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Abra evolutionary line

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The Abra evolutionary line is a group of Pokémon made up of Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam - fictional creatures in a media franchise encompassing a video game, anime, manga, and trading card game. Abra evolves into Kadabra, which in turn evolves into Alakazam. These three Pokémon were first introduced in the Japanese games Pocket Monsters Aka (ポケットモンスター 赤, Poketto Monsutā Aka, "Pocket Monsters Red") and Pocket Monsters Midori (ポケットモンスター 緑, Poketto Monsutā Midori, "Pocket Monsters Green") on February 27, 1996.[1]

The names Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam refer to the common magic words used in stage shows. Two of the Pokémon, Kadabra and Alakazam, are always seen holding spoons (compare Cubone and Marowak) - an assumed reference to the famed psychic Uri Geller who demonstrates bending spoons with his mind - and they uniquely learn the move Kinesis which is animated with a bending spoon. All three are characterized as strong Psychic-type Pokémon with very high Special Attack statistics but very low Defenses. This evolutionary line usually plays cameo roles in the anime, however a few episodes have featured them. Abra and Kadabra play an integral role in the first season episodes taking place in Saffron City, while Alakazam have been owned by several trainers throughout the show's history.

Abra

Template:Pokeinfoboxmedium Abra (ケーシィ, Kēshī, Casey in original Japanese language versions) Hocus in English-language beta versions of Pokémon Red and Blue is vaguely fox-like in appearance. It has two legs and two arms, but is always depicted in a sitting position, and sleeping. Its coloration is gold and brown, and it has a long tail. The brown upper torso seems to be armored, also it appears to wear two pauldrons.

Biological Characteristics

Abra are consistently depicted sitting down, with their eyes closed. They are described as sleeping eighteen hours a day to conserve their psychic abilities.[2] They also constantly use the move Teleport while asleep: changing their location once an hour, teleporting away when they sense danger or are attacked, and creating illusory copies of themselves.[3][4][2][5]

In the video games

Abra can be caught in the wild in all Pokémon versions - but due to its only attack being Teleport, which ends the battle, it is harder to catch than most other wild pokémon and must be put to sleep, frozen or paralyzed in order to prevent it from using Teleport, or it must be caught at full HP on the first turn- all of which are substantially difficult, due to its high speed rating. (This has changed in the advance generation of games, with the new attack Taunt, which prevents non-damage causing attacks such as Teleport.) Its major qualities are its great speed and strong special statistics, but it is physically weak because of its low Attack and Defense.

Abra evolves into its second stage, Kadabra, upon reaching level 16. After evolving, it is able to learn attacks by itself, which it cannot when it is an Abra.

Competitive Pokemon Trainers specially breed their Abras to learn the elemental punches attacks (bred from Meditite and Medicham). In Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, Alakazams were one of the few ways a trainer gained access to the elemental punches.

Other video game appearances

Abra was the shop keeper in "Hey you, Pikachu!" He sells three random items for Pika Points.

Abra is also in the Mystery Dungeon games for DS and GBA. It only attacks using the regular teleport,and the occasional "default A" tackle attack.

In Colosseum and XD: The Gale of Darkness, Abra was the Pokémon that teleported you back to the main desk on Mount Battle, allowing the trainer to effectively exit the huge challenge whenever they wished.

In the anime

In the Pokémon anime, Abra makes for one of the greatest showdowns in the series. Its first important appearance is in Episode 21, Abra and the Psychic showdown. Ash Ketchum and his companions arrive in Saffron City and are caught in one of Team Rocket's devious traps. They are trapped in a doorless room, but a little girl appears and saves them and Pikachu, who the villains had captured.

After that, Ash moves to Saffron City's gym, intending to win another Gym Badge for his collection from the leader, Sabrina. He does not heed the advice of other trainers in the Gym, and he proceeds to challenge Sabrina. To his surprise, the little girl who saved them from Team Rocket is sitting on the Gym leader's lap.

The girl notifies them that she agrees to fight with them for the badge, but if they lose, they must "play with her". Not sensing any danger, Ash agrees. Sabrina uses Abra as her pokémon, and Ash laughs as he thinks she intends to use a sleeping Pokémon. However, Abra proves to be a match for Pikachu, avoiding the electrical Pokémon's attacks. Finally, Abra evolves into Kadabra and Sabrina wins the fight. With her psi abilities, she proceeds to transform them into little toys, and the meaning of her words dawns finally on them.

