I’ve been meaning to finish this for a long time, so I had a chat with Lee and we’ve pretty much finished it off. The whole analysis was a little lacking, so it was more of a revamp than anything, but the sets have been improved slightly.
I’d also like to note that the “Priority” set has not been edited by me, that was added to the page after a edit by KD24 as far as I know. But if people want to comment on anything feel free.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/kecleon
[SET]
Name: Choice Band
Move 1: Return / Body Slam
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 3: Focus Punch
Move 4: Trick / Rock Slide
Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Kecleon may well be left in a position where it won’t be able to utilize its main STAB move at full power; Return is still a strong physical attack to have in your arsenal. If you don’t mind the drop in power, Body Slam can be used as the secondary effect of a 30% paralysis chance is nothing to disregard (it’s beneficial thanks to Kecleon’s poor Speed). The combination of Fighting and Dark-type moves offers excellent coverage, with only Toxicroak and Heracross being able to boast a resistance to both. Sucker Punch helps out Kecleon a lot, due to its priority and Kecleon’s low Speed stat, providing you can predict well enough. Focus Punch can really hurt incoming walls like Golem and Aggron, though it will rely on good prediction much like Sucker Punch. Trick is nice if you can manage to give that Choice Band to a special based Pokémon or a wall, though Kecleon will invite physical based Pokémon most of the time. Rock Slide is an interesting choice as it allows you to hit incoming Ghost-types, especially Froslass and Drifblim, which would be impossible if you opt for Trick. It's also useful against Articuno and Aerodactyl.</p>
[SET]
Name: Priority
Move 1: Substitute / Snatch
Move 2: Magic Coat / Thunder Wave
Move 3: Sucker Punch
Move 4: Focus Punch
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Instead of straight out attacking like the previous set, this set relies on prediction and the use of priority moves to make up for Kecleon's below average Speed.</p>
<p>Kecleon often falls victim to status moves as his low Speed prevents him from using Substitute first. However with Magic Coat, you can bounce back any status attack and give Kecleon the advantage. This also provides Kecleon a chance to set up Substitute without problem. Thunder Wave can be included to ensure you can create a Substitute before taking damage. When under the Substitute, the prediction game starts. Sucker Punch can take out any damaged, fast, frail sweepers who rely solely on Speed and try to break the Substitute. Focus Punch can also be used behind the Substitute, especially if Kecleon's Color Change causes it to become a Fighting-type. The type combo of Sucker Punch (Dark) and Focus Punch (Fighting) also provides a neutral hit against every Pokemon (barring Heracross and Toxicroak) in the game.</p>
<p>Snatch is a decent option over Substitute as it allows you not only to steal your opponent's Substitute but also steal stat boosts as well, which has the potential to make Kecleon much more dangerous.</p>
<p>The EVs focus on Kecleon's good Special Defense, allowing it to take any special attacks coming his way. 240 HP EVs allow it to create 5 Substitutes when factoring in Leftovers.</p>
<p>If you feel Kecleon needs more attacking power, an alternate EV spread of 240 HP / 236 Atk / 32 SpD with an Adamant Nature can be used. This provides Kecleon a way of killing many more threats with Focus Punch and Sucker Punch.</p>
[SET]
Name: Sleep Talk
Move 1: Return / Body Slam
Move 2: Toxic / Fire Punch
Move 3: Rest
Move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Kecleon’s high base Special Defense makes him a candidate for a special wall in the lower tiers, but due to his lack of reliable recovery, rest talking is Kecleon’s best chance of surviving throughout a battle. It’s a simple move set, use Rest when you’re low on HP and Sleep Talk when you need to. Return is Kecleon’s best attacking move, and can be paired with either Toxic or Fire Punch. If you prefer to use Body Slam, Fire Punch would probably be the better option as the paralysis could conflict with switch-ins that you would’ve preferred to poison with Toxic.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>In terms of support moves, Kecleon learns Stealth Rock and Trick Room which can both be helpful. Kecleon also learns status moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic. If you’re looking to use some different physical attacks, Kecleon can use Shadow Sneak, Drain Punch, Shadow Claw, Brick Break, Ice Punch and ThunderPunch. Kecleon does have a wide special move pool and access to Nasty Plot, but generally a 60 base Special Attack stat isn’t enough, and after a Nasty Plot Kecleon’s usually too slow to make a real use of it. But if you’re looking for a special attacking set, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ground, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Grass Knot and Swift (which is sadly illegal with Nasty Plot) are some of the best options. Kecleon also gets Skill Swap so you can get rid of the Color Change ability and Counter can be useful as most players will try to take down Kecleon with physical moves.