Kadabra is a great revenge killer that works well against most offensive teams thanks to its Special Attack and Speed stats, outspeeding foes such as Simipour, Dodrio, and Haunter, as well as Speed tying with foes such as Rapidash; additionally, it can live survive any hit and usually proceed to KO the foe back thanks to its Focus Sash and Magic Guard ability, which enables it to come in without its Focus Sash being broken by entry hazards. Furthermore, Kadabra's decent coverage movepool lets it hit a variety of foes hard. However, Kadabra's extreme frailty means that it is very susceptible to priority attacks, and any remotely strong attack is troublesome for it. Lastly, Kadabra struggles to beat the bulkier special walls in the tier.
Special Attacker
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Signal Beam
move 3: Encore
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting / Calm Mind
ability: Magic Guard
item: Focus Sash
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Psychic is a powerful STAB attack that hits many Pokemon for good damage.,(period to comma) while (meh, up to you if you want to do that) Signal Beam hits Dark-types such as Mightyena and Sneasel for super effective damage, as well as Psychic-types such as Beheeyem,(ac) super effectively. Encore can force foes to switch if Kadabra locks them into a status move, a boosting move, or Sucker Punch. Hidden Power Fighting is a serious option to consider,(rc) as it hits lets Kadabra hit (yeah, do that) Pawniard super effectively,(rc) which Kadabra fails to beat otherwise (I would keep what you have) and thus defeat it, while.(remove period) (the while is good) Calm Mind gives Kadabra the chance to sweep if it finds a turn to use it, such as when a foe is locked into a status move with Encore. Psyshock is an alternative to Psychic that can be used to inflict more damage on specially bulky Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Regice, though running it leaves Kadabra walled by Avalugg and unable to do as much damage to Poliwrath and defensive Misdreavus. Thunder Wave can cripple fast foes or stop a sweeper from troubling the rest of your team if Kadabra cannot OHKO it.
Set Details
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Magic Guard grants Kadabra an immunity to status and entry hazard damage.,(period to comma) while (up to you; it's not necessary) Focus Sash prevents lets Kadabra from take any attack without being OHKOed and lets it retaliate against the foe (I would keep what you had). Maximized Special Attack and Speed EVs with a Timid nature let Kadabra hit hard and outspeed Pokemon such as Simipour, Dodrio, and Haunter, (remove comma) and Speed tie with other base 105s, 105 Speed Pokemon such as Rapidash.
Usage Tips
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Thanks to Kadabra's Magic Guard and its Focus Sash,(ac) Kadabra and Magic Guard, it can revenge kill faster threats and priority users if its Focus Sash is intact (yours is fine) it hasn't taken a hit.,(period to comma) However,(rc) though (up to you; I think this change is pretty good) you should save Kadabra's Focus Sash if there is a powerful but frail sweeper around. Kadabra shouldn't be switching into an attack because of its frailty, so only bring it in after a teammate has been beaten or at a predicted switch. Kadabra should try to set up on walls with Calm Mind after locking them into an unfavorable move late-game with Encore. Use Encore if the foe is trying to set up or inflict status, so that it will be forced to switch.
Team Options
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Pokemon that can provide a slow Baton Pass, Volt Switch, or U-turn, such as Togetic and Pelipper, make for good partners, as they can take a hit and bring Kadabra in safely. Special wallbreakers such as Heatmor and Life Orb Simipour can help soften up specially defensive Pokemon that trouble Kadabra, such as Lickilicky that trouble Kadabra. Setup sweepers that can beat walls locked into a recovery move, such as Bouffalant and Scyther, make for good partners as well, while other setup sweepers that can take priority moves such as Mightyena's and Kecleon's Sucker Punch are good choices too; an example of this is includes and Swords Dance Sneasel. Pokemon such as Poliwrath and Throh can beat Dark- and Steel-types,(rc) (you can keep the comma) which can cause trouble for Kadabra. Entry hazard support from Pokemon such as Piloswine, Golem, Marowak, (comma) and Roselia is also appreciated, as it the chip damage will allow Kadabra to OHKO Sneasel and Dodrio after Stealth Rock damage, as well as Barbaracle after it has used Shell Smash.
Other Options
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Energy Ball can be used to inflict great damage on Water-, Rock-, and Ground-types, such as Carracosta, Barbaracle, and Piloswine, but it lacks power and most of them are beaten by Psychic regardless. Shadow Ball can be used to hit Psychic-types such as Mr. Mime hard, as well as Ghost-types that would normally beat Kadabra such as Misdreavus and Gourgeist-XL that would normally beat Kadabra, but most are hit hard by Psychic regardless. Life Orb is an alternate item choice that gives Kadabra a power boost,(rc) without inflicting recoil thanks to Magic Guard, but Focus Sash is usually preferred because of its ability to prevent Kadabra from being OHKOed. Taunt can shut down defensive Pokemon, but this is better done by other Pokemon because of Kadabra's pitiful bulk. Choice Scarf enables Kadabra to outspeed common Choice Scarf users such as Mr. Mime, but Focus Sash is usually superior. Dazzling Gleam is an option to hit foes such as Zweilous and Fraxure super effectively, but the former is already hit hard by Signal Beam and the latter by Psychic.
Checks & Counters
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**Specially Defensive Walls**: Specially defensive walls such as Lickilicky can take Kadabra's attacks with ease, recover damage, (you can replace damage with "their HP" or something) and beat it with a STAB attack. Although they do have to watch out for Encore because it can render them setup fodder, they take little damage from Kadabra's attacks and can therefore focus on attacking it.
**Priority Users**: Priority users such as Mightyena, Carracosta, and Dusknoir can easily beat Kadabra because it is very frail, though those with Sucker Punch need to be wary of getting locked into it by Encore.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Faster offensive Pokemon such as Tauros and Raichu can beat Kadabra with a powerful STAB attack, though with its Focus Sash intact Kadabra can live survive a hit and inflict a lot of damage on them. Choice Scarf users such as Haunter and Mr. Mime can revenge kill Kadabra if its Focus Sash has been broken.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Metang and Klang can take Kadabra's attacks with ease and hit it on its poor Defense with a STAB attack. Klang's Gear Grind also bypasses Focus Sash.
**Ghost-types**: Bulkier Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Dusknoir can tank a hit and threaten Kadabra, and Choice Scarf Haunter can revenge kill a Kadabra that has had its Focus Sash broken, but all of them should watch out for Shadow Ball Psychic. (I think it should be Shadow Ball...)
**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Sneasel and Mightyena can easily take out Kadabra with their STAB attacks, but they have to be wary of Signal Beam. The former Mightyena in particular can also use Sucker Punch to beat Kadabra and get a Moxie boost, though it shouldn't recklessly spam Sucker Punch because of Encore. Additionally, when Kadabra is at full health, it can survive an attack with its Focus Sash and retaliate with Signal Beam. Unlike the aforementioned examples,(rc) (you can keep that if you want) Vullaby and Murkrow are not weak to Signal Beam and are comfortable taking it with their Eviolite-boosted bulk.