But in the end, they are saved from Sabrina by a mysterious man who teleports them out of the gym.

Abra's other anime appearances were bit parts as a referee for a fight between Machoke and Hitmonchan for a Pokémon Show upon a ferry, and he was also one of the three Psychic Pokémon to attempt to take down Team Rocket's giant Gengar bot, but was captured. Despite the fact the latter was only a bit part, Abra actually does more in this episode(The Psychic Showdown) than he does in episode 21, where he almost instantly evolves to defeat Pikachu.

Abra has also appeared in the episode Psychic Vs. Ghost! Midnight Showdown, where he appears to have a main role in the episode.

Also, Pike Queen Lucy has an Abra, which reminds her of Brock, who she has a crush on.

[6][7]

In other media

In the Pokémon manga
File:Abra tcg.jpg
Abra in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In Pokémon Adventures, the president of the fan club owned an Abra, but it was kidnapped by Lt. Surge. When Red defeats Surge, the President gets his Abra back, but it has evolved into a great big Alakazam. The president faints and cries, because he only loves cute little Pokémon.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Sabrina takes Ash on with Abra, who defeats Pikachu. A week later, however, Sabrina is found laying unconscious and Abra joins Ash and Pikachu to try and defeat the Haunter that has stolen Sabrina's soul. Sabrina combines her psychic energy with Abra's to neutralise Haunter and defeat it.

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Abra has made multiple appearances. Abra tends to be a weak card, usually with 30 HP. It appears in the following sets:

  • Base Set
  • Team Rocket
  • Gym Heroes (as Sabrina's Abra)
  • Gym Challenge (as Sabrina's Abra) (2 cards)
  • Expedition Edition
  • Skyridge Edition

Kadabra

Template:Pokeinfoboxmedium Kadabra (ユンゲラー, Yungerā, Yungerer in original Japanese language versions) is a strong psychic pokémon that owes much of its power to the alpha waves it emits from its body at all times. These alpha waves are affected by Kadabra's current mental state - if it has a headache, the waves change. The psychic power it gives off can also trigger off headaches to nearby humans. It is also said to grow more powerful when faced with a difficult opponent. The silver spoon that Kadabra holds amplifies the waves' power - if it does not hold a spoon, it is said to be limited to half the usual amount of its telekinetic powers. It has been claimed (in a Pokédex entry) that one morning, a boy with extrasensory powers woke up to find that he had become a Kadabra, and although this has not been verified (it could possibly be an urban legend in the Pokémon world due the way it is told in the Pokédex), it is possible it could have happened given the events in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon where a human is turned into a Pokémon, meaning that this might have been a Kadabra who evolved into the main Alakazam featured in the game.

Biological characteristics

Kadabra, along with its evolution, Alakazam, is always depicted holding a spoon. The video games state that this spoon is used to amplify the alpha waves naturally emitted by the Pokémon, effectively doubling its psychic powers.[8] These alpha waves are described as being generated when all of a Kadabra's brain cells work together or when Kadabra suffer from headaches.[9][10] Kadabra are noted for being able to double the amount of alpha particles at will.[11] The alpha waves can cause headaches in others and even cause machines to malfunction.[12][13]

In the video games

Kadabra can be evolved from a level 16 Abra. In Cerulean Cave in FR/LG, wild Kadabra can be found ranging from L50-58 and on occasion, L67. It evolves into Alakazam by trading it. In FR/LG, wild Kadabra can sometimes be found holding the Twistedspoon item, which boosts the power of Psychic-type attacks. Kadabra's Synchronize ability allows it to pass on any status problem it receives in battle while its Inner Focus ability prevents flinching, though these are only implemented in the Advance generation games.

Kadabra has an impressively high Special Attack statistic, along with high Speed and average Special Defense. Its other stats are very low though. Kadabra is generally overlooked in competitive battling for its evolved form, Alakazam, which has higher statistics overall.

In the anime

In episode #22, "Abra and the Psychic Showdown", Ash and his traveling party reach Saffron City and enter the mysterious Marsh gym. Ash immediately challenges Psychic gym leader Sabrina for a Marshbadge and choses his Pikachu to fight. In return, Sabrina sends an Abra, which seems to be sleeping. First Ash thinks Sabrina is making fun of him. But then, by an unknown power, the Abra evolves into a Kadabra, and mercilessly begins to beat Pikachu around with his Psychic forces. Ash is quickly defeated, after which Sabrina imprisons him and his friends. They eventually barely escape the gym with the help of a mysterious stranger, who eventually turns out to be Sabrina's father.

