Kadabra Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Psychic deals good damage to targets such as Primeape, Gurdurr, Garbodor, and Weezing. Psyshock is an alternative to hit specially bulky foes harder, most notably Assault Vest Hariyama and Magmortar. Signal Beam lets Kadabra revenge kill Pokemon such as Shiftry, Liepard, Cacturne, and Malamar while also letting it deal meaningful damage to Mesprit, Jynx, and Exeggutor. Hidden Power Ground hits Skuntank as well as Steel-types such as Klinklang and Mawile. Energy Ball is an alternative to primarily revenge kill Rhydon after a Rock Polish boost as well as target Lanturn, Quagsire, and other bulky Water-types. Thunder Wave cripples faster Pokemon such as Archeops, Tauros, and Floatzel as well as Speed-boosting sweepers such as Lilligant and Vivillon. Encore is an alternative to prevent Pokemon such as Calm Mind Musharna and Mega Audino from setting up freely on Kadabra and can lock a foe into an unfavorable move in general. Hidden Power Fire maintains coverage against Klinklang and Mawile, with the bonus of nailing Ferroseed. However, note that using Hidden Power Fire forces Kadabra to use a lower Speed IV and as such cannot speed tie with opposing base 105 Pokemon such as Scyther and Mismagius. Set Details Maximum Speed EVs with a Timid nature ensure that Kadabra outspeeds Pokemon such as Jynx and Haunter, while maximum Special Attack EVs let it hit as hard as it possible. Magic Guard lets Kadabra avoid any sort of residual damage, keeping its Focus Sash intact until it takes direct damage. Focus Sash lets Kadabra effectively revenge kill faster Pokemon or cripple a foe that has set up, such as Quiver Dance Lilligant, with Thunder Wave. Usage Tips As this set plays mostly as a revenge killer, it is absolutely critical to not directly switch Kadabra in; only switch it in after a Pokemon has fainted or with a slow Volt Switch or U-turn. When Kadabra is brought in, use the appropriate STAB or coverage move to revenge kill a problematic foe. Try to keep its Focus Sash intact if it's vital for it to be around to check a sweeper. Against bulkier foes such as Musharna and Mega Audino, use Encore to lock them into an unfavorable move, switch out to a teammate, and respond accordingly. Encore is also useful to prevent Klinklang from setting up Substitute or Shift Gear for free and to lock defensive Pokemon into recovery moves. It also has a neat utility in locking Pokemon such as Cacturne and Shiftry into Sucker Punch, which can give a teammate a free opportunity to set up. If running Thunder Wave, it is best to use it against a fast Pokemon that the team struggles with otherwise, such as Archeops, Tauros, Scyther, or +1 Lilligant or Vivillon. Team Options This set generally fits best on offensive teams that want a nice blanket check to a variety of fast Pokemon and threatening setup sweepers. Dark-types such as Shiftry and Cacturne make for good teammates, as they appreciate Kadabra's ability to revenge kill Pokemon such as Primeape, Gurdurr, and Hariyama, while they are able to switch in on Psychic-types such as Mesprit and Musharna in return. Rhydon can switch in on Skuntank, one of Kadabra's most consistent answers, and either threaten it with Earthquake or take advantage of it to set up Rock Polish. Encore makes this even easier, as Kadabra can lock Skuntank into Sucker Punch or Pursuit. In a similar vein, Fighting-types are also decent switch-ins to Skuntank, as are other Dark-types such as Liepard and Pawniard. Setup sweepers such as Klinklang and Swords Dance Samurott can also take advantage of a Pokemon locked into Encore by setting up freely, while the former appreciates Fighting-types weakened in order for it to sweep. Garbodor gets a special mention, as it punishes physical attackers by wearing them down with Rocky Helmet damage and provides Spikes support, which goes well with Kadabra's ability to force switches.

