TheSpecialOne
formerly Santuga
http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/106.shtml
Taking over for Heysup
Ready for GP Checks! GP: 1/2 (Honko), GP: 2/2 (Aeron Ee1)
[Overview]
<p>The fifth generation brings Hitmonlee a gift in the form of a major power boost to its signature attack, Hi Jump Kick, which now reaches a frightening 234 Base Power with Reckless and STAB. To put it into perspective, a STAB Focus Punch reaches only 225 Base Power. Furthermore, Hitmonlee has a large number of priority moves which assist it in sweeping. However, Hitmonlee is very frail physically, meaning strong physical attackers can easily revenge kill it. Hitmonlee also struggles against bulky Psychic- and Ghost-types; therefore, a Pursuit user is a good partner for Hitmonlee. When comparing Hitmonlee with other strong Fighting-types in the tier, the kicking Pokemon has more powerful STAB and more varied coverage moves, as well as access to priority as advantages over Heracross, though Hitmonlee is less bulky and lacks Bug-type STAB. Compared to Medicham, Hitmonlee has a less powerful Hi Jump Kick; however, Hitmonlee is faster, can soak up a couple of special attacks, and has access to amazing priority moves, such as Mach Punch and Sucker Punch, which Medicham lacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Stone Edge / Substitute
item: Life Orb
ability: Reckless
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Reckless, Life Orb, and STAB, Hi Jump Kick reaches an amazing 304 Base Power, which wrecks everything that does not resist it. Double-Edge, which is also boosted by Reckless, hits Pokemon that resist Fighting-type moves a little harder, scoring many important 2HKOs on the less bulky variants of Celebi and Zapdos. Sucker Punch is a great move for revenge killing or to get a last hit in on a faster Pokemon before going down. Sucker Punch is also the only way this set can deal significant damage to Ghost-types, although due caution to Substitute sets is advised. As for the last slot, Stone Edge is recommended to take out Zapdos and Moltres in one shot, minimizing Life Orb recoil, but Substitute can also be used to prevent status and get a free hit in on Pokemon that would otherwise KO Hitmonlee.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is pretty simple: max Attack for maximum power and max Speed to make Hitmonlee outspeed as many Pokemon as possible. The choice between Adamant and Jolly is a matter of preference. With Adamant, Hitmonlee will get outsped by Pokemon in the base 80-86 Speed range that use a positive nature, such as Heracross, Nidoking, Mamoswine, and Rotom-H, but it will have a lot more raw power than if it were to run a Jolly nature. Hitmonlee can also use Earthquake or Mach Punch in the last slot. Earthquake deals super effective damage to Nidoking and Nidoqueen, which resist Hitmonlee's STAB, as well as hitting Fire-types like Arcanine without having to risk Hi Jump Kick missing. Mach Punch is a more reliable priority move, doing significant damage to top-tier threats such as Bisharp and Mamoswine.</p>
<p>Since Hitmonlee is not able to take on Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Slowbro effectively, a Pokemon with Pursuit is highly recommended. Snorlax can take any hit from most Psychic- and Ghost-types and trap them with Pursuit, dealing a solid amount of damage whether they stay in or switch out. Houndoom is also a good check for Psychic- and Ghost-types, threatening them with Dark Pulse and Pursuit, the first being more effective if they stay in and the latter being more effective if they switch out. Another alternative to take these Pokemon out is to inflict them with status, toxic poison being the preferable one, and trying to stall them until they faint. Donphan is a good partner to Hitmonlee since it can take physical hits well, set up Stealth Rock which helps Hitmonlee score important OHKOs against Pokemon, such as Zapdos with Stone Edge and Celebi with Double-Edge, and Rapid Spin away any entry hazards on your side of the field, reducing the amount of residual damage that Hitmonlee takes.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Mach Punch
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Band
ability: Reckless
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to having an amazing Attack stat and a reasonably high Speed stat, Hitmonlee is definitely a good user of a Choice item. When equipped with a Choice Band, Hitmonlee gains almost unmatchable power, being able to wreck slower teams without breaking a sweat. It is also an excellent wallbreaker, scoring an amazing 2HKO on most Celebi and Deoxys-D. When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Hitmonlee becomes a top-tier revenge killer, being able to sweep through faster, more offensive teams. Hi Jump Kick is Hitmonlee's main STAB move, allowing it to hit like a truck. Double-Edge is also a very good move with the boost from Reckless, and it can 2HKO most Pokemon that resist Hi Jump Kick. Stone Edge wipes out Flying- and Bug-types such as Zapdos, Moltres, Yanmega, and Venomoth, OHKOing all of them. As for the last slot, Earthquake hits Nidoqueen and Nidoking for super effective damage, and Mach Punch is an amazing move for late-game sweeping, as well as revenge killing Pokemon with priority.