Kecleon, the Color Swap Pokemon, is making its Pokemon GO debut after Chespin Community Day. Pokemon GO players have gone years without being able to claim their Platinum Hoenn Region badges in the game because Niantic has been withholding Kecleon all this time. Because of its unique ability and a history of getting surprise Pokemon debuts wrong, Niantic has taken its time to get this one right.
Niantic likes to have special Pokemon surprises after some Community Days. Starting with Meltan in 2018, then scattered around in the years since. Community Days may be a mixed bag of Pokemon that players care to find, either due to its availability before or a repeat of a past Community Day offering, and potentially questionable shiny spawn rates. Chespin Community Day's surprise may go down as the biggest Community Day after-party in Pokemon GO as Kecleon and its unique ability Protean finally make its debut in the game.
Trainers in Australia and New Zealand are reporting that Kecleon, the Color Swap Pokemon, is appearing at PokeStops after Chespin Community Day. Another post-Community Day surprise Pokemon like Gimmighoul, it has a different interaction than any other Pokemon, and it will be relatively rare to find. Kecleon's silhouette will not show on the game's Pokemon tracker. Trainers will have to tap on PokeStop Photo Discs and look closely for the animated outline of Kecleon moving on the screen. Trainers will be able to check PokeStops for the Kecleon outline from distance but will have to go to that stop to catch it.
Pokemon GO players will not be able to spin the PokeStop until Kecleon is caught. Trainers are also advised to be in a place dense with PokeStops, as the spawn rates for Kecleon may be about one to every 10 or 20 PokeStops. Kecleon will begin spawning when Community Day ends and there are reports that there is a fairly forgiving spawn timer for this Pokemon encounter. As of writing, it is unclear how long Kecleon's availability will continue after this Community Day.
Pokemon GO players have been asking for Kecleon for years. Hoenn Pokemon were added to the game in 2017, but players quickly noticed that the fan-favorite camouflaged Pokemon was missing. Niantic finally acknowledged that it was working on a special release for Kecleon in 2021, but it has taken more than a year for that promise to be fulfilled. Kecleon's presence in the game may not be viable for much outside of collecting, but the saga of its absence is finally resolved.
Pokemon GO is out now on Android and iOS devices.
Source: Pokemon GO Hub
