How Much Is a Grimer Card Worth in 2026?
Grimer is a pile of living sludge, born in the lore from pollution and moonlight, and fittingly its value hides in the murk of one specific corner of the hobby: the Team Rocket sets. The Sludge Pokémon has been printed nearly 40 times since 1999, and while most copies are worth pocket change, its handful of Team Rocket-branded prints turn a common into a genuine grading play.
The headline is the 2004 Team Rocket Returns Grimer #56. It costs about $3 raw, but a PSA 10 has averaged around $201, a 71 times jump, because so few clean copies of this EX-era common exist. The 2000 Team Rocket 1st Edition Grimer #57 tells a similar story, grading near $150, and the e-Reader era Aquapolis print is the priciest raw Grimer at about $22. Everything else, including the modern Alolan Grimer prints, is cheap.
So Grimer is a low-value common with pockets of real graded value, and those pockets cluster in the Team Rocket era. This guide ranks every Grimer worth knowing, runs the grading math, and flags where figures are estimates. Prices reflect recent sales and move with the market.
Grimer card value 2026: the top variants ranked
Pricing is drawn from PSA sold comps, pokiframe, PokemonWizard, and eBay realized sales as of 2026. Grimer trades thinly in top grade, so several graded figures below are estimates.
| Rank | Card | Set (Year) | Raw NM | PSA 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grimer #56 | Team Rocket Returns (2004) | ~$3 | ~$201 |
| 2 | Grimer #57 1st Edition | Team Rocket (2000) | $10–$20 (est) | ~$150 |
| 3 | Grimer | Aquapolis (2003) | ~$22 | ~$80–$150 (est) |
| 4 | Grimer #57 Unlimited | Team Rocket (2000) | $3–$6 | ~$60–$90 (est) |
| 5 | Alolan Grimer #57 | Sun & Moon (2017) | ~$1 | ~$25–$40 (est) |
| 6 | Grimer #088 | 151 (2023), Secret Wonders, Plasma Freeze | $0.50–$2 | $20–$40 |
| 7 | Modern reverse holos and commons | Various | $0.05–$1 | $15–$30 |
The pattern is easy to miss because the raw prices are so low, but it is consistent: the graded value clusters in the Team Rocket sets, and almost nowhere else.
Grimer and the Team Rocket sets value 2026
Grimer's value has a theme, and it is Team Rocket. Grimer and its evolution Muk have long been the archetypal Team Rocket poison Pokémon, appearing across Rocket-branded sets, and that is exactly where the graded money sits. The 2004 Team Rocket Returns #56 is the standout: about $3 raw, roughly $201 in a PSA 10, a 71 times multiple driven by how rarely this EX-era common survives clean.
The 2000 Team Rocket 1st Edition #57 tells a similar story, grading near $150 and carrying genuine WOTC-era vintage appeal. Both reward pristine copies and punish everything else, so condition is the whole game. If you cannot judge an EX or WOTC common's surface confidently, buying these already slabbed is the safer path.
Grimer Aquapolis, Alolan, and modern prints value 2026
Outside the Rocket sets, the picture is quieter. The 2003 Aquapolis Grimer is the priciest raw print at around $22, an e-Reader era card whose condition sensitivity keeps clean copies scarce and graded copies pricey. The Alolan Grimer prints from the Sun and Moon era, the Poison and Dark regional form, are inexpensive at a dollar or two raw and $25 to $40 graded.
Modern prints from 151, Secret Wonders, and Plasma Freeze are commons worth cents to a couple of dollars, with graded copies in the $15 to $40 range only when flawless. None of these approach the Team Rocket cards, so for value they are a distraction rather than a target.
Should you grade a Grimer card in 2026?
Grimer grading is a Team Rocket affair, with one e-Reader wildcard.
Team Rocket Returns #56 grading math:
- All-in cost: roughly $30 with shipping
- Raw copy: about $3
- PSA 9 lands around $30 to $50; PSA 10 has averaged near $201
- Verdict: the best grading play by far, a 71 times multiple, but only on a genuinely clean EX-era copy, since the value is in the 10
Team Rocket 1st Edition #57 grading math:
- All-in cost: roughly $35
- Raw copy: about $10 to $20
- PSA 10 near $150
- Verdict: worth it on a sharp copy, with WOTC vintage demand behind it
Aquapolis Grimer grading math:
- All-in cost: roughly $30
- Raw copy: about $22
- PSA 10 estimated $80 to $150
- Verdict: worth it only on a pristine copy, since e-Reader edges chip easily
Everything else: not worth grading, as the values do not clear the fee.
Which Grimer card should you actually buy in 2026?
Under $2: a raw Alolan Grimer or modern holo, the cheapest way to own the sludge.
Around $3: a raw Team Rocket Returns #56, cheap now with genuine graded upside if you can gem it.
Around $22: a raw Aquapolis Grimer, the priciest raw print and an e-Reader collectible.
$150 and up: a graded Team Rocket Returns #56 or Team Rocket 1st Edition #57, the top of the Grimer market.
Final take
Grimer is proof that value can hide in the least glamorous places. A living puddle of sludge does not sound like a collectible, but its Team Rocket-era prints quietly turn a three-dollar common into a two-hundred-dollar slab, and its WOTC vintage carries real weight. The rest of the catalog, Alolan forms included, is cheap and cheerful.
Buy a raw Alolan or modern Grimer if you just want the Pokémon, chase a clean Team Rocket Returns #56 if you like the grading odds, and target a graded copy if you want the certainty. With Grimer, the money is in the Rocket sets and in the grade, so let condition decide before you spend.