After befriending a Haunter in Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower in the next episode, "The Tower of Terror", Ash returns to Saffron City (in "Haunter versus Kadabra") and beats Sabrina, earning him the Marsh badge.

In other media

File:Kadabra tcg.jpg
Kadabra in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Kadabra appears in the Pokémon Trading Card Game first in the Base set. It has not yet appeared in the EX expansions. It should also be noted that some people believe that the Kadabra on the card is "flipping people off", though a closer look reveals that it only has three fingers.

In the Nintendo 64 videogame Pokémon Stadium, the rental Kadabra is recommended as a frequently used Pokémon in the tournaments.

A statue of Kadabra is seen on the President's desk in the seventh episode of The Super Milk-chan Show, "Ra-Ra-Racoon Dog, Heisei Pig Wars Oink Oink."

Uri Geller lawsuit (Geller v. Nintendo)

In November of 2000 it was reported that Uri Geller, an Israeli psychic-magician who claims to bend spoons with his mind, sued Nintendo over the Pokémon "Yungerer" (renamed Kadabra in English localizations) which he claimed was an unauthorized appropriation of his identity.[1][2] The Pokémon in question has psychic abilities and carries bent spoons. He also claimed that the star on Kadabra's forehead, and the lightning patterns on its abdomen, are symbolisms popular with the Waffen SS of Nazi Germany, and was outraged at the connotations that Nintendo had supposedly made. Although the symbols are derived from Zener cards, the name is a pun; the katakana n (ン) resembles the kana ri (リ) (the translation of Mr. Geller's name into Katakana would be ユリゲラー Yurigerā). Geller sued for the equivalent of $100 million, but lost.

Alakazam

Template:Pokeinfoboxmedium Alakazam (フーディン, Fūdin, Foodin in original Japanese language versions) loses the thick tail it once possessed as Kadabra (which might explain why it is 19 pounds lighter than Kadabra). It stands on two legs and always holds two silver spoons - this can be taken as a reference to psychic Uri Geller, who can allegedly bend spoons with the power of his mind. Parts of Alakazam's body are brown, but its predominant coloring is gold. Alakazam wears a long gold moustache - nonetheless, some Alakazam are female, though in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, females have dramatically smaller moustaches, while the males have longer ones.

Biological Characteristics

Alakazam are described as extremely intelligent - with an IQ of over 5,000 they can outperform supercomputers and can memorize anything.[14][15] Alakazam use their superior intelligence to immediately identify their opponents' weaknesses and gain the edge in battles.[16][17] This intelligence and superb memory are said to come from the fact that Alakazam's brain cells never stop multiplying [18][19] - as a result, the overly large head must be supported by its telekinetic powers.[20] In fact, Alakazam use their psychic abilities for all movement, as their muscles are too weak.[21] Also their senses are incredibly high: just by closing its eyes it can heighten all the other senses dramatically.

In the video games

Alakazam must be evolved from a Kadabra by trading it to another Pokémon game. It will evolve immediately once the trade is completed.

Alakazam is the leader of a gold-ranked rescue team in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. His team is made up of himself, Charizard and Tyranitar. He is the first to suspect that the main character is the cause for the natural disasters, and believes that the only solution is to eliminate the character (and his/her partner, for that matter). Later, after Ninetales clears the protagonist's name, Alakazam's team goes underground to quell the mighty Groudon, but fails later on and is rescued by the player. He also helps the protagonist, along with Xatu's help, to get to Sky Pillar to get Rayquaza's help after hearing about a meteor that may destroy the world.

In the anime

Alakazam has not had any prominent roles in the continuity of the Pokémon animé and movies. It was glimpsed once as a Pokémon attempting to battle Mewtwo at the Viridian City Gym, both owned by Giovanni, in Pokémon: The First Movie. Alakazam's spoons were bent by Mewtwo's psychic powers and thrown against the wall, knocking him out. Another role involved a giant Alakazam battling a giant Gengar in episode 74, "The Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis". This episode is also the first to feature Alakazam on Ash's pokedex. Luana, the Gym Leader of Kumquat Island, used an Alakazam along-side a Marowak against Ash in a Gym Battle.

In "The Ties that Bind", Alakazam was one of the Pokémon seen in Gary Oak's profile.