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Kecleon is incredibly slow, so Speed EVs are generally a lost cause. Maxing out HP is almost always the way to go, since you won't be out-speeding much you'll want to make Kecleon as bulky as possible. On the Choice Band set you'll want to max out the Attack stat to ensure Kecleon can do some damage. With other sets it's best to use a healthy Special Defense investment, as it's Kecleon's most appealing stat. Defensive Kecleon will want a Careful or Sassy nature, while the Choice Band set will want an Adamant nature.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Kecleon is a very unique Pokémon as it’s the only thing to have the ability Color Change. It’s a strange ability that’s rather hit-or-miss as to whether it will aid you, or hinder you in battle. Kecleon’s stats are tolerable for the most part, with Attack being above average and Special Defense quite impressive. Kecleon’s move pool is vast with a lot of usable options, a good Pokémon to try out in the lower tiers.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Countering Kecleon can sometimes be quite difficult, especially as the Choice Band version can either hurt you or Trick Choice Band onto your counter which may well be problematic. Rotom and Banette generally wouldn’t mind switching in on Trick, as they are likely to be using that move itself and would be free to put a stop to Kecleon with Will-o-Wisp. Sableye is in a similar situation, being immune to Normal and Fighting and having access to Will-o-Wisp. Weezing will want to avoid Trick, and can also use Will-o-Wisp to lower Kecleon’s attack. Solrock is a Pokémon that won’t mind getting a Choice Band, but might have to be careful of Sucker Punch.</p>
<p>The best way of dealing with Kecleon is to keep track of what type it is, if you can manage to do that, hitting it with super effective attacks will bring it down rather quickly, especially if you can strike it with physical moves. Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop and Primeape are quite good counters to the Priority set.</p>
___________________________________________________________
We also felt it was best to remove the Special Attacking set completely, and instead moved all the special options into “Other Options”.
So, comments are appreciated.
I’d also like to note that the “Priority” set has not been edited by me, that was added to the page after a edit by KD24 as far as I know. But if people want to comment on anything feel free.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/kecleon
[SET]
Name: Choice Band
Move 1: Return / Body Slam
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 3: Focus Punch
Move 4: Trick / Rock Slide
Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Kecleon may well be left in a position where it won’t be able to utilize its main STAB move at full power; Return is still a strong physical attack to have in your arsenal. If you don’t mind the drop in power, Body Slam can be used as the secondary effect of a 30% paralysis chance is nothing to disregard (it’s beneficial thanks to Kecleon’s poor Speed). The combination of Fighting and Dark-type moves offers excellent coverage, with only Toxicroak and Heracross being able to boast a resistance to both. Sucker Punch helps out Kecleon a lot, due to its priority and Kecleon’s low Speed stat, providing you can predict well enough. Focus Punch can really hurt incoming walls like Golem and Aggron, though it will rely on good prediction much like Sucker Punch. Trick is nice if you can manage to give that Choice Band to a special based Pokémon or a wall, though Kecleon will invite physical based Pokémon most of the time. Rock Slide is an interesting choice as it allows you to hit incoming Ghost-types, especially Froslass and Drifblim, which would be impossible if you opt for Trick. It's also useful against Articuno and Aerodactyl.</p>
[SET]
Name: Priority
Move 1: Substitute / Snatch
Move 2: Magic Coat / Thunder Wave
Move 3: Sucker Punch
Move 4: Focus Punch
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Instead of straight out attacking like the previous set, this set relies on prediction and the use of priority moves to make up for Kecleon's below average Speed.</p>
<p>Kecleon often falls victim to status moves as his low Speed prevents him from using Substitute first. However with Magic Coat, you can bounce back any status attack and give Kecleon the advantage. This also provides Kecleon a chance to set up Substitute without problem. Thunder Wave can be included to ensure you can create a Substitute before taking damage. When under the Substitute, the prediction game starts. Sucker Punch can take out any damaged, fast, frail sweepers who rely solely on Speed and try to break the Substitute. Focus Punch can also be used behind the Substitute, especially if Kecleon's Color Change causes it to become a Fighting-type. The type combo of Sucker Punch (Dark) and Focus Punch (Fighting) also provides a neutral hit against every Pokemon (barring Heracross and Toxicroak) in the game.</p>
