Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
22 |
25 |
- |
| Atk |
90
|
13 |
15 |
18 |
19 |
| Def |
70
|
11 |
13 |
16 |
17 |
| SpA |
60
|
10 |
12 |
15 |
16 |
| SpD |
120
|
16 |
18 |
21 |
23 |
| Spe |
40
|
9 |
10 |
13 |
14 |
Overview
Do not be fooled by Kecleon's Normal typing, for it is anything but. Battling a Kecleon for the first time can be an interesting experience due to its ability: when it is hit by an attack, Kecleon's type changes to match that of said attack. With regard to aspects of competitive play, Kecleon has impressive Special Defense, and between its ability and its stats, Kecleon can comfortably wall many Choice Specs attackers, such as Exeggutor. Additionally, Kecleon receives several excellent defensive and support moves, such as Recover to extend its own lifespan, as well as Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Knock Off, all of which allow it to be an excellent team player. Kecleon's offensive movepool is large too, but as its attacking stats aren't great, the only offensive set it pulls off effectively is a bulky SubPunch one.
Kecleon has several other flaws worth keeping in mind: firstly, its ability can be used against it by an opposing Pokemon with good type coverage; secondly, its poor Defense lets it down at times; and thirdly, without Attack investment—which would detract significantly from bulk—its damage output is pitiful. Nonetheless, Kecleon certainly has its uses and niches, and while it might not be one of the best Pokemon out there, it is without doubt one of the most unique.
The main draw of this set is its special bulk: specially defensive Kecleon is extremely difficult to take down with special attacks. It serves as insurance against the many specially based threats in the metagame, and truly shines against Choice-locked special attackers, Choice Specs Exeggutor in particular. As an added bonus, Kecleon packs several useful team support options too, and its movepool can—and should—be tailored to best suit your team.
First on the list of useful moves is Stealth Rock, which is a crucial move on just about any type of team. It punishes the opponent for switching and racks up damage over the course of a match, supplementing your sweepers' jobs. Recover is a reliable way to replenish Kecleon's health, allowing it to sponge hits throughout the match; these two moves are largely non-negotiable. In the third moveslot, Return is Kecleon's strongest attack, gains a STAB boost, and has decent neutral coverage, while Knock Off cripples opponents dependent on their item, particularly users of Choice Scarf or Eviolite. Thunder Wave cuts the opponent's Speed, which benefits both Kecleon and its offensive teammates; the chance of full paralysis can come in handy as well. Alternatively, Aqua Tail can be used for a secondary attack as it has excellent coverage alongside Return, especially considering the dearth of Steel-types in NU.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This being a specially defensive set, the EVs—maximum HP and Special Defense, as well as a Special Defense-boosting nature—are self-explanatory. Leftovers too is mandatory for reliable recovery. If your team has another Stealth Rock supporter, Toxic can be considered in the first slot to enable Kecleon to stall out special attackers. Foul Play might seem tempting considering Kecleon's unimpressive offenses, but most of its targets have low Attack stats as well. Sucker Punch is an option that's notable for being super effective against Exeggutor, but is unreliable and has low PP, which may be problematic on a wall, and Pursuit can allow Kecleon to take out physically frail sweepers.
In terms of teammates, specially defensive Kecleon works especially well with physical walls that can take Fighting-type attacks, Kecleon's only elemental weakness before Color Change is activated; a prime example is Weezing. Other teammates depend on the support moves Kecleon chooses, but in general, Kecleon tends to fit best on more offensively oriented teams; just about all sweepers appreciate the residual damage from entry hazards, opposing walls having their Eviolites removed, or opposing threats slowed down by paralysis.
This variant of Kecleon trades some bulk for greater power, and makes use of the Substitute + Focus Punch strategy to significantly increase its damage output. The first two moves form the core of this set: Substitute eases prediction and ensures a safe turn to Recover, but more importantly, it protects Kecleon from damage, allowing it to comfortably fire off Focus Punch—a powerful attack with great coverage—on the subsequent turn. The third move patches up the holes in Kecleon's coverage, specifically by enabling Kecleon to hit Ghost-type foes. Sucker Punch is a useful priority move that lets Kecleon pick off faster Pokemon seeking to revenge kill it, while Payback allows it to hit Ghost-types who can use Substitute to evade Sucker Punch. Kecleon has two choices to fill its last moveslot; both the listed options—Recover and Thunder Wave—differentiate it from Kangaskhan, who has better coverage thanks to the Scrappy ability. Recover works in tandem with Substitute to keep Kecleon healthy, while Thunder Wave cripples switch-ins, and the chance of full paralysis might allow Kecleon to set up a Substitute unscathed.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Kecleon's base offenses are nothing to write home about; therefore, its Attack must be maximized with 252 EVs and an Adamant nature. 236 HP EVs hit the highest Leftovers number possible, and the rest are poured into Defense to give it some extra bulk. Leftovers is the preferred item; Life Orb can be used to increase Kecleon's power further, but it might not have the opportunity to Recover health lost to recoil and Substitutes—an amount that will quickly add up. One might consider using Return in the last slot, but with its Scrappy ability giving it the ability to hit Ghost-types, Kangaskhan does this better than Kecleon. Foul Play is more viable, but is still inferior to the listed moves as its targets have low Attack stats anyway.
