The Pokémon Company will print its first new Kadabra card in over 20 years. according to a reported by Poke BeachPokemon card 151, due out in June, will feature the psychic Spoonbender alongside the other original Pokemon in the series, something that would have previously been blocked by illusionists Uri Geller’s lawsuit accused Kadabra of basing it on his own likeness.
Poke Beach (about IGN) said it was able to confirm Kadabra’s return after looking at a leaked sales sheet for the upcoming set. At first glance, it seems obvious that number 64 would be included along with the 151 other original Pokémon that Kadabra was excluded from the card game since the early 2000s. It was at this point that Geller, best known for performing summoning tricks that supposedly revolve around physical abilities like bending spoons, first discovered Kadabra and attempted to sue Nintendo over the Pokémon’s similarities to his act bring.
While the most obvious example was Kadabra’s signature curved spoon, his name in Japanese, Yungerer, also shared striking similarities. Geller reportedly has a particular issue with the Team Rocket Kadabra map, which featured Evil Yungerer.
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“I’m very angry about this,” he said said the BBC in 2000. “I wouldn’t have allowed an aggressive and in one instance evil character to be based on me. This doesn’t even have anything to do with the old question of whether I’m a magician or a true medium. It is outright theft of my personality.”
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However, Geller did not stay angry. After years of failed lawsuits, pleas from fans and even his own granddaughters, he finally gave in. 2020 he is sent a letter to Nintendo, who gives permission to continue using Kadabra. The Pokémon company’s CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara, wrote back at the time to thank him. Geller even started it Teasing Kadabra’s possible return to the card game last year.
“Listen, I want to thank the Pokemon fans who have been reaching out to me lately [few] years,” he said Poke Beach in a voicemail yesterday. “Including that of Poke Beachwho kept contacting me. So basically it was you and my granddaughters that made me change my mind.”
The illusionist continued:
Now we can all see Kadabra reunited with the original Pokémon in the card game this summer. i love you all And I admit, totally open and honest. I was a fool It was a devastating mistake on my part to sue Pokémon. [Kadabra] was basically a homage to Uri Geller. But now it’s back. Forgive me. i love you all Lots of love and energy.
Forgive Uri Geller.
