Trade Your Kadabra to Get Alakazam Fast — How to Evolve in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

If you’ve got a Kadabra in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and want the full spoon-bending Alakazam, there’s one important thing to know: Kadabra only evolves through trading. You won’t see the usual evolve arrow, so you’ll need a trading partner — either nearby or online — to finish the job.

1. How to evolve Kadabra in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
2. Trade steps
3. Extra notes

How to evolve Kadabra in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

First, the basics: Abra evolves into Kadabra at level 16, just like in other games. However, unlike many Pokémon that evolve by gaining levels, Kadabra will only become Alakazam if it’s traded. This means you’ll need another player to trade with — so either a local friend running the same game, or someone online via Nintendo Switch Online.

Trade steps

Follow these exact steps in the game to trade your Kadabra and trigger the evolution:

Press X to open your menu.
Select the “Link Play” option.
Choose “Link Trade”.
Pick “Nearby Players” for a local trade or “Faraway Players” for an online trade.
Enter an 8-digit Link Code to connect to the other trainer (if using Faraway Players).
Select your Kadabra and send it off for the trade.

As soon as the trade completes, your Kadabra will evolve into Alakazam automatically. In short, you don’t need any special item or a specific level beyond being Kadabra — trading is the only requirement.

Extra notes

Also, if both you and your trading partner have a Kadabra, you can trade them to each other and both get Alakazam — then trade back if you want your original nickname, nature or Pokémon in return. Similarly, other trade-based evolutions like Haunter work the same way. Just remember: online trades require a Nintendo Switch Online membership, while local trades do not.