
Is Kadabra Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Psychic type in Gen 1 has almost no real counters. Kadabra is fast enough to go first and strong enough to one-shot most opponents without needing to evolve further. Plenty of players clear Yellow's E4 with Kadabra alone and never feel the need to trade for Alakazam.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Abra here.
Kadabra trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Alakazam resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Alakazam has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Alakazam resists most of Agatha's coverage and hits back hard.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Alakazam trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Abra
Catch Abra on Route 5 (walking, Lv 7, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM45ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 24
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM49NormalTri AttackPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- 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 Misty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- TM45ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 24
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- LV 27PsychicPsybeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 38PsychicPsychicPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Kadabra to Alakazam
Kadabra evolves into Alakazam when traded. Most players are ready to trade before reaching Lt. Surge.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- TM45ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 24
- LV 27PsychicPsybeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 38PsychicPsychicPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
How to Get Kadabra in Yellow
Wild Kadabra sits at a single spot at rare odds, one of the few you're likelier to evolve into than stumble on. An Abra hits Kadabra at level 16.
1 location to catch Kadabra5 locations to catch Abra
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Catch Abra at any of the 5 locations below, then level it up to 16 — it evolves into Kadabra.
Where To Catch Kadabra in Y
Abra gets you Kadabra sooner: catch it (before Badge 2) and evolve it at Lv 16. Wild Kadabra first appears at Route 8 (after Badge 3).
Step 3Evolve into Alakazam
Not landing the catch? Calculate Kadabra catch rates for Yellow by ball, status, and HP.
Kadabra Weakness
Kadabra is weak to Bug. On the flip side, it's immune to Ghost-type moves entirely. Kadabra's special bulk (base 120 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Psychic |
| 0x (Immune) | Ghost |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Kadabra Weak Against
GoodKadabra Evolutions
Kadabra sits between Abra and Alakazam in this three-stage chain. A Psychic type at 450 stats that can't breed. Special has grown the most so far (+65), but there's still another 50 stats to gain in the final evolution. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Kadabra Best Moveset
No trade evolution needed to access 120 Special and 105 Speed behind MovePsychic in a format where nothing resists the type. MoveThunder Wave cripples whatever survives the Psychic damage. Does 90%% of Alakazam's job at zero trade cost, making it one of the most practical picks available.
Best Build
Support Moveset
- Recover
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Tri Attack
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs carry this one. Kadabra learns Psychic and Psybeam naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Fighting and beyond give it real matchup play.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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
All 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Many odd things happen if this POKéMON is close by. For example, it makes clocks run backwards.
Kadabra Yellow Guide
Kadabra evolves into Alakazam via trade.
For Yellow, you can run Kadabra through the first few routes without issues. 450 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Alakazam as fast as you can.
In Yellow, 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.