Name: Kecleon

Type: Colorless

Stage: Basic

HP: 60

Weakness: Fighting

Resistance: None

Retreat: C

Poké-BODY: Energy Variation

Kecleon’s type is the same as every type of basic Energy card attached to Kecleon.

Attack#1: (CC) Double Scratch [20x]

 

Ah, something I think will be a little less contested as an AB3 (Almost Big Bad Basic).  For those who haven’t been reading some of the more recent CotDs, lately we have been looking at some Basic Pokémon who have enough power to get them noticed in Modified, but not quite enough for Unlimited.

 

Attributes: Like many recent cards, this has no real place in Unlimited, so the review will focus on Modified.  We only have one Kecleon, which is a Basic with no available Evolutions or “pre”-Evolutions.  So it’s probably not going to slide into any pre-existing decks “just because it’s a Kecleon”.  As a Basic, Colorless Pokémon, you’d think its only competition would be Zangoose and maybe Skyridge Ditto for Eon, but as you’ll see later on, that is not the case.  Kecleon has 60 HP, which is fairly good for a non-evolving Basic.  Its not the 70 that keeps it safe from most “straight-damage” attacks of Stage 2s, but its good enough to stand up to other basics and some Stage 1 Pokémon with all but the worst luck.  It is Weak to Fighting, which is not so hot considering that there exists good Fighting TecH if Kecleon were to be found in a lot of decks… or to nail other poplar Fighting Weak Pokémon, like Linoone and Delcatty.  There is no Resistance, sadly, so we’ll move onto retreat.  A retreat cost of just one is the second best in the game, and is quite easy to pay… though some of Kecleon’s other talents may make it awkward…

 

Abilities: What makes Kecleon interesting is its Energy Variation Poké-Body.  It is all types that it has a Basic Energy attached for.  That means it can be any combination of Fighting, Fire, Grass, Electric, Psychic, or Water types, including some or all of them at once.  It can only be Colorless if it has no basic Energies attached, or if it has its Poké-Body turned off, say by Muk ex.  It only has one, fairly generic attack, but it serves its purpose: Double Scratch averages 20, which is what (CC) pays for.

 

Uses/Combinations: Type-Matching.  This thing can exploit almost any Weakness in the right deck.  One popular idea is running it with the Expedition version of Alakazam, and a couple of each energy type: both Pokémon can make use of the varied energy types (that Alakazam can mimic opponent’s attacks via a Poké-Power, but needs the correct Energy).  An added bonus is that the deck is half built for you: buy an Echo theme deck, get a couple Kecleon, and you got a chance.  Conversely, you can buy and trade for the cards you need to max out said deck, but with the Echo theme deck acting as a base; it will make things much easier.  Other than that, it is not unheard of (or unsuccessful) t toss a handful of  Basic Energy for a type you need to emulate to counter a specific threat to your deck, such as tossing in some Fire Energies with Kecleon into a water deck to provide a solid “Basic” Fire Pokémon.  What makes Kecleon particularly nasty, though, is since its Poké-Power makes it multiple types at once, it can apply both Weaknesses found on some Pokémon ex!  This means that with a Grass and Psychic Energy attached, Kecleon has a one-in-four chance of OHKOing a Gardevoir ex!  The downside is that it loses its “Colorless” type, so it wouldn’t score double damage to the Colorless weak Pokémon from Dragons.  It also would have to apply both sets of Resistance to, reducing total damage by 60, if it matches both types.

 

Ratings

 

Unlimited: 1.75/5-You could run it in a specialized deck if you wished, but a lot of the most played Pokémon lack weaknesses, so it is ineffective as a whole.

 

Modified: 3.75/5-You can run it to kill many, many annoying Pokémon, if you can make room for the needed basic Energy cards.

 

Limited: 4/5-Its incredibly evil here.  Whatever else you got, you can now add this to counter Weakness/Resistance for the rest.  Just remember the strength of Fighting types in this set and format.

 

-Otaku (nintendotaku@hotmail.com)