Kecleon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kecleon | |
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National Castform - Kecleon (#352) - Shuppet Hoenn Starmie - Kecleon (#145) - Shuppet |
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Japanese name | カクレオン Kakureon |
Stage | Basic |
Evolves from | None |
Evolves to | None |
Generation | Third |
Species | Color Swap Pokémon |
Type | Normal |
Height | 3 ft 3 in (1.00 m) |
Weight | 48.5 lb (22.0 kg) |
Ability | Color Change |
Kecleon (カクレオン Kakureon?) are one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar[1] Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. The purpose of Kecleon in the games, anime, and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon—untamed creatures that characters encounter while embarking on various adventures— and tamed Pokémon creatures owned by Pokémon trainers.[2]
It was one of the "preview" Pokémon to the third generation of games, cards, and anime, having been released before the official release of the GBA versions.
Kecleon's name is a portmanteau of keckle (meaning to wind rope around, which refers to the stripe around Kecleon's body, tail, and tongue) and chameleon. Despite its name ending in "-eon", Kecleon has no relation whatsoever with Eevee or its evolved forms, aside from its ability to change its type, much like the various and differently typed evolutions of Eevee. The Japanese name Kakuleon is a portmanteau of kaku (隠) meaning to hide, conceal, or cover; and chameleon.
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[edit] Appearance
Kecleon's appearance is somewhat based on the chameleon. It is a mostly green, bipedal lizard, with a yellow crest and eye markings. Its waist is circled by a red zigzag band, and it has a long curled tail.
[edit] Biology
Much like the real world chameleon, Kecleon possesses the ability to change its body coloration at will in order to blend with its surroundings, approaching invisibility. Kecleon puts this stealthy trait to good use when hunting, as it can sneak up on its prey undetected and trap it with its long and stretchy tongue.
Kecleon does not have absolute control of its appearance, however: it can never change the color of the zigzag band in the middle of its body, which renders his cloaking useless to any fairly keen observer. Secondly, a Kecleon can involuntarily shift colors based on its emotions, so that a sudden mood swing will change its looks completely. Finally, a Kecleon will revert to its original colors if it is startled.
[edit] In the video games
Kecleon are available in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald in Routes 118, 119, 120, 121 and 123. The species is featured specially in the games' storyline: an invisible Kecleon blocks the entrance to the Fortree City Gym, until Steven Stone arrives and gives the player the Devon Scope that can show Kecleon for what they are (compare with Silph Scope from older Pokémon titles).
Kecleon has very good attack, excellent special defense and low speed. It learns a strange collection of moves including Faint Attack, Psybeam and Ancientpower. It is one of only two Pokémon (the other being Mr. Mime) that can learn the Substitute skill naturally, making it invaluable in cross-breeding. Kecleon also has a very impressive Technical Machine compatibility, which gives it many alternative movesets.
Kecleon's Color Change ability, which is unique to it, changes its type to match that of the last damage-dealing attack that hit it. Together with its high special defense and the fact that most attack types deal half the damage against Pokémon of the same type, Color Change is supposed to help Kecleon last a long time in battle. Unfortunately, Pokémon that know attacks of types strong against each other, such as Surf and Thunderbolt, Flamethrower and Earthquake, or Giga Drain and Fly, can manipulate Kecleon's ability to change it into a type weak against their next attack. Also, this can also be manipulated by hitting a Kecleon with a move whose type is weak against others of that type (Such as Dragon and Ghost.), so, should a Kecleon be hit with a Dragon move, for example, if it was hit by another, it would deal much more damage than normal.
A pair of Kecleon brothers, one regular and one shiny, appear in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series as shopkeepers, selling useful items to the player. The shiny brother is also the only shiny pokemon is the game, however, it is unobtainable.
Kecleon shops can also be found in dungeons, and if the player refuses to pay the Kecleon after picking up any of their items, or they escape in some way (like warping themself or the Kecleon with an item like a Warp Seed, or walking directly onto a terrain the Kecleon cannot reach), or if they do not have enough money for that item, the Kecleon will then consider the player is shoplifting and call a whole swarm of Kecleon SWATs to beat up the thief. In this condition, if the player fails to escape from the Kecleons, not only will they white out and lose all of their money and most of their items, but the remaining items will be replaced with Plain Seeds. Some of the Kecleons will also try to attack the player with an ancientpower designed to KO anything. However, there are no wild Kecleons in the Mystery dungeon series and therefore shoplifting is the only way to recruit one, since it draws them into battles. But the chances of recruiting one is critically rare and difficult. If the player does recruit one, it is recommended that they escape with it immediately to the next floor and keep it safe for the rest of the dungeon. In a way, crime sometimes does pay in these series (yet in a very risky matter).
Kecleon also stars in a minigame in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire.
[edit] In the animé
Kecleon was one of the first Pokémon of the Game Boy Advance generation to appear in the animé while it was still in the Johto story arc. It made its first appearance in episode #207 (The Kecleon Caper). This particular episode featured two Kecleon, named Reddy and Greeny for their respective hues. Kecleon was also used by trainer Harrison against Ash in the Silver Conference and has made a number of additional cameo appearances in other episodes in the end of Can't Beat the Heat, Playing With Fire and Johto Photo Finish. It also appeared in the short Pikachu's Pikaboo. It also appeared in the Pokémon Chronicles episode Of Meowth And Pokémon. It also briefly appeared in Now That's Flower Power, Pros and Con Artists and A Double Dilemma.
A Kecleon accompanies a Larvitar and a Granbull at a large mansion in the short movie "Pikachu's Pikaboo" that accompanies "Pokémon 4Ever". This Kecleon hides by blending into a pillar, with only its red stripe remaining. However, Kecleon's hiding spot was so good, Pikachu couldn't find it, thus causing Kecleon to miss out on the excitement of trapping and blowing up a killer lawnmower.
Another Kecleon appeared in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out Of The Gate!. Kecleon and his brother who has a "shiny" coloring ran a shop and liked to see old customers. They closed their shop because the Team Meanies snatched everything.
[edit] In the trading card game
Though Kecleon has previously appeared only once in the card game, within the EX Sandstorm set as a Basic Pokémon, it is a unique card. Its Poke-Body, Energy Variation, makes its type the same as every type of Basic Energy card attached to it, and it can cause some wild compounding effects when applying weakness and resistance. If a Kecleon has a Lightning and a Grass energy card attached to it, and it attacks a card like Wailord EX (whose weaknesses are Lightning and Grass-type attacks), the resulting damage is quadrupled. Because Kecleon’s attack does up to 40 damage, the resulting damage can become 160.
It also features in the latest set "EX Legend Maker", in which its power is akin to its previous form from "EX Sandstorm". When attaching a React energy card, Kecleon becomes all six of the basic energy types at twice. Awesooome
[edit] References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Books
- Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
[edit] External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Kecleon as a species.
- Serebii.net’s 4th Gen Pokédex entry for Kecleon
- Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- PsyPoke Pokédex entry
- Smogon Pokédex entry
- WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Kecleon Previously hosted by Wikibooks