Best Nidoking Cards to Grade
The Nidoking cards worth grading, ranked by expected profit per submission — every grade outcome weighted by how often the card actually receives it — after current grading fees. The PSA 10 best case is shown on every row but does not decide the order. Top pick: Nidoking (Aquapolis) at an expected +$2,380.
Ranked by expected profit 12
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$2,380 per submission: 5.1% of 2,209 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($19,411), and a PSA 9 ($7,200) still clears the $2,212 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $999 | $7,200 | $19,411 | $1,213 | +$17,198 | 5.1% | +$2,380 | 2,209 high |
| 2 | Expected +$743 per submission: 12.2% of 679 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($4,499), and a PSA 9 ($1,200) still clears the $674 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $260 | $1,200 | $4,499 | $414 | +$3,825 | 12.2% | +$743 | 679 high |
| 3 | Expected +$732 per submission: 17.8% of 219 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($4,500), and a PSA 9 ($149) still clears the $428 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $14 | $149 | $4,500 | $414 | +$4,072 | 17.8% | +$732 | 219 high |
| 4 | Expected +$580 per submission: 6.2% of 579 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($8,700), and a PSA 9 ($450) still clears the $751 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $45 | $450 | $8,700 | $706 | +$7,949 | 6.2% | +$580 | 579 high |
| 5 | Expected +$195 per submission: 11.2% of 429 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,650), and a PSA 9 ($324) still clears the $291 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $55 | $324 | $1,650 | $236 | +$1,360 | 11.2% | +$195 | 429 high |
| 6 | Expected +$104 per submission: 4.6% of 2,171 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,250), and a PSA 9 ($200) still clears the $482 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $80 | $200 | $3,250 | $402 | +$2,769 | 4.6% | +$104 | 2,171 high |
| 7 | Expected +$22 per submission: 2.4% of 15,667 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,500), and a PSA 9 ($195) still clears the $284 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $40 | $195 | $2,500 | $244 | +$2,216 | 2.4% | +$22 | 15,667 high |
| 8 | Expected loss −$6 per submission: 58.5% of 10,825 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($228), and only a PSA 10 covers the $177 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $95 | $96 | $228 | $82 | +$51 | 58.5% | −$6 | 10,825 high |
| 9 | Expected loss −$7 per submission: 32.4% of 207 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($165), and only a PSA 10 covers the $97 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $15 | $71 | $165 | $82 | +$68 | 32.4% | −$7 | 207 high |
| 10 | Expected loss −$19 per submission: 0.8% of 3,443 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($5,760), and only a PSA 10 covers the $717 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $40 | $120 | $5,760 | $677 | +$5,043 | 0.8% | −$19 | 3,443 high |
| 11 | Expected loss −$29 per submission: 33.3% of 9,321 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($156), and only a PSA 10 covers the $101 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $19 | $30 | $156 | $82 | +$55 | 33.3% | −$29 | 9,321 high |
| 12 | Expected loss −$32 per submission: 30.9% of 139 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($95), and only a PSA 10 covers the $92 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $11 | $65 | $95 | $81 | +$3 | 30.9% | −$32 | 139 high |
Expected = every grade outcome weighted by its share of the card's graded population, minus the raw price and the grading cost (PSA tier fee for the graded value plus ~$20 round-trip shipping, fees as of 2026-09-26). Best case is the PSA 10 leg alone. Gem rates come from a self-selected population — collectors grade their cleanest copies — so read them as an upper bound. Raw is a blended market price, not a sale of your copy. Full method and filters on the grading index.
How to read the Nidoking ranking
Every Nidoking card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 12 Nidoking printings pass. 12 of them (100%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 7 of those keep a positive expected value once every grade outcome is weighted by how often the card actually receives it.
The order is expected profit, not the PSA 10 best case, which rewards the widest raw-to-gem gap whether the card gems one time in two or one in fifty. Here the top row, the Nidoking from Aquapolis, gems 5.1% of the time across 2,209 graded copies: +$2,380 is what a long run of submissions would average, $17,198 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Nidoking cards is 12.2%. Roughly one submitted copy in 8 came back PSA 10, and most rows here still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, so the PSA 9 price does most of the work. Of the 12 ranked cards, 7 still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, 5 need a 10 to break even and 5 lose money on expectation. 12 rest on a hundred or more graded copies.
Before you submit a Nidoking card
Grading pays on condition. The four things every grader scores — centering, corners, edges and surface — can be checked at home before paying a fee, and a copy that is visibly off-centre or has a whitened corner will not gem whatever the population says. Those gem rates come from a self-selected population of clean copies, so a random copy does worse.
The cost column assumes a PSA submission at the tier covering the card's PSA 10 value, fees as of 2026-09-26, and raw is CardTrack's blended near-mint price, not a sale of your copy: pay more, or hold a lighter copy, and the break-even moves against you. Test a card with your own numbers in the ROI calculator, see the printings that fail the bar on the Nidoking card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.