Soil have a Kadabra and a Carnivine and I can't decide which to let go because I have an OCD thing about only training 6 Pokemon until after the elite four.
Really I want to know which would be a better match up with my current team?
1) lvl 35 Staraptor
2) lvl 26 Golbat
3) lvl 27 Luxio
4) lvl 27 Beautifly
5) lvl 20 Gyarados

Currently I have yet to pass on to the next section and get over to Canalave city; so I have five badges.

Which would you choose?
I'll do a quick overview of each so you guys have all of the information.

Kadabra lvl 30 @ no item right now
Synchronize
Never been EV trained
Timid nature
- recover
- confusion
- disable
- spy beam
Mostly I use him as a sweeper. He comes in handy with some types but has a really low defense stat. He helped me win like four of my badges and I caught him in his second form. Confusion and psybeam are sweet moves and I even have a combo to take out almost every Pokemon that I've encountered.
Overall Kadabra is nice edition to my team.

Carnivine lvl 26 @ no item
Levitate
Never been EV trained
Hardy nature
- bite
- vine whip
- sweet scent
- cut
I caught Carnivine in the Safari Zone and have been training him since level 20. He knows an HM and I rely on him to cut down small trees. I also use his move Sweet Scent to catch Pokemon and during my chaining. I was thinking Thea levitate would be an awesome move to use against any of the elite four who have ground types because it prevents ground types from working.
I think with a little more training he could be potentially strong.

So if anyone is interested I do not have my national dex yet and I'm playing diamond.
You might evenj have to refer me to a different Pokemon because I don't think I will ever be able to choose.

Thanks.

Alakazam, by a long shot. It is a glass cannon, to be sure, but what a cannon. It can do a tremendous amount of damage and is faster than most anything you'll come across, so, barring priority, it's nigh indestructible.

Carnivine is...not even a fair comparison. You could probably scrap Beautifly for it; they're both about the same anyway. I'd recommend finding a Fire-type move or two on some Pokemon, as that will serve you well later on. (Bronzor and Bronzong are rather prevalent.)

Thanks that's what I was thinking. I new Kadabra was more powerful to begin with.
One really quit question though, after the route to Celestic town do you need defog anymore? Or is the move useless?

I don't understand why you would not use your starter Pokemon but instead use Beautifly but that's not the point. Anyway, I'd say Kadabra because you definitely need to hit hard and hit fast with your team that has 4 Pokemon with an Electric weakness (Volkner will be rough).

The path in Mt Coronet going from Celestic Town to Snowpoint City is foggy, but that's easily cleared by just going straight up. Other than that I don't remember any other foggy areas.

Technically you don't need Defog at all. It just helps.

Thanks, I was just wondering



I only use it until the second or third gym, by then my team is already really strong and I don't need it. Plus for some reason I don't like using my starter all the way through the game so I just release it. It might sound stupid but that's just how I play.

So we are all agreeing on Kadabra? That's good news, he's always been more powerful than Carnivine.

It's not abnormal to not use your Starter Pokémon all the way through, but your team definitely would be better off with your starter (especially if it was Chimchar) than say Beautifly. Plus you don't have to release it. You can always just box it and maybe use it for something else down the road like train it up later or Contests, or at the very least trade it to a friend that is trying to collect them all.

Speaking of trade, I would evolve Kadabra into Alakazam as soon as possible, especially since both Pokémon learn the same moves at the same levels last time I checked.

Carnvine is not a bad option, but I'd REALLY recommend Alakazam. Superb Special stats and Speed make it a good and swift
sweeper. Have a decent moveset like this:
Psychic
Hyper Beam
Focus Blast(for fighting types)
Energy Ball(or Shadow Ball)

I agree with this 99%. But I think Shadow Ball instead of Energy Ball is a good idea...

Psychic (SE against fighting)
Hyper Beam (Back-up/last resort)
Focus Blast (SE against Dark, a type Alakazam is weak against)
Shadow Ball (SE against Ghosts and Psychic types)

And start EV training ASAP. I never EV trained, and as a result, my favorite Pokemon has 268 Sp. Attack as the highest stat... Poor shiny