Kecleon’s extended absence is strange, but there’s likely a good reason for it. In the core Pokemon games, Kecleon’s signature Ability is Color Change, which allows it to change its type from Normal to the type of whatever move last affected it. This makes Kelceon stand out in the base games, but raises issues in Pokemon GO, which doesn’t have Abilities. Luckily, there’s another gimmick Pokemon in Pokemon GO that could serve as a great blueprint for Kecleon: Smeargle. By imitating Smeargle’s unique way of copying moves in Pokemon GO, Kecleon could finally enter the mobile game without sacrificing its core mechanic.
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How Kecleon Can Copy Smeargle
Smeargle has been in Pokemon GO for years, but it’s generally not found simply roaming around in the wild. Instead, when players take a snapshot of a Pokemon, there’s a chance that a Smeargle will spawn nearby. Unlike most Pokemon, though, this Smeargle won’t have a random set of moves. Instead, the newly spawned Smeargle will copy the Fast and Charged Attacks of the Pokemon that the player photographed, referencing Smeargle’s signature move Sketch. Sketch wouldn’t be particularly good in Pokemon GO if it didn’t take effect until players brought Smeargle into battle, so learning moves from a Pokemon snapshot is a clever, efficient way to integrate the Painter Pokemon’s signature move.
That simple Pokemon GO mechanic seems like it could work for Kecleon, too. Niantic could design Kecleon so that its type changes when players find it under a specific circumstance. For instance, if Kecleon is found by taking snapshots, its type could permanently change from Normal to the pictured Pokemon’s primary type, or the type of its Fast Attack. Alternatively, Kecleon might spawn after players battle a Team Rocket Grunt or participate in a Raid, changing its type to imitate the last Pokemon the player used. With a mechanic like that, Kecleon can preserve its core function without needing to go into battle, just like Pokemon GO’s take on Smeargle.
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Kecleon’s Arrival is Long Overdue
Even if it doesn’t want to replicate Smeargle’s abilities, Niantic has plenty of ways to bring Kecleon into the game. Maybe players could simply spend Kecleon Candy and Stardust to change Kecleon’s type, taking notes from Furfrou’s form change mechanic. The bottom line is that Niantic has plenty of ways to make Kecleon work in Pokemon GO, so it’s really just a matter of picking a mechanic and introducing it alongside the missing Color Swap Pokemon.
Pokemon GO certainly still has a lot of missing Pokemon to add alongside Kecleon. Plenty of Alolan Pokemon and Galarian Pokemon aren’t in Pokemon GO yet, and it doesn’t seem like Niantic is a hurry to add them all. Nevertheless, Kecleon’s absence is significant because it should’ve been added a long time ago. Kecleon’s absence from the Hoenn Pokedex is a major annoyance for Pokemon GO completionists who expected to get every Hoenn Pokemon years ago. Niantic promises it has Kecleon release plans in mind, but it has yet to make good on those promises. Hopefully, Kecleon makes its way to Pokemon GO soon alongside a clever way to preserve the mechanic that makes it special.
Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.
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