New Breed
ka$h
HITMONGOD
After being bored the other night and looking for something to do, I was asking around on IRC in the channel #rarelyused for something cool to use. Molk suggested Hitmonlee and I must admit Hitmonlee was a Pokemon I often overlooked due to the plethora of Ghost and Psychic Pokemon in the tier, not to mention the popularity of Nidoqueen. Even with all these Pokemon that "supposably" stop a Hitmonlee sweep I decided to attempt to build a team around this almost forgotten powerhouse. As you can see by the peak and the title this team had some success, Peaking #1 with a 26-0 record. I have decided to retire this team because well once you hit #1 the only way to go is down lol, without further ado onto the team....
Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
If there is one thing Hitmonlee appreciates more than Ghost & Psychic types being removed its hazards. Smeargle is easily the best hazard user in the RU tier and it's easy to see why. Access to Spore and a workable Speed stat give Smeargle the ability to do his job 95% the time, taking out one Pokemon with Spore and then setting up at least Stealth Rock and one layer of spikes. Getting these hazards up early in the game can often spell doom for my opponent and puts Hitmonlee's checks on a timer. Whirlwind was chosen in the last slot over Explosion or Magic Coat to give Smeargle the ability to phase something out that wants to set up a Substitute or use a stat boosting move.
Rotom @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
I knew that I needed a spinblocker to keep my hazards on the field and with Cofagrigus saying goodbye to RU and moving onto bigger and better things, the spinblocker slot came down to Spiritomb and Rotom. Man do I gotta give my boy Rotom some props, I can't recall my opponent ever successfully spinning on me and with some smart switching even has the ability to beat out Cryogonal. SubWisp Rotom is so underrated and as of right now is easily my favourite spinblocker, who the hell who would miss Cofagrigus when we have this little beauty lurking in the tier. SubWisp Rotom is a reliable check to any Gallade that doesn't carry Shadow Sneak and can easily take 2 unboosted Shadow Sneaks and either break a Substitute or straight out Will-O-Wisp. The random Hp Ev's might seem weird but they serve a specific purpose, 56 Hp allows me to survive a +2 Aqua Jet from an Adamant LO Kabutops after 2 rounds of Stealth Rock.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SAtk / 32 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Slack Off
- Toxic
I needed a check to Fire types like Entei and Scarf Typhlosion and this is the role Slowking serves on the team. Although this Slowking doesn't beat Banded Entei 1v1, Banded Entei is currently much less common as most opt for Life Orb, Flame Plate or Grass Gem to avoid being set up on by Pokemon like Kabutops and Omastar. Slowking acts as the glue to the team, often being able to take a vital hit and put something into KO range for one of my other Pokemon. Regenerator is such an amazing ability and Slowking takes full advantage of it, often pivoting around half my opponents team while racking up entry hazard damage on my opponent to help ease Hitmonlee. Fire Blast is such a cool move a Water type and I can't count how many times I have nabbed a Grass type on the switch in. The 32 Speed Ev's allow me to outspeed other Slowking and everything else that aims to outspeed Slowking like Escavalier, which is rather important.
Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Focus Blast
One of, if not the best Pokemon in the RU metagame right now. Sceptile forces so many switches and to have a Pokemon like that with the move Substitue AND hazards is too good to pass up on. Being able to Substitute down into Overgrow range and deal that extra damage on a massive threat is often vital to the teams success. Sceptile deals with Rock/Water types such as Kabutops and Omastar while also dealing with the Bulky Waters like Slowking, Qwilfish and Lanturn. This team lacks a Choice Scarf user and Sceptiles Speed is just really handy in alot of situations. Im just glad I was able to find a spot for Sceptile on my team.
Drapion @ Choice Band
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Cross Poison
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Hitmonlee's partner in crime, Drapion is such a cool Pokemon and Banded Drapion is pretty anti metagame at the moment. A few Pokemon were trialled in this slot before Banded Drapion such as Banded Spiritomb providing a dual Ghost core with Rotom and also Skuntank, but once I tested Drapion I never went back. Most people don't expect the Band and often switch in something frail to outspeed me on my assumed Swords Dance or Taunt, only to get completely destoryed by this monster. Drapion's role for the team is to eliminate those pesky Ghost & Psychic types hopefully leaving Hitmonlee with an opportunity to clean sweep. I must say I am pleased with how well this set works and it should really be used more.
Hitmonlee @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Mach Punch
The man himself, the reason the team was built and the reason for alot of my wins. There have been numerous times when I was down on my luck and the match looked grim, only for Hitmonlee to come in and clean up 4 or 5 Pokemon. Most people expect the Fake Out + Normal Gem set but I don't know why, imo Fighting Gem + Mach Punch is the way to go, Mach Punch allows me to bypass priority like Absol's Sucker Punch and utterly destroy it. Its also useful for dealing the last 50% to a Sceptile with the Fighting Gem intact as well as hitting something like Tangrowth for 60% + who could otherwise stop my sweep. 160 Speed Ev's allows me to hit 500 Speed after Unburdun and seemed like as good a mark as any to aim to hit, I was lazy when it came to Hitmonlee's Ev's but if anyone has a better mark that I should aim for please feel free to suggest.
Weaknesses:
- Escavalier
- Druddigon
- Scarf Galvantula
Conclusion:Thats pretty much it. This team was pretty fun to use, I could have easily peaked higher if I wanted to test out my luck but it would only be a matter of time before I before I got outplayed or just plain haxed. Thanks to everyone that fully reads this RMT and I hope I have opened your eyes about a massive threat in today's metagame HITMONGOD.
Importable:
Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Rotom @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
Slowking (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SAtk / 32 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Sceptile (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Focus Blast
Drapion (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Cross Poison
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Hitmonlee (M) @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Mach Punch
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Rotom @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
Slowking (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SAtk / 32 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Sceptile (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Focus Blast
Drapion (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Cross Poison
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Hitmonlee (M) @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Mach Punch