon can’t attack or retreat for a turn. A reliable one-turn lock; chain it to stall the opponent out.
- Grass type, weak to Psychic ×2 — a Psychic attacker doing ≥30 effectively one-shots it.
How to beat Ekans
- Exploit its Psychic weakness — ≥30 damage one-shots it.
- 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 copies on average · 7 decks
More by Atsuko Nishida
This card was illustrated by Atsuko Nishida.
Building around Ekans?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
CTail Wrap
Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now Paralyzed.
Weakness:P×2
Retreat cost:C
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
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 2026/07/04| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | $0.20 | $0.57 | $20.42 | $0.57 | — |
| Reverse Holofoil | $19.00 | $19.49 | $65.00 | $38.31 | — |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/02/21| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €0.35 |
| 7-day average | €0.24 |
| 30-day average | €0.23 |
| Low | €0.05 |
| Trend price | €0.33 |
| Low (excellent+) | €0.11 |
| Reverse holo low | €3.00 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €3.50 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €5.73 |
| reverseHoloSell | €3.50 |
| averageSellPrice | €0.27 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €7.28 |
| Reverse holo trend | €9.03 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Ekans is real?
Ekans 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 Ekans worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Ekans is $0.57; 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 Ekans from?
Ekans is from the Pokémon set "Team Rocket Returns" in the EX series, released in 2004.
What rarity is Ekans?
Ekans is a Common card in the Team Rocket Returns set.
Other Ekans printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
