November Blue
A universe where hot chips don't exist :(
[Overview]
<p>Being related to its big brother, Alakazam, Kadabra has big expectations to live up to. While not quite as strong as the elder psi, Kadabra itself is an extremely potent special attacker. Its base 105 Speed is among the upper levels of NU's Speed hierarchy, and its base 120 Special Attack is exceptional for a NFE Pokemon. Kadabra's best trait is perhaps its unpredictability. An extensive movepool that stretches all the way to Kanto and back gives Kadabra so many options that attempting to guess which set it's running is a near-impossible feat. However, for all of its Speed and power, Kadabra has a glaring weakness—its frailty. Choice Scarf and priority are both fairly popular in NU, and both are major threats to Kadabra. Even so, this psychic fox always has a trick up its sleeve, and its unique combination of speed, power, and versatility make it a nightmare to face in battle. It might seem straightforward, but then it pulls a wildcard out of a hat and sweeps the opposing team, then disappears before they can work out what just happened.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Fighting
move 4: Substitute / Calm Mind
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Kadabra's standard set, a blend of all of its best traits rolled into one. It focuses on special sweeping with Psychic and uses Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fighting for coverage. The item choice corresponds with the move in the last slot: Substitute and Life Orb or Calm Mind and Focus Sash. Calm Mind can be used with Life Orb, but don't try to use Substitute and Focus Sash together. Life Orb + Substitute would usually drain the user's health far too quickly, but by abusing Magic Guard, Kadabra is completely immune to Life Orb recoil. A Life Orb-boosted Substitute + three attacks set is a tried-and-true winner, and Kadabra utilizes the strategy admirably. When safely behind a Substitute, Kadabra has a free hit on its opponent, which allows it to eradicate foes that would check it otherwise. Choice Scarf Braviary, for example, might attempt to switch into Shadow Ball for free and force Kadabra out, but a well-timed Substitute allows Kadabra to threaten a KO with no fear of being KOed itself. Focus Sash is a useful item for Kadabra; due to Magic Guard, the psi takes no damage from indirect sources whatsoever, which means that if you can avoid Kadabra taking a hit, it will remain at full health. This gives Kadabra the ability to use its Focus Sash anytime, which allows it to act as a safety net for your team. If you can get it onto the field safely, Kadabra is guaranteed to survive one attack and retaliate, which can disarm dangerous threats, such as an out-of-control sweeper with only a sliver of health left. Calm Mind is an excellent setup move for Kadabra. With a +1 boost and Life Orb, it gains fearsome sweeping power. Dealing with a boosted Kadabra can quickly become dangerous for your opponent. Even the bulkiest special walls in NU have to watch out; Cryogonal is in danger of being 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fighting, and can even be OHKOed with the help of Stealth Rock and a little prior damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs and nature are non-negotiable; while a Modest nature would provide more power, Kadabra runs the risk of being outsped by Pokemon with base 91 Speed or higher, such as Leavanny, Haunter, and Miltank. Shadow Ball covers the Psychic-types that resist Psychic, such as Mesprit, Gardevoir, and Exeggutor, and can also threaten Ghost-types—a super effective Shadow Ball hits harder than a neutral Psychic. Hidden Power Ground is an alternative coverage move that is useful for Ground-weak foes, such as Magmortar, but Kadabra will lose valuable coverage on Dark-types.</p>
<p>Some of the best partners for Kadabra are Pokemon that can beat Absol, such as Tangela, Unaware Quagsire, and Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk. Choice Scarf Pokemon threaten Kadabra, so packing your own faster Choice Scarf user, such as Rotom-S or Jynx, can beat them at their own game. Stunting them with paralysis from support Pokemon such as Audino works as well. Countering certain Choice Scarf users directly, such as packing Regirock for Braviary or Camerupt for Rotom-S, is also an excellent way to integrate Kadabra into your team.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Trick is one of Kadabra's most devastating options. Not only is it a great complement to a Choice set, but the actual switching of items can sometimes disrupt Kadabra's opponent so badly that it becomes dead weight. Some of the best examples of this are a Sawk without its Choice Scarf, or a Wartortle without its Eviolite. Encore is uncommon and, therefore, a good surprise tactic. Combined with Substitute, Kadabra can Encore to safely lock an opponent into a certain move, which allows you to switch in another Pokemon for free. A good example of this is Encoring an opposing Misdreavus's Shadow Ball while behind a Substitute, which gives you a free switch to Braviary. While Encore has plenty of useful applications, it is somewhat situational, and you might find that it's not as useful as Kadabra's other moves. An interesting strategy that Kadabra can make use of is Flame Orb + Trick. The burn status will protect Kadabra from sleep and paralysis, and the Flame Orb can be Tricked onto any physical attacker that tries to KO the psi. Kadabra might even receive a Choice Band or Scarf in return, which gives it another chance to use Trick. Kadabra has a few alternate attacks that it can use for coverage, namely Grass Knot and Thunderbolt. Grass Knot gives Kadabra a powerful response to Quagsire, who can check it with a specially defensive Unaware set. Kadabra has access to Taunt and Thunder Wave. Though these two moves are scarcely found on a frail sweeper, they're useful for exactly this reason: the surprise factor can catch your opponent off-guard. Thunder Wave can nail Choice Scarf users on the switch in, which allows Kadabra to deal with them itself; this can be disastrous for your opponent.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>As Kadabra is so physically frail, priority threatens it. Priority users, such as Aqua Jet Samurott, Sucker Punch Absol, and Cacturne, can all check Kadabra but can be foiled with adept use of Substitute. Choice Scarf users can also check Kadabra rather well; Braviary, for example, can easily OHKO with Brave Bird or U-turn. Absol can also eradicate Kadabra with Pursuit, and Choice Scarf variants can easily outspeed the psi and tear it apart with Night Slash. Speedy NU Pokemon such as Floatzel, Cinccino, and Swellow can outspeed and OHKO Kadabra but cannot take its powerful attacks. Bulky foes, such as Lickilicky, can take Kadabra's attacks and strike back or paralyze it.</p>