Anabel, the second most powerful Frontier Brain next to Brandon, has an Alakazam.

Alakazam was also featured in the first episode of the NA dubbed Battle Frontier episodes, where he and a multitude of psychic Pokemon are left behind in an old miner town with some rival Ghost Pokemon. Alakazam is seen many times, but the "main role" of the episode is Abra's.

Most recently, Alakazam was owned by Kengo, Dawn's childhood friend. Kengo also has a Prinplup.

In The Pokémon Trading Card Game

File:Alakazam tcg.jpg
Alakazam in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Alakazam has had six cards:

  • Base Set
  • TeamRocket (as Dark Alakazam)
  • Gym Challenge (as Sabrina's Alakazam)
  • Expedition
  • Skyridge
  • EX: Crystal guardians (as a Pokemon STAR)

Alakazam was one of the most popular Psychic-type cards in the early stages of the game. Its original appearance in Base Set sported the Damage Swap Pokémon Power, which allowed any damage on the player's side of the field to be arranged in any way. Alakazam made a potent defensive combo with the original Chansey in the same set.

References

  1. ^ "Official Japanese Pokémon website". Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  2. ^ a b Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Sapphire (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. ABRA needs to sleep for eighteen hours a day. If it doesn't, this POKéMON loses its ability to use telekinetic powers. If it is attacked, ABRA escapes using TELEPORT while it is still sleeping.
  3. ^ Game Freak (2005-05-01). Pokémon Emerald (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. Observation revealed that it uses TELEPORT to change its location once every hour.
  4. ^ HAL Laboratories (2001-03-26). Pokémon Stadium 2 (Nintendo 64). Nintendo. It senses impending attacks and TELEPORTs away to safety before the actual attack can strike.
  5. ^ Game Freak (2000-10-15). Pokémon Silver (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. If it decides to teleport randomly, it creates the illusion that it has created multiple copies of itself.
  6. ^ "Abra and the Psychic Showdown". Pokémon. Episode 21.
  7. ^ "Haunter versus Kadabra". Pokémon. Episode 23.
  8. ^ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Sapphire (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. KADABRA holds a silver spoon in its hand. The spoon is used to amplify the alpha waves in its brain. Without the spoon the POKéMON is said to be limited to half the usual amount of its telekinetic powers.
  9. ^ HAL Laboratory (2000-03-06). Pokémon Stadium (Nintendo 64). Nintendo. When it uses psychic power, all its brain cells work in unison to generate powerful alpha waves.
  10. ^ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Ruby (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. KADABRA emits a peculiar alpha waves if it develops a headache.
  11. ^ Game Freak (2001-07-29). Pokémon Crystal (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. When it closes its eyes, twice as many alpha particles come out of the surface of its body.
  12. ^ Game Freak (2004-09-09). Pokémon LeafGreen (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. It emits special alpha waves from its body that induce headaches just by being close by.
  13. ^ Game Freak (2000-10-01). Pokémon Silver (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. If it uses its abilities, it emits special alpha waves that cause machines to malfunction.
  14. ^ Game Freak (1998-09-30). Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy). Nintendo. Its brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5,000.
  15. ^ Game Freak (1999-10-19). Pokémon Yellow (Game Boy). Nintendo. A Pokémon that can memorize anything. It never forgets what it learns - that's why this Pokémon is smart.
  16. ^ HAL Laboratories (2000-02-29). Pokémon Stadium (Nintendo 64). Nintendo. It is highly intelligent and capable of instantly identifying its foe's weakness.
  17. ^ Game Freak (2001-07-29). Pokémon Crystal (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. It calculates many things in order to gain the edge in every battle.
  18. ^ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Sapphire (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. ALAKAZAM's brain continually grows, infinitely multiplying brain cells. This amazing brain gives this POKéMON an astoundingly high IQ of 5,000.
  19. ^ Game Freak (2000-10-14). Pokémon Silver (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. Its brain cells multiply continually until it dies. As a result it remembers everything.
  20. ^ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Ruby (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. ALAKAZAM's brain constantly grows, making its head far too heavy to support with its neck. This POKéMON holds its head up using its psychokinetic powers instead.
  21. ^ Game Freak (2005-04-30). Pokémon Emerald (Game Boy Advance). Nintendo. While it has strong psychic abilities and high intelligence, an ALAKAZAM's muscles are very weak. It uses psychic power to move its body.
Publications
  • Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
  • Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
  • Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
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