<p>Snatch is a decent option over Substitute as it allows you not only to steal your opponent's Substitute but also steal stat boosts as well, which has the potential to make Kecleon much more dangerous.</p>
<p>The EVs focus on Kecleon's good Special Defense, allowing it to take any special attacks coming his way. 240 HP EVs allow it to create 5 Substitutes when factoring in Leftovers.</p>
<p>If you feel Kecleon needs more attacking power, an alternate EV spread of 240 HP / 236 Atk / 32 SpD with an Adamant Nature can be used. This provides Kecleon a way of killing many more threats with Focus Punch and Sucker Punch.</p>
[SET]
Name: Sleep Talk
Move 1: Return / Body Slam
Move 2: Toxic / Fire Punch
Move 3: Rest
Move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Kecleon’s high base Special Defense makes him a candidate for a special wall in the lower tiers, but due to his lack of reliable recovery, rest talking is Kecleon’s best chance of surviving throughout a battle. It’s a simple move set, use Rest when you’re low on HP and Sleep Talk when you need to. Return is Kecleon’s best attacking move, and can be paired with either Toxic or Fire Punch. If you prefer to use Body Slam, Fire Punch would probably be the better option as the paralysis could conflict with switch-ins that you would’ve preferred to poison with Toxic.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>In terms of support moves, Kecleon learns Stealth Rock and Trick Room which can both be helpful. Kecleon also learns status moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic. If you’re looking to use some different physical attacks, Kecleon can use Shadow Sneak, Drain Punch, Shadow Claw, Brick Break, Ice Punch and ThunderPunch. Kecleon does have a wide special move pool and access to Nasty Plot, but generally a 60 base Special Attack stat isn’t enough, and after a Nasty Plot Kecleon’s usually too slow to make a real use of it. But if you’re looking for a special attacking set, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ground, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Grass Knot and Swift (which is sadly illegal with Nasty Plot) are some of the best options. Kecleon also gets Skill Swap so you can get rid of the Color Change ability and Counter can be useful as most players will try to take down Kecleon with physical moves.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Kecleon is incredibly slow, so Speed EVs are generally a lost cause. Maxing out HP is almost always the way to go, since you won't be out-speeding much you'll want to make Kecleon as bulky as possible. On the Choice Band set you'll want to max out the Attack stat to ensure Kecleon can do some damage. With other sets it's best to use a healthy Special Defense investment, as it's Kecleon's most appealing stat. Defensive Kecleon will want a Careful or Sassy nature, while the Choice Band set will want an Adamant nature.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Kecleon is a very unique Pokémon as it’s the only thing to have the ability Color Change. It’s a strange ability that’s rather hit-or-miss as to whether it will aid you, or hinder you in battle. Kecleon’s stats are tolerable for the most part, with Attack being above average and Special Defense quite impressive. Kecleon’s move pool is vast with a lot of usable options, a good Pokémon to try out in the lower tiers.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Countering Kecleon can sometimes be quite difficult, especially as the Choice Band version can either hurt you or Trick Choice Band onto your counter which may well be problematic. Rotom and Banette generally wouldn’t mind switching in on Trick, as they are likely to be using that move itself and would be free to put a stop to Kecleon with Will-o-Wisp. Sableye is in a similar situation, being immune to Normal and Fighting and having access to Will-o-Wisp. Weezing will want to avoid Trick, and can also use Will-o-Wisp to lower Kecleon’s attack. Solrock is a Pokémon that won’t mind getting a Choice Band, but might have to be careful of Sucker Punch.</p>
<p>The best way of dealing with Kecleon is to keep track of what type it is, if you can manage to do that, hitting it with super effective attacks will bring it down rather quickly, especially if you can strike it with physical moves. Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop and Primeape are quite good counters to the Priority set.</p>
___________________________________________________________
We also felt it was best to remove the Special Attacking set completely, and instead moved all the special options into “Other Options”.
So, comments are appreciated.
Adamant – Color Change