After 20 years, Pokemon TCG is finally able to release a new Kadabra card after being banned from a lawsuit back in 2002. The Pokemon Company will print its new Kadabra card which is included in the Pokemon 151 expansion set that will be out on June 16, 2023. The spoon-using, psychic-type will be featured together with the other first-generation Pokemon later this year.

Why is Kadabra Banned for 20 years Anyway?

For those that do not know, there was a lawsuit by the illusionist Uri Geller accusing Kadabra of being based on his likeness.

Uri Geller released the ban from Pokemon using Kadabra and was announced over on Twitter and asked for his apologies for depriving Pokemon fans of this beloved Pokemon for over 20 years. With this news, we finally get to see Kadabra back in action probably not just in Pokemon TCG but in other Pokemon games and anime as well.

Geller is known for his acts utilizing spoons and with this being part of Kadabra's card, it was very easy to see the ideation and comparison of both the illusionist and the Pokemon. Kadabra's name is “Yungerer” in Japanese which is actually an amalgamation of one of his names. With the release of Team Rocket's Kadabra which made the “Evil Yungerer” its focus, Geller had to take action since it seemed like his image was being affected.

“I’m very angry about this,” he told the BBC back in 2000. “I wouldn’t have given permission for an aggressive, and in one case evil character to be based on me. This is not even anything to do with the old question of if I’m a magician or a real psychic. It’s straight theft of my persona.”

As much as he wanted to, the case never really went anywhere but The Pokemon Company decided to remove Kadabra from its Pokemon TCG sets and phased the Pokemon out of the anime as well.

Lawsuit Dropped, Kadabra Gets Unbanned

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After years of being kept in isolation, we are finally getting a new Kadabra card in the Pokemon Trading Card Game after last appearing in the 2003 Skyridge expansion set.

Geller has shared his sentiments on the Kadabra situation and admits that he now thinks that he has made a mistake. “I realized it was a mistake. You know, it actually was a tribute to Uri Geller! So I decided to write the chairman of Pokemon and tell him that I'm releasing them from the ban.” Now, he shared that he's a little more than excited to have the card back. Geller also plans to have some of the Kadabra cards in his possession to be graded and put in plexiglass where he'll have them displayed in a museum in Jaffa, Israel. With Kadabra being put back into the Pokemon Trading Card Game collection, Geller now looks at the creation of the Pokemon as a tribute rather than a mockery that deserved to be banned for 20 years.

We are more than happy to finally see Kadabra back in the fray and finally back in action after a 20-year-long hiatus. Of course, make sure to check in from time to time for the latest updates, news, and events here on ClutchPoints Gaming for anything and everything Pokemon related like the lifting of the Kadabra Card's 20-year ban in the popular Trading Card Game.

Best of luck, Trainers!