Uri Geller talks his history with Kadabra in new interview
Bending opinions just like a spoon!
Kotaku has recently published an interview with famed illusionist Uri Geller, one of the inspirations for the Gen 1 Pokémon Kadabra, and also the reason why said Pokémon was removed from the card game for 20 years.
With recent news that Kadabra would be returning to the TCG Kotaku sat down with Geller to try and get his take on the story. We’ll post a link to the full article if you want a deep dive into Geller’s career but we’re just going to focus on the stuff important to Kadabra and Pokémon.
Geller claims that while on a business trip in Japan he noticed some children playing with Pokémon cards and shouting “Yungerer” (Kadabra’s Japanese name, a corruption of Yuri Geller’s name) once he realized that the Pokémon was referncing his iconic spoon-bending trick he became upset and attempted to sue Nintendo.
The lawsuit went nowhere, Geller admits, and Pokémon was content with soft-banning Kadabra from the card game and the anime to keep from stirring the pot. Over the years though, Geller looked at the situation differently, realizing the Pokémon was less a mockery and more a tribute.
“…Then, throughout the years, I became a grandfather. Our granddaughters live in Los Angeles…and you know, talking to them about the card, and seeing them play with the toys, I said, ‘What on Earth did I do?!’ And I realized that it was a mistake. You know, it was a tribute to Uri Geller! So I decided to write to the chairman of Pokémon and tell him that I’m releasing them from the ban.”
Uri Geller later admits that he also wants to get a bunch of Kadabra cards to add to his museum in Jaffa, Israel, specifically stating that he’s working with a local Pokémon card expert to get some rare cards.
That’s all of the Pokémon specific stuff from the interview but if you want a deeper look into Geller’s career and legacy as an illusionist then we highly suggest reading the full article which will be linked below.
About jmaldonado
A recently graduated creative writer hoping to work his way into the greater gaming sphere.
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