Kadabra
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Kadabra, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. It is a middle form of the Abra line, eventually evolving into Alakazam. It is a primarily yellow, humanoid Pokémon that has two long, pointed ears on top of its head, a red star on its forehead, narrow, deep-set eyes and wide cheeks leading down to a thin snout. Kadabra was created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and in later sequels. It has appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.

In the Pokémon anime, Kadabra appear under the ownership of Sabrina. It appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga in various roles. IGN described Kadabra as "losing most of its charm" as it progressed their evolution. Kadabra received mixed responses from critics.

Design and characteristics
Kadabra is one of the Pokémon conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue. Originally called Yungerer in Japanese, Nintendo changed the name as part of an initiative to localize various species names to English audiences in order to make them more relatable. Kadabra was initially intended to be named Pocus (with its earlier form being named Hocus) for American audiences, but it and its predecessor were named Kadabra and Abra respectively, based on the incantation along with its final form, Alakazam.

Kadabra is a bipedal Pokémon characterized by a humanoid body structure and somewhat fox-like appearance. It has armor-like characteristics, featuring pauldron-shaped pieces on its shoulders and a fauld-like piece around its chest. It has three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot, with two toes in the front on either side and one in the back near the ankle. It also has a thick tail. Kadabra also has a large mustache, which is larger for male members of the species. It has a red star-shaped symbol on its forehead, and three red wavy lines on its fauld-like torso that resemble symbols used on zener cards. Kadabra, as well as its other forms, is capable of using telepathy as well as manipulating others' minds. It can also teleport.

Appearances
The first video game appearance Kadabra, as well as its other forms, was in Pokémon Red and Blue versions. Kadabra evolves from Abra after accumulating enough experience, and evolves into Alakazam only when traded from one copy of a Pokémon game to another. Kadabra appears in every new version of Red and Blue, as well as every sequel to it. Kadabra has also appeared in every subsequent Pokémon game.

In anime and printed adaptations
In the Pokémon anime, the Saffron City Gym Leader, Sabrina owns an Abra, which she sends out in a battle against the series protagonist, Ash. After battling, Sabrina's Abra evolves into Kadabra, causing Ash to forfeit the match due to Kadabra's new and more powerful psychic abilities. Ash later returns for a rematch, and Ash's Haunter makes Sabrina laugh, which causes Kadabra to also laugh due to the psychic bond it has with Sabrina. Because of Kadabra and Sabrina's laughter, they are unable to fight, and hand over the gym badge. A Kadabra later appears in an abandoned mining colony with several other Psychic-type Pokémon in "Fear Factor Phony", which was the last physical of Kadabra in the anime to date. However, it’s prevolution Abra and it's evolution Alakazam continue to appear in the anime.

Like in the anime, Sabrina owns a Kadabra in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Cultural impact

Reception
Kadabra has been regarded as one of the most disturbing or spooky Pokémon by sources including Shacknews, The Red Bulletin, IGN, and Inverse, largely in relation to its lore in the Pokémon games that Kadabra was once a boy with psychic abilities, who then transformed into a Pokémon. It has also been praised for its design by 1UP FM, which calling it one of their favorites. In a poll conducted by IGN, Kadabra was voted as the 91st best Pokémon.

Uri Geller likeness lawsuit

In November 2000, it was reported that Uri Geller, an Israeli magician who purports to be psychic, alleged that Kadabra's spoon bending and Japanese name, Yungera, were an unauthorized appropriation of his identity, leading him to sue Nintendo. Geller learned of the similarity after fans of both himself and Pokémon noted similarities between him and Kadabra, He further claimed that the lightning patterns on its abdomen is popular with the Waffen-SS and that Nintendo had "turned [Geller] into an evil, occult Pokémon character". A Nintendo director disputed this, stating that they had no knowledge of any Pokémon named "based on the image of any particular person". In 2008, Pokémon anime director and storyboard artist Masamitsu Hidaka stated that Kadabra would not be used in the Pokémon Trading Card Game until an agreement was reached on the case. In November 2020, after Geller told TheGamer that he received emails from Pokémon fans which convinced him to drop the case and allow Nintendo to bring back Kadabra,

References

External links

 
Kadabra on Pokemon.com

Anime and manga characters who can teleport
Anime and manga telepaths
Fictional characters who can teleport
Fictional characters with precognition
Fictional hypnotists and indoctrinators
Fictional psychics
Fictional telekinetics
Fictional telepaths
Pokémon species
Telepath characters in video games
Video game characters introduced in 1996
Video game characters who can teleport
Video game characters who have mental powers
Video game characters who use magic
Video game controversies