|
-
Limber
- Blocks paralysis.
-
Reckless
- Increases the power of recoil moves by 20%.
|
Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
50
|
- |
241 |
304 |
- |
| Atk |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| Def |
53
|
127 |
142 |
205 |
225 |
| SpA |
35
|
95 |
106 |
169 |
185 |
| SpD |
110
|
230 |
256 |
319 |
350 |
| Spe |
87
|
189 |
210 |
273 |
300 |
Capable of practically OHKOing or 2HKOing everything in UU this Hitmonlee set can rip though entire UU teams with its incredible type coverage and the power boost from Life Orb.
Close Combat and Earthquake serve to annihilate the main physical walls of UU while the sheer power of Earthquake and Stone Edge 2HKO the Special walls unless they invest in large amounts of Defense. Blaze Kick does more damage than Close Combat to the defensive Grass types like Meganium and allows you to hit the ones that actually resist Close Combat like Vileplume.
Bulk Up may seem like an odd alternative with Close Combat lowering your defenses but it is Hitmonlee’s only way of increasing his attack aside from Meditate and it can help in aiding a sweep.
Close Combat is a reliable STAB move and provides good type coverage along with Stone Edge. Earthquake’s type coverage would normally be redundant with the two previous moves but is generally a very good option in UU as it covers Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Toxicroak who could prove to be annoying with their resistances to Fighting and Rock. Mach Punch can get you out of a tough spot against faster opponents while Blaze Kick is an alternative option that allows you to do more damage to Grass-types than Close Combat.
Jolly is the preferred nature as with it, Hitmonlee manages to hit the wonderful 300 mark, beating Jolly Toxicroak and Nidoking and allowing it to outspeed neutral base 100 Pokémon.
With Choice Scarf boosting your Speed, Mach Punch can be ditched so you can use both Blaze Kick and Earthquake. Alternatively, you can run Reversal which, with the help of residual damage, comes into play at around 10.4% HP (150 base power).
This moveset is less viable outside of UU due to the abundance of SandStream and Hail teams as well as the ever-present threat of Spikes in OU, but in UU it can be quite the terror. The idea is to use Counter on a physical attack, OHKOing the opponent while you survive at 1 HP due to Focus Sash. You now have a 250 base power move with which to wreck havoc. Close Combat is still an alternative to Reversal if you find yourself wanting to attack without restriction and the Defense drop Close Combat provides can be helpful in tandem with Hitmonlee’s Hasty nature to ensure maximum damage when using Counter.
Stone Edge provides type coverage, while Meditate can help you gain an attack boost on the switch or Earthquake to help cover Poison types.
Similarly to the previous set, Sand Stream and Hail limit this sets viability in OU play but in UU it gains more merit as an effective sweeper. Substitute an Endure allow Hitmonlee to get its HP low enough to maximize Reversal’s power and the choice between them is merely up to preference. It should be noted that with Substitute you gain the option to now Bulk Up behind the safety of a Sub instead of on the switch with Endure
Other Options
Hitmonlee has access to Rapid Spin, and Hi Jump Kick is an alternative to Close Combat if you don’t like its Defense lowering attributes.
EVs
Max Attack and Max Speed are standard on most sets, with a Jolly nature to take advantage of Hitmonlee’s’ speed. The Salac Reversal set requires that your HP be indivisible by four, thus enabling Hitmonlee to get down to 1 HP after four Substitutes.
Opinion
The transition robbed Hitmonlee of it’s physical Hidden Power but gave it a reliable STAB attack in Close Combat and some other new toys to play with like Stone Edge and physical Blaze Kick, It has a handy resistance to Stealth Rock which is always handy when switching in , but Hitmonlee is still as frail as ever and has to be very selective with what he switches into.
Counters
In OU, Gliscor, Cresselia and Weezing are the safest switches into Hitmonlee, shrugging off Blaze Kick and Stone Edge. In UU, Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Toxicroak all make decent switch-ins, though they need to avoid Earthquake and in the case of Toxicroak, Blaze Kick. Claydol works very well with resistances to most of Hitmonlee's attacks, good defense and HP, and STAB Psychic. Rotom, Altaria and Scyther outspeed Hitmonlee and can switch in safely on Close Combat and Earthquake; but have to watch out for Stone Edge. Scyther and Altaria hit Lee's weak defense with Aerial Ace while Rotom can it threaten it with a burn.