Best team for Kecleon in Pokemon GO

Kecleon is known in the main series for being a very niche pick in single battles, thanks to its utility and signature Color Change ability. But its addition to Pokemon GO lacks this form of utility. As such, players everywhere who have had the chance to encounter this pocket monster may be wondering how easily they can use it in the mobile game's Battle League.

However, as many players will know, the competition is incredibly stiff. It seems that every new addition to the roster either breaks the competitive scene, or goes completely unused. With this in mind, many may be wondering how well Kecleon stands up to the competition. After all, a defensive Normal-type cannot be that bad.

---

Best team for Kecleon in Pokemon GO's Great League

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

There is no sugar-coating it; Kecleon is almost entirely unusable in Pokemon GO. With it now being restricted to the pure Normal typing and having no Normal moves in its arsenal, it has almost no offensive prowess. With the metagame for the Great and Ultra Leagues being heavily centered around Fighting-types, pure Normals need some serious bulk and damage if they want a chance at success.

With its moveset being as bad as it is, Kecleon can only fit into the position of being a Dark or Ghost-type attacker. While this serves it well in the Premier Cup, this playstyle is very inconsistent and far from the best possible option. If players want a Normal-type with options for dealing with Ghosts, Lickitung serves as a much better choice thanks to its access to Lick and Body Slam.

For those who truly want to use Kecleon, it serves best with a moveset of Lick, Foul Play, and Flamethrower. This moveset allows Kecleon to serve as a decent Ghost-type check, and Flamethrower allows it to hit a decent chunk of Great League's metagame for neutral damage.

As for its two other teammates, Carbink is the best defensive tank in the metagame right now thanks to its astronomical defense stat and Fairy typing. Medicham serves to take out the counters to Carbink like Registeel and Galarian Stunfisk. As for Kecleon, it can do a decent job at taking care of the Ghost-types that Medicham can barely hit.

Sadly, Kecleon's stats and poor movepool leaves it with no viability in Ultra nor Master League. This is cemented by its low combat power max of around 2,300.

---

How to improve Kecleon in Pokemon GO

Kecleon using its Color Change ability in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The best way Niantic can make Kecleon good is by giving Normal-type attacks. However, its access to Normal-type attacks in the main series does not leave very many options. Giving it access to Scratch as a fast attack would greatly increase its damage output, but leave it open to being walled off by Ghost and Steel-types.

While this would most likely be the only Normal-type move Kecleon would hypothetically receive, it would add some much-needed Normal damage to its kit. This one change could make it more on-par with its fellow Normal-type and metagame staple, Lickitung.