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread gives Hitmonlee as much sweeping potential as possible. Choice Band Hitmonlee should have a Jolly nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine and Timid Rotom-H; Adamant may be used to maximize its raw power, but it is overall an inferior choice. Choice Scarf Hitmonlee should use an Adamant nature to maximize its power. However, with a Jolly nature, Hitmonlee outpaces a lot of top threats in the metagame that are also equipped with a Choice Scarf, such as Modest Charizard, Adamant Flygon, Jolly Medicham, Timid Nidoking, Timid Rotom formes, and Modest Zapdos, plus Sharpedo and Yanmega after one turn of Speed boost, and Hitmonlee has a high chance of OHKOing all of them after Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Even with a Choice item, Hitmonlee struggles against bulky Psychic- and Ghost-types. Once again, Slowbro, Mismagius, and Rotom are excellent counters to Hitmonlee. If Hitmonlee locks itself into Hi Jump Kick, Double-Edge, Earthquake, or Mach Punch, any Ghost-type with Levitate can come in and completely wall it, since they are immune to those four attacks, leaving only Stone Edge as a viable option for Ghost-types. Therefore, a Pokemon that is able to use Pursuit is highly recommended to trap them and eliminate them. Snorlax is a very good partner for Hitmonlee, as it takes little damage from Mismagius, Rotom, and Slowbro attacks and does solid damage with either Crunch or Pursuit. Houndoom is also a good partner for Hitmonlee. While Hitmonlee takes care of specially defensive walls like Chansey and Snorlax, Houndoom can take care of Psychic- and Ghost-types with its STAB Dark-type moves such as Dark Pulse and Pursuit, working with Hitmonlee to take out a large number of Pokemon in your opponent's team. Another way of dealing with bulky Psychic- and Ghost-types is to inflict them with status, Toxic being the best; successfully stalling opponents out or leaving them at low enough HP will allow any Pokemon to come in and finish them off. Entry hazards are also extremely helpful in order to make Hitmonlee's job easier to perform. With Stealth Rock on the field, Hitmonlee can get important OHKOs against Pokemon such as Zapdos with Stone Edge and Celebi with Double-Edge. Donphan is a good partner for Hitmonlee since it can lay down Stealth Rock, can Rapid Spin away any entry hazards present on your side of the field, and can also sponge physical attacks aimed at Hitmonlee.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Hitmonlee can also use Bulk Up, shoring up its low Defense while further increasing its Attack; however, this is not as effective as the sets listed above. An Endure + Reversal combination is very risky, but its payoff is amazing if you manage to pull it off. Toxic can be used in one of the sets above if you desperately need to inflict status on Pokemon that wall Hitmonlee. Rapid Spin can catch the opponent off guard, especially if they are laying hazards with Deoxys-D. Another move Hitmonlee can use is Foresight, which not only helps Rapid Spin variants but also allows Hitmonlee to hit Ghost-types with its amazingly powerful STAB attack, Hi Jump Kick. Knock Off is also pretty useful since it can ruin your opponent's set, most notably Eviolite users, and Hitmonlee is quite effective at luring in Gligar and Dusclops. Limber is also a good ability for Hitmonlee, making it immune to paralysis and allowing it to switch in on Chansey with impunity. With this ability, Close Combat is the preferable choice. Even though Close Combat has slightly lower Base Power, it has perfect accuracy and does not inflict recoil on a miss like Hi Jump Kick.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Bulky Psychic-types are Hitmonlee's most effective counters, most notably Deoxys-D and Slowbro, since they can take any move it throws at them barring Sucker Punch, which they can easily dodge by using a supporting move such as Spikes or Toxic. Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom can also stop Hitmonlee from sweeping. Both are faster and are immune to Hitmonlee's two main attacks, Hi Jump Kick and Double-Edge, and only fear Sucker Punch, which is easily countered by Substitute. This leaves Stone Edge as the only "reliable" move Hitmonlee has to deal with them. Dusclops is the most effective Hitmonlee counter as it is immune to Hitmonlee's main attacks, takes almost nothing from Stone Edge and Earthquake, and can cripple it with Will-O-Wisp, leaving Hitmonlee completely useless. Even if Hitmonlee uses Substitute, Seismic Toss or Night Shade will always break Hitmonlee's Substitutes and force a switch as Hitmonlee simply can't do anything to threaten Dusclops. Another way of dealing with Hitmonlee is to use Protect on its Hi Jump Kick, causing massive recoil damage.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Unburden has a lot of potential on Hitmonlee, especially when pinch Berries become available for use. A combination of Endure + Reversal with Liechi Berry and the Unburden ability can sweep through entire teams, but it is easily killed by any priority move. Another option is a Fake Out + Normal Gem combination with three other attacks. However, by using Unburden, Hi Jump Kick loses the amazing extra power that Reckless provides.</p>
