At this point in Pokemon GO, the majority of the main game generations have been implemented into the game with hundreds of Pokemon to encounter and catch. Even with Pokemon from the Galar region being implemented, though, there's still Pokemon missing from older generations. The third generation specifically is missing only one Pokemon and it's not even a legendary or mythical Pokemon.
Kecleon is a pure Normal-type Pokemon from the Hoenn region that has yet to appear in Pokemon GO. While not being an especially popular Pokemon compared to many others, many players have been waiting for its release so that all of the third generation could properly be caught in-game.
While Niantic has been quiet about Kecleon for a long time, a recent interview with Gfinity Esports has revealed that the Pokemon has not been forgotten. Not only is the Pokemon still having work done on it, Kecleon is confirmed to be getting a special release when it is finally ready for Pokemon GO.
Those unfamilar with Kecleon may be confused on what would cause so much work to go into a non-legendary pure Normal-type Pokemon. It actually has to do with Kecleon's ability from the mainline games, known as Color Change.
Pokemon GO currently doesn't use abilities like the games from the main series, but Kecleon's entire existance is centered around its ability. This is due to Pokemon's third generation being the generation to introduce abilities as a mechanic in-game, causing multiple Pokemon from the Hoenn region to have special mechanics that stem from their ability. A big example of this is Castform's form changes based on the weather. While this has been translated as players just being able to capture Castform's different forms as separate Pokemon depending on the real world's weather, this cannot be done for Kecleon.
Color Change is a special ability exclusive to Kecleon that changes its actual type to the type of the last move that hit it. With Pokemon in Pokemon GO only knowing two moves normally, this can obviously cause some interesting scenarios if a players uses Kecleon in a battle. Further issues may arise if Kecleon is a raid boss, considering how many Pokemon usually attack a raid boss at once with many different moves.
It is unknown how Niantic will be handling Kecleon and how it functions, but it seems clear that it will be retaining it's Color Change ability in some way due to how long it's taken to be released. Until an official announcement, though, it's unknown when player will be able to catch this Pokemon.
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS devices.
Source: Gfinity Esports