Is Kadabra Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Dark-types now resist Psychic, but there aren't many of them in Johto's gym circuit. Kadabra still outspeeds and one-shots most opponents. Handles Chuck, Koga at the E4, and most of Kanto's rematches. Still top-tier without trading for Alakazam.
Falkner's Pokemon outpace and outclass Abra here.
Bugsy's Pokemon outpace and outclass Abra here.
Kadabra trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Alakazam resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam resists most of Chuck's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Alakazam resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam resists most of Janine's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Alakazam resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Alakazam resists most of Lance's coverage and hits back hard.
Catch Abra
Catch Abra on Route 34 (walking, Lv 10, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM48FireFire PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- TM33IceIce PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- TM41ElectricThunder PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- After Lt. Surge
- TM42PsychicDream EaterPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 15Viridian City
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Saffron City
Evolve Abra to Kadabra
Abra evolves into Kadabra at Level 16. Your Abra should hit Level 16 before you reach Whitney, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 16)
- LV 16PsychicConfusionPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM33IceIce PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 21PsychicPsybeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- TM34NormalSwaggerPower —Accuracy 90%PP 15Olivine Lighthouse
- LV 31PsychicFuture SightPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 15
- LV 38PsychicPsychicPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Lt. Surge
- TM42PsychicDream EaterPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 15Viridian City
Evolve Kadabra to Alakazam
Kadabra evolves into Alakazam when traded. Most players are ready to trade before reaching Morty.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM48FireFire PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- TM33IceIce PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 21PsychicPsybeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- LV 31PsychicFuture SightPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 15
- LV 38PsychicPsychicPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Lt. Surge
- TM42PsychicDream EaterPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 15Viridian City
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
How to Get Kadabra in Gold & Silver
One rare wild Kadabra in both games, or evolve an Abra at level 16. Since Kadabra evolves into Alakazam only through trading, most trainers grow it up rather than hunt the single spawn.
1 location to catch Kadabra8 locations to catch Abra
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Catch Abra at any of the 8 locations below, then level it up to 16 — it evolves into Kadabra.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Kadabra in GS
The only way to get Kadabra during the story is evolving Abra (Lv 16).
- Step 3Evolve into AlakazamBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Abra egg.
Not landing the catch? Calculate Kadabra catch rates for Gold & Silver by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Kadabra in Gold & Silver
Kadabra shows up wild on few routes, which makes Route 8 the place to park and grind, since every encounter there counts toward a shiny. Compare Shiny Kadabra odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Kadabra Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Gold & Silver with Kadabra preloaded.
Kadabra Weakness
Kadabra is weak to Bug, Ghost, and Dark. Kadabra's special bulk (base 70 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Bug, Ghost, Dark |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Psychic |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Kadabra Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kadabra
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Tyranitar builds →Crunch 2x102-120%KO Fury Cutter 2x22-25% | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Houndoom builds →Crunch 2x115-136%KO Shadow Ball 2x118-139%KO | ||
 Sneasel DarkIce | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Sneasel builds →Shadow Ball 2x123-145%KO Feint Attack 2x37-44% Fury Cutter 2x17-20% | ||
 Murkrow Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Murkrow builds →Feint Attack 2x71-84% Shadow Ball 2x112-132%KO | ||
 Misdreavus Ghost | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Misdreavus builds →Shadow Ball 2x128-151%KO Thief 2x32-38% | ||
 Haunter GhostPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Haunter builds →Shadow Ball 2x111-132%KO Thief 2x41-48% | ||
 Venomoth BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Venomoth builds →Thief 2x33-39% Leech Life 2x36-42% | ||
 Scyther Bug | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Scyther builds →Pursuit 2x22-27% Fury Cutter 2x27-32% | ||
 Yanma Bug | C | |
 Pinsir Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Pinsir builds →Thief 2x22-27% Fury Cutter 2x31-36% | ||
 Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Beedrill builds →Twineedle 2x57-67% Pursuit 2x20-24% | ||
 Ledian Bug | C | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Parasect builds →Leech Life 2x48-57% Thief 2x25-29% | ||
 Ariados BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kadabra View Ariados builds →Leech Life 2x45-54% Thief 2x25-29% | ||
Kadabra Evolutions
Sitting between Abra and Alakazam, Kadabra is part of a chain that requires a trade. Not your typical level-up setup. HP has grown the most so far (+15), but there's still another 100 stats to gain in the final evolution. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Kadabra to get Abra eggs easily using 15 partners from the Human-Like egg group. Notable egg moves include Barrier, Encore, Light Screen.
GS Kadabra Best Moveset
No trade needed to access 120 Sp. Atk and 105 Speed behind MovePsychic. Dark types now resist Psychic, but everything else still takes full damage. MoveThunder Wave paralyzes what survives. Held ItemLeftovers adds recovery. Does most of what Alakazam does at zero trade cost.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Psychic
- Recover
- Swagger
- Ice Punch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Kadabra. Barrier and Encore come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Future Sight and Dream Eater and coverage across 8 types.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
21 of 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It possesses strong spiritual power. The more danger it faces, the stronger its psychic power.
If it uses its abilities, it emits special alpha waves that cause machines to malfunction.
Kadabra Gold & Silver Guide
Kadabra evolves into Alakazam via trade.
For Gold & Silver, you can run Kadabra through the first few routes without issues. 400 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Alakazam as fast as you can.
In Gold & Silver, Kadabra plays as a support. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move. Psychic is the primary attack.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Kadabra has appeared in 21 games: nearly every mainline game. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Kadabra.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List