Kadabra's best and only viable set comes in the form of a somewhat straightforward special attacker, with the goal of outspeeding opponents and hitting them hard. Thanks to Magic Guard, it cannot be worn down by poison, burn, Leech Seed, Life Orb recoil, or entry hazards, giving it a huge advantage over its competition. It also is faster than almost any special attacker in the tier, making it one of the few Pokemon in the tier with a combination of power and Speed. Psychic is the main STAB, and it does a hefty amount of damage to the common Fighting- and Poison-types that inhabit the tier. Signal Beam has good coverage with Psychic-type moves, hitting opposing Psychic- and Dark-type Pokemon for super effective damage. Hidden Power Ground hits Steel-type Pokemon such as Bastiodon hard, and Skuntank is also 2HKOed by it. These three moves have near provide perfect coverage in the NU tier hitting everything other than Shedinja, which is very uncommon. The last move depends on the item choice. Encore is useful on Kadabra for many reasons. If it can Encore a Sucker Punch (a common move Kadabra gets targeted by), it can get out for free and enable one of your Pokemon to set up. Encore is also useful because Kadabra is so fast it can make a Pokemon continually use a set-up move (provided it doesn't have priority) or a status move. You should use Encore if you have a Focus Sash. However, despite the fact that nearly any move will break Kadabra's Substitute, even Alomomola's Scald, it protects Kadabra from getting OHKOed by everything that touches it, and it can be set up when an opponent flees from Kadabra's Psychic STAB. This should be used with a Life Orb, because a Substitute prevents Kadabra from being at full HP, making Focus Sash useless. A Focus Sash is preferred because Magic Guard means that entry hazards cannot break Kadabra's Focus Sash, and Kadabra will usually need the item's effect to survive any hit, considering how easy it is to OHKO. A Focus Sash also makes Kadabra a decent last-ditch revenge killer, because it cannot be KOed no matter how many boosts the opponent has. However, a Life Orb is also a good option for Kadabra, as Magic Guard means that it won't take damage from the item, giving it essentially a free boost. It is also not very powerful without a Life Orb, meaning frail Pokemon such as Zangoose can take a hit and then OHKO it. Also, if you are considering using Kadabra as a Fighting-type resist, note that Kadabra's frailty means that this is not a good idea. In fact, Gurdurr can KO it with a combination of Drain Punch and Mach Punch. Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk are good partners for a number of reasons. Dark-types are generally dangerous for Kadabra, as the most common ones, Skuntank and Cacturne, can KO Kadabra with Sucker Punch before it can move or Pursuit it if it tries to switch out if it has taken prior damage or predicts incorrectly. Fighting-types resist these very dangerous Pokemon's STABs and can hit them hard in return. Fighting-types also can destroy special walls like Regice and Lickilicky, both of which Kadabra has no chance of getting past. While Kadabra is fast, there are still a few Pokemon that have a higher base Speed, such as Swellow, Electrode, Zebstrika, Ninjask, and Swoobat. Because most of these Pokemon are Electric-types or are weak to Rock-type moves, Golem is a good teammate, as its typing allows it to OHKO them with its STABs. As Kadabra is very hard to switch in, slow users of U-turn or Volt Switch, such as Ampharos, can be useful to allow Kadabra to switch in without having to take a hit.

Set Description This set takes advantage of Kadabra's high Speed and Special Attack to make it an offensive threat with crucial utility in Encore or Thunder Wave. STAB Psychic 3HKOes a significant proportion of foes that don't resist it. Thunder Punch is important for hitting Slowbro and Slowking, which otherwise completely wall Kadabra. The extra power is also appreciated against other bulky Water-types such as Blastoise, Gyarados, and Politoed, which are not 3HKOed by Psychic. Recover gives Kadabra greater longevity when battling threats such as Slowbro. Encore can lock a foe into an undesirable move, such as Rest for passive Pokemon or a boosting move for setup Pokemon. However, this is very risky due to Kadabra's frailty, especially against Scyther, with which Kadabra Speed ties. Encore can also help immensely against Baton Pass teams, since Kadabra's fast Encore lets it disrupt the momentum of Mr. Mime. Alternatively, Thunder Wave can support slower wallbreaking teammates such as Sandslash and Granbull and cripple foes such as Jumpluff, Scyther, Electabuzz, Bellossom, Hypno, and Chansey. Team Options Spikes support from Qwilfish is crucial for maximizing pressure from Kadabra. Nidoqueen pairs well with Kadabra, since bulky Electric-types like Magneton and Ampharos are reliable switch-ins to Kadabra, and Nidoqueen can switch into them easily while maintaining offensive momentum. Pokemon that can check Dodrio, Scyther, and Pinsir, such as Fire Blast Nidoqueen and Haunter, can help Kadabra with its defensive issues. Setup sweepers such as Scyther, Granbull, Pinsir, and Kabutops can take advantage of Encore from Kadabra to acquire a risk-free opportunity to switch in; ideal scenarios include locking Chansey into Soft-Boiled and locking Hypno into Light Screen. Haunter is a good partner for Kadabra, as the two have the same Psychic- and Electric-type coverage and similar checks, meaning Haunter can cripple them with Thief, Hypnosis, Explosion, or Destiny Bond. Mr. Mime can be used as a secondary offensive Psychic-type that supports Kadabra with Thunder Wave, Encore, Thief, Hypnosis, or a passed Substitute. Pokemon that can take advantage of Hypno, such as Granbull, Hidden Power Bug Scyther and Pinsir, and specially bulky RestTalkers such as Ampharos are appreciated. Finally, secondary checks to Slowbro and Slowking such as Electabuzz work well, since Kadabra generally doesn't want to be stuck using Recover versus their Surfs; this can give them a free opportunity to switch out, and Kadabra is vulnerable to critical hits.

Other Options: Reflect, Substitute