http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_controversy#In_the_TCG
In November 2000,
Uri Geller, a man claiming to be a psychic who is to be able to bend spoons with psychic powers, tried to sue Nintendo for £60 million (the equivalent of US $100 million), claiming that
Kadabra, known as
Yungerer in Japan, was an unauthorized parody of himself. Besides Kadabra's use of
bent spoons to enhance its
psychic powers, the
katakana for its name, ユンゲラー, is visually similar to the transliteration of his own name into Japanese (ユリゲラー).
He also claimed that Kadabra was
anti-Semitic in nature, with the star on its forehead and lightning bolts resembling the logo of the Nazi
SS. He is quoted as saying: "
Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokémon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image."
Geller lost the lawsuit. Despite this, there has not been a Kadabra card in the
Trading Card Game since
Skyridge in 2003 and Kadabra has not appeared in the Pokémon anime since
Fear Factor Phony, perhaps as a precaution against Geller's history of lawsuits.
Abra and
Alakazam cards have continued to be printed, despite the fact that this makes it impossible to play Alakazam cards in matches that prevent the use of older cards without a card that specifically allows evolved Pokémon to be played. However, the only
Abra card released after
Skyridge, in
Mysterious Treasures, has an attack that allows it to evolve directly into Alakazam, skipping the Kadabra stage.