As for team support, first and foremost, entry hazards are welcome—more so for Kecleon than for other sweepers—as it doesn't hit extremely hard. If opting for Sucker Punch, a Pursuit user, such as Skuntank, is recommended to take out Banette and Misdreavus, two Ghost-types that commonly use Substitute. Toxic Spikes work well with this set as Kecleon can stall for a while with the combination of Substitute and Recover; Whirlipede and Garbodor can both provide this form of support.
Kecleon's abysmal Speed makes a Trick Room supporter set an obvious possibility for it. Despite being simple and straightforward, this set is certainly effective at accomplishing what it needs to. Access to Recover lets Kecleon keep itself healthy throughout the match, allowing it to set up Trick Room multiple times if needed. Return is a strong STAB attack with good neutral coverage, which also prevents Kecleon from being Taunt bait. Aqua Tail is Kecleon's strongest coverage move, and is super effective against Rock-types that resist Return; alternatively, Kecleon can provide Stealth Rock support if none of your other Pokemon can do the job.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
First, 252 HP EVs are used for greater overall bulk; next, Kecleon's higher defensive stat is maximized with 252 EVs and a boosting nature; and lastly, a Speed-reducing nature and 0 Speed IVs make Kecleon as fast as possible under Trick Room. A more offensive EV spread can be used to let Kecleon's attacks hit harder, but Kecleon's damage output will still pale in comparison to that of other Trick Room abusers. One should also avoid using Thunder Wave at all costs, as the Speed drop from paralysis makes foes much faster in Trick Room. The aforementioned Trick Room abusers are the best partners to Kecleon; these include the slow but ridiculously powerful Rampardos, Marowak, and Ursaring.
Other Options
Kecleon has a decent support movepool, and as such, has a few alternative moves worth considering. It does not receive Taunt, but Magic Coat can accomplish something similar by disrupting a predicted status move, entry hazard move, or an opponent's Taunt. Snatch can prevent foes from setting up on Kecleon, but requires quite a bit of prediction. Despite its mediocre base 90 Attack, Kecleon can utilize a Choice Band set to some success, as it has Trick to cripple walls and differentiate itself from other harder-hitting Pokemon. For coverage, it receives Drain Punch, as well as the three elemental punches. Seismic Toss can be used to deal consistent damage to bulkier foes, but Toxic is often the better move against them. Shadow Sneak is weaker but more consistent than Sucker Punch, which users of Substitute can play around. Counter can be used with a Focus Sash to nab a surprise KO, but this requires entry hazards to be kept off the field or the use of a Rapid Spinner, of which there are few available. In terms of special attacking, Kecleon receives Nasty Plot, and like most Normal-types, has an impressive special movepool—including Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Grass Knot, and Shadow Ball—with which to use it. However, its base 60 Special Attack is unsalvageable. A Fake Out lead with Stealth Rock, a filler move, and perhaps Last Resort can be run, but dedicated leads are not as useful anymore due to Team Preview, and Kecleon is outclassed by Persian at this due to the latter's Technician ability and access to Taunt and U-turn.
Checks and Counters
Fighting-types, such as Sawk, Throh, and Gurdurr, spell doom for Kecleon, as do Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage moves, such as Braviary with Superpower. To bring Kecleon down, simply prey on its weaker defensive stat: powerful physical attacks, particularly super effective ones—which depend on Kecleon's current type—can make short work of it. Golurk can switch into anything Kecleon uses without fear of getting OHKOed or being greatly crippled and OHKO the gecko with Drain Punch or Focus Punch. It's also worth noting that Golurk is immune to Kecleon's most common status move, Thunder Wave. Faster Pokemon with Substitute work especially well as they will avoid being inflicted with crippling status conditions in the process. In general, the task of countering Kecleon is made much easier by the fact that support sets do not invest in Attack and have very low damage output. More offensively, a Pokemon who has a move super effective against another coverage move can use Kecleon's Color Change ability against it. Duosion, for example, can 2HKO with a super effective Hidden Power Fighting followed by a super effective Psychic. As for the SubPunch set, variants that forgo Payback for Sucker Punch can be stalled out by Ghost-types with non-attacking moves.
