Kecleon

[Talon87]

My proposed fix for an intriguing but sadly useless creature due to the sluggish and easily-manipulable ability Color Change.

Status Quo:
Color Change: Changes the Pokémon's type to the foe's move.
duration: until next Color Change activated; or until switched out
means: Kecleon is hit by a move. That move's element determines Kecleon's next type.
problem: the opponent is in complete control of Kecleon's typing. Also, Kecleon does not change type until after damage is calculated. This allows the opponent to stack super-effective hits. Poor defensive stats coupled with this result in Kecleon's early exit from any match.

Proposed Fix Version A:
Color Change: Changes the Pokémon's type to the foe's type.
duration: until next Color Change activated; or until switched out
means: Kecleon sees an opponent. Kecleon instantaneously becomes that opponent's type(s).
benefits: while the opponent is still in control of determining Kecleon's typing, they can no longer stack super-effective damage combos based on combat moves. Also, the typing is now determined instantly, as opposed to the sluggish one-turn-too-late status quo. Many elements are self-resisting. This means that Kecleon, in effect, has his own unique version of Solid Rock. On the one hand, it's not as good as Solid Rock is at lessening damage. On the other hand, Kecleon gains the benefit of (potential) STABs. He also gains access to some nifty immunities which Solid Rock Pokémon do not. This proposal also has the benefit of being closest to real-life chameleon behavior, in that chameleons change their color passively and in mimicry of their environment, i.e. they become colored like that which their body "sees".

Proposed Fix Version B:
Color Change: turned into a move; new ability to be thought up by GameFreak =P
duration: until next Color Change activated; or until switched out
means: the user inputs the Color Change command. They are free to pick from any combination of the seventeen elements. (Picking the same element twice registers as mono-typed.) This counts as their move for this turn.
benefits: the opponent is no longer in control of Kecleon's typing, something perhaps he never ought to have been in control of in the first place. As a trade-off, the sluggishness of Color Change remains -- you have to sacrifice one full turn to see the benefit of the type you changed into. But the robustness of this version of the fix is quite clear: the Kecleon user now has full control over his creature's typing and can use it to his advantage in forcing switches. On any other Pokémon, this might be a completely unfair advantage; but in Kecleon's special case, given his comparatively poor movepool and poor stats, it is just enough to ensure he can see usage while not becoming too good for his own good.

Thoughts?

[Jerichi]

I am a pretty big proponent for Color Change's alteration (for obvious reasons), but I'm not sure turning it into a move is plausible or probable, and is potentially quite broken anyways.

Though what amounts to Auto-Conversion wouldn't be a bad thing IMO.

[Talon87]

Version A of the fix, I just realized, is nothing more than a mirror-inverse Zoroark. And seeing as Zoroark has been given the green light by the men and women who make the games, one has to admit that Version A Kecleon might just as reasonably be accepted by the team as legit, i.e. not broken.

EDIT: to explain what I mean ...
Zoroark: he stays the Dark type, he looks like some other type (by virtue of looking like some other creature), he only gets to do this trick once, and he passively "picks" only from your team (specifically, the one member in a specific slot)
Version A Kecleon: the opposite in every way. His type is what changes, his looks stay the same, he doesn't look like another creature, he gets to do this trick multiple times (provided he lives), and he passively "picks" only out of the opponent's team.

As for Version B (which you touched on), yeah, it may seem broken, but I really don't think it is given Kecleon's stats and movepool. It'd be broken on a Giratina. Heck, two notches down from there: it'd be broken on an Umbreon. But seeing as Kecleon is not built to be a tank (one good defensive stat does not three good defensive stats make), he can't take full ("broken") advantage of Version B of the fix. All he does, in effect, is force switches before running back to Mommy himself.

Scenario example where he doesn't work as intended (proving he's not broken):
Turn 0: My Electivire vs. your Blastoise.
Turn 1:
a: You switch out to Rhyperior.
b: I use Thunderpunch (intended for Blastoise). It's absorbed.
Turn 2:
a: I switch out for Gyarados. He intimidates your Rhyperior.
b: You use Earthquake (intended for Electivire). It's flown over.
Turn 3:
a: I use Waterfall. Your tough defenses and Solid Rock body help you to laugh it off.
b: You use Stone Edge. OHKO.
c: I bring out Kecleon. (Reminder: Version B scenario.)
Turn 4:
a: Kecleon is faster (let us suppose). In reality, Kecleon and Rhyperior each have a base speed stat of 40 and neither is likely to have invested EVs in it. Anyway, just suppose Kecleon is faster. =P I use Color Change. I decide to become Flying/Steel.
b: (Assuming you don't switch), You use Stone Edge. Plusses: STAB, insane attack. Minuses: neutral damage, Intimidated (by Gyarados). Takes off ~50% health.
Turn 5:
a: Kecleon uses Reflect.
b: You use Stone Edge again. It hits again. (Lucky you!) But this time it only takes off ~25% health. You stay in, hoping I will too. You can taste the kill.
Turn 6:
a: I use Rest (or some such). You curse. (Not the move. ;) )
b: You use Stone Edge. It takes off ~25% health.

