[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Body Slam / Hidden Power Rock
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Hitmonlee possesses two very useful qualities that give it a great niche in GSC NU: high Special Defense and high Attack. In combination with RestTalk, they allow it to reliably check special attackers that cannot use physical attacks effectively, such as Dewgong, Chinchou, and Ninetales. The fact that these Pokemon are all very common defensive options means Hitmonlee is granted a large number of opportunities to switch in and either hit something hard or fish for paralysis with Body Slam. Its high Attack and STAB Fighting-type moves also allow it to check Normal- and Rock-types, and it can 2HKO the majority of these with High Jump Kick. If a more offensive approach is desired, Hitmonlee can replace Body Slam for Hidden Power Rock, which can hit Flying- and Bug-types hard. The scarcity of viable Psychic-types makes this the preferred option over Hidden Power Ghost, and the primary target of Hidden Power, Xatu, happens to be weak to both. However, RestTalk Xatu, especially the Drill Peck variant, is still very difficult for Hitmonlee to deal with if healthy, so paralyzing it for a teammate tends to be the more effective approach.
Hitmonlee's ability to spread paralysis to an opposing team's checks to Fighting-types gives it great offensive synergy with setup sweepers like Kingler, Primeape, and Lickitung. Removing Xatu outright can also sometimes leave an opposing team without any good response to Hitmonlee. One way to achieve this is to Pursuit trap Xatu with Houndour. If Hitmonlee paralyzes Xatu with Body Slam, it becomes particularly vulnerable to a Houndour with Crunch and Pursuit. Furthermore, Houndour can use Counter to dispatch of a Xatu that tries to fight it with Drill Peck. However, Hitmonlee is not entirely without downsides—Pineco sets up Spikes against it relatively freely and can be difficult to safely deal with. It is a good idea to have a plan in place to try to ensure that Pineco is at least unable to take something down with Explosion after setting up Spikes. Pokemon that resist Normal, such as Sudowoodo, Graveler, and Pupitar, are helpful in this regard. Opposing physical sweepers like Kingler and Primeape also have an advantage over Hitmonlee, so checks to these such as Xatu and Weezing make for desirable teammates.
[SET]
name: Setup Sweeper
move 1: Meditate / Curse
move 2: High Jump Kick
move 3: Hidden Power Rock / Double-Edge
move 4: Double-Edge / Body Slam / Rapid Spin / Mach Punch
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Hitmonlee can attempt to sweep an opposing team by boosting its already high Attack and then using its strong coverage to overpower foes. Meditate is the best standalone option, as it does not lower Hitmonlee's Speed. However, if Hitmonlee is receiving Speed boosts from a Baton Passer, then Curse can be used to increase both its bulk and damage without sacrificing its Speed advantage. Hidden Power Rock is used to target the nearly omnipresent Xatu, and Double-Edge gives Hitmonlee the most damage possible against Poison-types like Weezing, Arbok, and Gloom. Hitmonlee can also sacrifice a small amount of power against Xatu and other Flying- and Bug-types by running Double-Edge over Hidden Power Rock, which frees up the last slot for Hitmonlee to use a utility move such as Body Slam for paralysis, Rapid Spin to remove Spikes, or Mach Punch for priority. However, this leaves Hitmonlee without any move to hit the rare Gastly, leaving it dependent on teammates with Pursuit such as Houndour.
Hitmonlee is generally inferior to Primeape when it comes to the role of setup sweeper due to Primeape's higher Speed and its access to Cross Chop and Rock Slide. Hitmonlee's main advantages over Primeape are its ability to hit Poison-types slightly harder with its neutral attacks and its superior special bulk. This arguably makes Hitmonlee a better receiver of Speed boosts than Primeape, so it is worth considering Baton Passers with Agility, such as Ledian, Farfetch'd, and Ariados, as potential teammates. Hitmonlee is also more suitable to switch into weaker special attacks for its team, whereas Primeape prefers to remain at near full health for as long as it can. It's important to bring a reliable method of handling Xatu when using Hitmonlee, so Pokemon like Ninetales, Mantine, and Magnemite make for useful teammates. Primeape also has a huge advantage over Hitmonlee when the two face off thanks to its potential Cross Chop critical hit OHKO, so Pokemon such as Xatu, Weezing, and Gloom are useful to put the enraged monkey in its place; the latter of the three can also help spread paralysis.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Earthworm, 15210]]
- Quality checked by: [[ReeceHughes, 508601], [FNH, 245982]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
name: RestTalk
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Body Slam / Hidden Power Rock
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Hitmonlee possesses two very useful qualities that give it a great niche in GSC NU: high Special Defense and high Attack. In combination with RestTalk, they allow it to reliably check special attackers that cannot use physical attacks effectively, such as Dewgong, Chinchou, and Ninetales. The fact that these Pokemon are all very common defensive options means Hitmonlee is granted a large number of opportunities to switch in and either hit something hard or fish for paralysis with Body Slam. Its high Attack and STAB Fighting-type moves also allow it to check Normal- and Rock-types, and it can 2HKO the majority of these with High Jump Kick. If a more offensive approach is desired, Hitmonlee can replace Body Slam for Hidden Power Rock, which can hit Flying- and Bug-types hard. The scarcity of viable Psychic-types makes this the preferred option over Hidden Power Ghost, and the primary target of Hidden Power, Xatu, happens to be weak to both. However, RestTalk Xatu, especially the Drill Peck variant, is still very difficult for Hitmonlee to deal with if healthy, so paralyzing it for a teammate tends to be the more effective approach.
