Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl welcomes players to the Sinnoh region in the updated re-release of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. At the start, trainers will have their Starter Pokemon and any others they manage to capture. One Pokemon that may be worth catching along the way is Abra.
In Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, trainers could catch Abra in the wild or get it via trading. This same Abra returns in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Updated on March 24, 2022 by Renri Seong: Psychic-type Pokemon are some of the strongest Pokemon within the Pokemon world. While Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl includes fan-favorites like the Ralts-line, some players will want a Single Type Psychic Pokemon instead of a Dual Type. Instead of Ralts, players can instead catch Abra and evolve it into Kadabra and Alakazam. However, to get Abra's final evolution, they'll need to trade with another BDSP player. If they can't trade their Kadabra, it won't be able to evolve. Despite this, Kadabra can still be a formidable foe if it has an experienced trainer. The following guide has been updated to include more information on both of Abra's evolutions: Kadabra and Alakazam.
Catch Abra in the Wild
The first method of getting Abra is looking for it on Route 203, which is located between Jubilife City and Oreburgh Gate. Abra is a random encounter in tall grass that has a 5-15% chance of appearing. What makes matters worse is that Abra can be tricky to catch.
Abra's only known move is Teleport, which allows it to flee from battle. It's also likely that Abra's base Speed stat will outclass the player's current Pokemon. This means Abra will move before the trainer's Pokemon can inflict a Status Ailment (such as Sleep) on it.
The best way to catch an Abra in the wild is to use moves that prevent it from escaping such as Mean Look. However, it's more than likely that players won't have Pokemon that know escape-preventing moves at the early stages of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Players will have to toss a Poke Ball and hope Abra's 26.1% Catch Rate decides to be merciful.
Those that preordered Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl in the U.S. can receive 12 Quick Balls as a Mystery Gift. This gift expires on February 21, 2022. Quick Balls increase the chance of catching a Pokemon if it is used at the start of battle. Since Abra is quick to flee, a Quick Ball is ideal for capturing it.
Trading for Abra
The easiest and surefire way to get Abra is going through Route 203 and Oreburgh Gate, and trading for one in Oreburgh City. Once in Oreburgh City, go up the stairs to the north to get onto Route 207. There are patches of grass to the left and a hill that can only be climbed via a bike.
Search the grass for the Fighting-type Machop. Thankfully, Machop is much more common than Abra and won't flee from battle. Capture one, and then return to Oreburgh City.
Enter the building to the left of the Pokemart and speak to the little girl. She'll give the player an Abra in exchange for a Machop. As a Traded Pokemon, Abra's ID will be different from the player and it will receive bonus EXP in battle.
When Abra reaches level 16, it will evolve into Kadabra and gain damage-inflicting moves such as Confusion. To get Abra's final evolved form, Alakazam, trainers need to trade Kadabra.
More Information About Kadabra and Alakazam
Some BDSP players won't be playing online to trade their Kadabra to evolve it. This unfortunately means they won't be able to register Alakazam's Pokedex entry. However, even if Kadabra doesn't evolve, it's still a powerful Special Attacker and has amazing Speed as well. Players that want to have Kadabra on their team to take on the Sinnoh League will find a Kadabra with the right moveset can potentially 1HKO its opponents.
Obviously, between the two Pokemon, Alakazam is preferred over its pre-evolved form because of its higher Special Attack, Speed, and marginally better Special Defense.
|
HP |
Attack |
Special Attack |
Defense |
Special Defense |
Speed |
Total |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kadabra |
40 |
35 |
120 |
30 |
70 |
105 |
400 |
|
Alakazam |
55 |
50 |
135 |
45 |
95 |
120 |
500 |
Alakazam has higher Attack and Speed, but its Special Attack and Defense are only 10 points higher than Kadabra's. In battle, Alakazam is more likely to outspeed its opponent than Kadabra.
As Psychic-type Pokemon, both Kadabra and Alakazam share the same type effectiveness and weakness.
|
Super-effective against: |
Fighting, Poison |
|---|---|
|
Weak against: |
Ghost, Bug, Dark |
|
Resistant to: |
Psychic, Fighting |
|
Immunities: |
N/A |
The best nature for the Abra-line is Modest (+Sp.Attk, -Attk) or Timid (+Spd, -Attk). Kadabra and Alakazam's Defense, Special Defense, and Attack aren't worth the stat growth.
Even though they're Psychic-types, Kadabra and Alakazam can learn a variety of moves such as Energy Ball (Grass-type) and Shadow Ball (Ghost-type). They can also learn Dazzling Gleam (Fairy-type) which will give them coverage against Dark-type Pokemon. Shadow Ball is good against Ghost-type, and since all these moves are Special moves, Kadabra/Alakazam will be able to make the most out of these TMs.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will be available for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021.