And I'll stop here. As you can see, Kecleon is fighting a losing battle. We could lend him Chesto. We could lend him Sleep Talk. But really? :? Really? :? It'd be a bit too convenient. And it would mean that Kecleon really can't do much except annoy-stall. (Maybe that's all he's meant to do? :oops: )

Scenario example where he fails to work as intended yet again:
Turn 0: My Umbreon vs. your Leafeon.
Turn 1:
a: You use Swords Dance.
b: I use Mean Look.
Turn 2:
a: You Baton Pass out to Kecleon. I am sad.
b: I use Wish.
c: Assuming I don't know how Kecleon works, I plan to stay put.
Turn 3:
a: Kecleon uses Color Change. He becomes the Dark/Steel type. (Pertinent pluses: 4x resistance to Dark, immunity to Poison.)
b: I use Mean Look. I am already cursing. (lol)
Turn 4:
a: You do something. I dunno, anything.
b: I can't use Toxic now, so I figure I'll kill you off. I Baton Pass out to my Machamp. He'll know how to take care of you!
c: At the end of the turn, I receive Wish's benefits. Wasted.
Turn 5:
a: Machamp is faster. You're locked in. You die.

Well that didn't work. :|

I keep trying to think of how it can work, and honestly, it's still not very good. Version A's speed benefit is not to be underestimated! While Version B may seem more powerful, the fact that you have to spend one turn per transformation adds up very quickly. In the course of a battle, we're talking two, three, four, ten wasted turns as compared with the zero wasted turns of Version A. Also, Kecleon can't hold his own against super-strong Pokemon like Rhyperior nor against hand-picked nemeses as in the Mean Look scenario. Version B Kecleon is strictly safe only when he's as free to run away as the opponents he's trying to force into doing so. Mean Look spells his death sentence, as does Arena Trap (Dugtrio) or Shadow Tag (Wobbuffet) or similar moves and abilities. To me, that right off the bat proves he's not "broken." He's still fragile and still very much in danger of being outmaneuvered.

[Talon87]

Damn, I just did some stat checks (for the above post), and I am flabbergasted by Kecleon's speed stat. 40!? Sure, real-life chameleons are slow, but ... 40!?

Damn. Kecleon is only going to be happy on a Trick Room team. That, or with moves that don't care that they have to go second. That, or with priority moves. But ... damn. :|

[Raptor Jesus]

Kecleon is underestimated by a lot. He is an excellent SpDef sponge for Choice Spec'd 'mon not carrying a Fighting special attack. In addition, he learns Sucker Punch, so 40 Speed isn't a big deal. This means Kecleon can kill a Choice Spec Alakazam with Sucker Punch. In addition it also has Shadow Sneak for times when Sucker Punch might not work and has Recover in HG/SS Breeding. Unfortunately, yes, Color Change can be a curse if you predict incorrectly on your enemy's not set up how you hope.

But Kecleon's stats do allow it to take one good non-Fighting special hit, strike back with a Sucker Punch if they somehow plan to strike with a new Super Effective hit, or Recover if you know they're switching out. It's not useless, but it's far from amazing.

[Jerichi]

Though it's not quite the same, I did a Kecleon-only run of Sapphire and found that Kecleon, if played right, can wall with the best of them. It's not quite Blissey, of course, but it can revenge kill a lot better than the pink blob can. With a decent moveset and a little bit of thought, Kecleon can be a decent player on a UU team which is made even better by Trick Room.

[Raptor Jesus]

The good thing about Kecleon's Color Change reset is that you can switch in on a Shadow Ball and be immune thanks to Normal typing and not change into it. Ghosts would otherwise completely PWN it.

Switch-in Shadow Ball -> SE Shadow Ball = No thanks. >.>;

But like all Pokemon. Playing smart is most important.