Hitmonlee's ability to spread paralysis to an opposing team's checks to Fighting-types gives it great offensive synergy with setup sweepers like Kingler, Primeape, and Lickitung. Removing Xatu outright can also sometimes leave an opposing team without any good response to Hitmonlee. One way to achieve this is to Pursuit trap Xatu with Houndour. If Hitmonlee paralyzes Xatu with Body Slam, it becomes particularly vulnerable to a Houndour with Crunch and Pursuit. Furthermore, Houndour can use Counter to dispatch of a Xatu that tries to fight it with Drill Peck. However, Hitmonlee is not entirely without downsides—Pineco sets up Spikes against it relatively freely and can be difficult to safely deal with. It is a good idea to have a plan in place to try to ensure that Pineco is at least unable to take something down with Explosion after setting up Spikes. Pokemon that resist Normal, such as Sudowoodo, Graveler, and Pupitar, are helpful in this regard. Opposing physical sweepers like Kingler and Primeape also have an advantage over Hitmonlee, so checks to these such as Xatu and Weezing make for desirable teammates.
[SET]
name: Setup Sweeper
move 1: Meditate / Curse
move 2: High Jump Kick
move 3: Hidden Power Rock / Double-Edge
move 4: Double-Edge / Body Slam / Rapid Spin / Mach Punch
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Hitmonlee can attempt to sweep an opposing team by boosting its already high Attack and then using its strong coverage to overpower foes. Meditate is the best standalone option, as it does not lower Hitmonlee's Speed. However, if Hitmonlee is receiving Speed boosts from a Baton Passer, then Curse can be used to increase both its bulk and damage without sacrificing its Speed advantage. Hidden Power Rock is used to target the nearly omnipresent Xatu, and Double-Edge gives Hitmonlee the most damage possible against Poison-types like Weezing, Arbok, and Gloom. Hitmonlee can also sacrifice a small amount of power against Xatu and other Flying- and Bug-types by running Double-Edge over Hidden Power Rock, which frees up the last slot for Hitmonlee to use a utility move such as Body Slam for paralysis, Rapid Spin to remove Spikes, or Mach Punch for priority. However, this leaves Hitmonlee without any move to hit the rare Gastly, leaving it dependent on teammates with Pursuit such as Houndour.
Hitmonlee is generally inferior to Primeape when it comes to the role of setup sweeper due to Primeape's higher Speed and its access to Cross Chop and Rock Slide. Hitmonlee's main advantages over Primeape are its ability to hit Poison-types slightly harder with its neutral attacks and its superior special bulk. This arguably makes Hitmonlee a better receiver of Speed boosts than Primeape, so it is worth considering Baton Passers with Agility, such as Ledian, Farfetch'd, and Ariados, as potential teammates. Hitmonlee is also more suitable to switch into weaker special attacks for its team, whereas Primeape prefers to remain at near full health for as long as it can. It's important to bring a reliable method of handling Xatu when using Hitmonlee, so Pokemon like Ninetales, Mantine, and Magnemite make for useful teammates. Primeape also has a huge advantage over Hitmonlee when the two face off thanks to its potential Cross Chop critical hit OHKO, so Pokemon such as Xatu, Weezing, and Gloom are useful to put the enraged monkey in its place; the latter of the three can also help spread paralysis.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Earthworm, 15210]]
- Quality checked by: [[ReeceHughes, 508601], [FNH, 245982]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
Last edited:
