Kecleon
From Free net encyclopedia
Kecleon (カクレオン Kakureon in Japanese, also called Kecleon in German and French) is a fictional character of the Pokémon franchise. It was one of the "preview" Pokemon 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 tounge) and chameleon. Despite its name ending in "-eon", Kecleon has no relation whatsoever with Eevee or its evolved forms.
The name Kakuleon is a portmanteau of kaku (隠) meaning hide; conceal; cover, and chameleon.
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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.
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 on its appearance, however: it can never change the color of the zigzag band in the middle of its body, so anyone with keen enough observation will realize its presence. 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.
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.
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 Pokemon Chronicles episode Of Meowth And Pokemon. It also briefly appeared in Now That's Flower Power, Pros and Con Artists and A Double Dilemma.
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 Lengend 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 once.
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 0439154049.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0761547614
External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Kecleon as a species.
- Serebii.net’s 3rd Gen Pokédex entry for Kecleon
- Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- PsyPoke Pokédex entry
- Smogon Pokédex entry