Kadabra sat out of new Pokemon card printings for roughly two decades. Not because it fell out of favour with players — it evolved into Alakazam in nearly every generation of the games — but because of a lawsuit filed by illusionist Uri Geller in November 2000. No new Kadabra card was printed until 2023, when it finally returned inside the Japanese “Pokemon Card 151” set.
Kadabra is a Stage 1 Psychic-type, known in Japan as ユンゲラー (Yungerer), evolving from Abra (ケーシィ, Casey) and into Alakazam. This guide covers the print that ended the hiatus, the vintage Team Rocket-era print that came before it, and every other Japanese Kadabra card verified for this guide — plus where each one sits and where to source it from Tokyo.
The PSA 10 Kadabra Master Ball Mirror, SV2a 064/165 currently listed at ¥18,076 (~$114), was the first Kadabra card printed anywhere after a roughly 20-year gap tied to a 2000 lawsuit from Uri Geller. A separate vintage print, the PSA 10 Dark Kadabra, Pokemon Card Web 027/048 currently listed at ¥92,040 (~$579), predates the ban and is a completely different card.
Prices below are current samuraiswordtokyo.com listings, converted at ¥159/USD (September 2026).
Every Japanese Kadabra Print in This Guide
Seven Japanese Kadabra prints are covered here — one vintage, pre-ban card and six modern prints that followed the ban’s end:
| Card | Set / Number | Rarity | Illustrator | Era |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Kadabra | Pokemon Card Web 027/048 | Rarity not verified here | Kagemaru Himeno (reported) | 2001, pre-ban |
| Kadabra, Master Ball Mirror (anchor) | SV2a 064/165 | Master Ball Mirror parallel | Mitsuhiro Arita | 2023, post-ban return |
| Kadabra | SV4a 074 | Not verified here | Not verified here | 2023, post-ban |
| Kadabra | SV4a 254 | Not verified here | Not verified here | 2023, post-ban |
| Kadabra | SV6 048 | Not verified here | Not verified here | Post-ban |
| Kadabra | SV8a 058 | Not verified here | Not verified here | Post-ban |
| Kadabra | M1S 037 | Not verified here | Not verified here | Post-ban |
One thing stands out: six of the seven prints landed after 2023, all within a fairly short window once the ban lifted — a sharp contrast to the near-total silence that came before them.
The sections below walk through the story behind the gap, then each print in turn.
The Uri Geller Lawsuit and the 20-Year Printing Gap
In November 2000, Israeli illusionist Uri Geller sued Nintendo, reportedly seeking around $80 million in damages. According to Wikipedia’s account of the case, corroborated by outlets including Kotaku, Shacknews, and Syfy in their later coverage of its resolution, Geller alleged that the Kadabra card’s design used his identity and likeness without authorisation. His claims centred on three details of the card: the spoon Kadabra holds, which Geller connected to his own spoon-bending act; the pattern on the character’s belly, which he said resembled a Nazi SS lightning-bolt emblem; and the phonetic closeness of “Kadabra” to “Yuri Geller” in Japanese. The dispute did not proceed to a full court trial, and no judgment settled the underlying claims.
The practical result was a printing freeze. No new Kadabra card was issued anywhere for roughly two decades — its last pre-ban appearance came in the English Skyridge set in 2003.
The freeze ended in 2020, when Geller sent Nintendo a letter retracting the ban, citing requests from fans who wanted to see the card return. The first Japanese reprint to follow was Kadabra 064/165 in the Enhanced Expansion Pack “Pokemon Card 151” (SV2a), released in October 2023 — the anchor print covered in the next section.
“Dark Kadabra” and the modern SV2a Kadabra are not the same card and are not reprints of each other. Dark Kadabra is a Team Rocket-era print that predates the ban entirely; see the next section for how it’s separate.
Before the Ban: Team Rocket-Era Dark Kadabra
Before the printing gap began, Kadabra had already appeared under Team Rocket branding. Dark Kadabra, card 027/048 from the Japanese “Pokemon Card Web” set (2001), is a vintage, pre-ban print — issued a couple of years after Team Rocket’s original English base set, “Team Rocket,” carried its own separate Dark Kadabra card in 1999–2000. The Japanese web-set print and the earlier English Team Rocket print are not numbered identically and should not be treated as the same release.
Its illustrator is reported in secondary listings (TrollAndToad and SNKRDUNK among them) as Kagemaru Himeno, though this has not been independently confirmed via Limitless or Bulbapedia, so we’re marking it as reported rather than verified.
Our PSA 10 listing for this print is currently listed at ¥92,040 (~$579).
The Return: Pokemon Card 151 (SV2a)
Kadabra 064/165, from the Enhanced Expansion Pack “Pokemon Card 151” (SV2a), released in October 2023, is the print that ended the 20-year gap. It carries 80 HP and is a Stage 1 Psychic-type Pokemon, evolving from Abra. The illustrator is Mitsuhiro Arita.
Our PSA 10 listing is specifically the Master Ball Mirror parallel of this print — a special-treatment version applied across Pokemon 151 rather than a separate card number. For how that parallel print fits across the wider set, see our Master Ball Mirror Pokemon cards guide. For the full Pokemon 151 checklist, see our Pokemon 151 (SV2a) card list.
This print is currently listed at ¥18,076 (~$114), PSA 10.
Kadabra’s Other Modern Japanese Prints
Since the SV2a return, card databases show five further Japanese Kadabra prints, across four additional sets (with a second card in SV4a). We haven’t independently re-verified HP, type, or illustrator for these five, so we’re not citing those details here. None of them is listed on our site at the moment; sourcing requests for any of them go through Quick Order.
SV4a is unusual here because it carries two Kadabra prints in the same set — the 074 print and a separate print at 254. A sixth print, SV8a 058, is not pictured above; its rarity has not been independently verified for this guide.
Chase Prints and What Makes Them Collectible
Kadabra’s rarity spread runs from plain Common and Uncommon-tier prints up to the Master Ball Mirror parallel on the anchor SV2a print — the only rarity tier independently confirmed for this guide. The SV4a 254 print’s own rarity has not been independently verified.
The Master Ball Mirror treatment is a set-wide parallel applied across Pokemon 151 rather than a Kadabra-specific rarity, but the story behind this particular card number gives it a collecting angle none of the other prints share: it’s the exact card that ended a 20-year printing freeze. Our Master Ball Mirror Pokemon cards guide covers how that parallel tier works across the wider set.
SV4a 254 is a separate card number from the set’s other Kadabra print at 074, though its rarity tier has not been independently verified for this guide. Because SV4a catalogues them as distinct card numbers rather than the same number with a variant marker, the two SV4a Kadabra prints are collected as two separate cards within one set.
The vintage Dark Kadabra from Pokemon Card Web sits in a different collecting category entirely — not because of a documented rarity tier above the modern prints, but because it predates the ban and comes from a stand-alone 2001 set rather than a mainline booster product.
Which Japanese Boxes to Open for Kadabra
Kadabra doesn’t have a dedicated booster box — it’s a single card within larger sets. The anchor print comes from Pokemon 151 (SV2a), and for current pricing and availability on that set’s sealed product, see our Pokemon 151 booster box buying guide. For how Pokemon 151 compares against another popular Japanese box, see our Pokemon 151 vs VSTAR Universe box guide.
The two SV4a prints come from a separate high-class pack, and the remaining prints come from SV6, SV8a, and M1S. We don’t carry dedicated buying guides for those sets in this guide, so for sourcing any of those specific prints, go through Quick Order.
Where to Buy Kadabra Cards from Tokyo
Our graded PSA 10 Kadabra, Master Ball Mirror, SV2a 064/165, is currently listed at ¥18,076 (~$114) — the print that ended the 20-year ban. Our graded PSA 10 Dark Kadabra, Pokemon Card Web 027/048, the pre-ban vintage print, is currently listed at ¥92,040 (~$579). Both ship from Tokyo with tracked delivery.
For the full Pokemon 151 checklist that the anchor print belongs to, see our Pokemon 151 (SV2a) card list, and for the Master Ball Mirror parallel more broadly, see our Master Ball Mirror Pokemon cards guide. If you collect other Pokemon 151 Uncommon-tier prints, our sibling Kabuto cards guide covers the same “Pokemon 151 Master Ball Mirror” collecting angle for a different card.
For more PSA 10 Japanese singles, browse our PSA 10 graded card collection, or use our Quick Order page to request any of the unlisted modern prints or sealed boxes covered above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Kadabra banned from Pokemon cards for 20 years?
Illusionist Uri Geller sued Nintendo in November 2000, alleging the Kadabra card’s design used his identity and likeness without authorisation, citing the card’s spoon, its belly pattern, and the name’s phonetic similarity to “Yuri Geller.” The dispute did not go to a full trial, but no new Kadabra card was printed for roughly two decades afterward.
What Kadabra card ended the printing ban?
Kadabra 064/165, Master Ball Mirror, from the Japanese “Pokemon Card 151” (SV2a) set, released October 2023 — the first new Kadabra print after Geller retracted the ban in a 2020 letter to Nintendo. We currently list a PSA 10 copy at ¥18,076 (~$114).
Is Dark Kadabra the same card as the modern SV2a Kadabra?
No. Dark Kadabra (Pokemon Card Web 027/048, 2001) is a pre-ban, Team Rocket-era print, unrelated to the modern SV2a Kadabra that ended the gap in 2023. Neither is a reprint of the other.
What is Kadabra’s Japanese name?
Kadabra is known in Japan as ユンゲラー (Yungerer). It evolves from Abra (ケーシィ, Casey) and into Alakazam.
Are there other modern Japanese Kadabra prints besides SV2a?
Yes — card databases show five further prints: two in SV4a, plus one each in SV6, SV8a, and M1S. None of these five is listed on our site at the moment.
Where can I buy Kadabra Pokemon cards from Tokyo?
Our graded PSA 10 Master Ball Mirror (SV2a, ¥18,076/~$114) and PSA 10 Dark Kadabra (¥92,040/~$579) are both currently listed with tracked shipping from Tokyo. See our PSA 10 collection or Quick Order page for other Japanese singles and sealed boxes.
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