Metal Sonic
Resurgence
[Overview]
<p>Hitmonlee is one of the few Pokemon in the game—let alone UU—with the ability Unburden. With its ability, Hitmonlee can double its Speed immediately and become an extremely threatening sweeper, like Yanmega and Sharpedo. That's not all Hitmonlee has going for it: it has a whopping base 120 Attack, a decent base 87 Speed, and great offensive options to utilize them with. Hitmonlee has a surprisingly high Special Defense to boot, which allows it to survive extremely powerful special attacks, such as Zapdos's Thunderbolt and Raikou's Extrasensory, and retaliate with a powerful attack of its own. Unfortunately, the fun ends there; Hitmonlee has an extremely low base Defense of 53, which makes it difficult for it to survive even resisted physical hits. However, with sufficient team support and good play, Hitmonlee can sweep whole teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Endure + Reversal Sweeper
move 1: Endure
move 2: Reversal
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Close Combat
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Stacked boosts have always been a force to reckon with in battle. Hitmonlee uses this principle as its strategy for success. By consuming its Liechi Berry, it is able to obtain a power boost of 150%. Using up its item also permits the activation of Unburden, doubling its Speed and allowing it to outspeed the entirety of the UU metagame, including Kingdra in rain and Choice Scarf Raikou. Finally, 1 HP Reversal is a 200 Base Power nuke that can destroy all opponents that do not resist it. All this can be triggered in just one turn by using the move Endure, the catalyst for ultimate destruction. The science behind its power is this: Reversal's 200 Base Power, equivalent to Snorlax's Selfdestruct in this generation, multiplied by 1.5x because of Liechi Berry then another 1.5x thanks to STAB, results in an eventual raw Base Power destruction of 450, which will OHKO all Pokemon that do not resist it.</p>
<p>Hitmonlee is a flexible and versatile fighter, and can use various moves to break down its counters. Stone Edge is a popular choice, as it is able to bombard the Bug- and Flying-type enemies that resist Reversal; Earthquake is another hot option to take down the various Poison-types. If Earthquake is not needed, Close Combat, which is also boosted by its STAB, is an option to crush opponents while Hitmonlee is healthy. These powerful attacks are boosted by its Liechi Berry as well, therefore making no difference if they are used at 25% HP or at 1 HP. If Hitmonlee happens to consume the Liechi Berry, yet not quite at the 1 HP to unleash Reversal, it can spam the relevant coverage move to destroy enemies before it, only using Endure to maximize Reversal when absolutely necessary.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hitmonlee's blazing Speed lets it outspeed even the fastest foes, such as Kingdra under rain and Choice Scarf Raikou and OHKO them with Reversal. In order to lure opponents into triggering Endure, Hitmonlee can elect to feint its opponents with Fake Out, causing its opponents to let down their guard and attack Hitmonlee, only to become victims of the Endure and Reversal combination. Mach Punch is a plausible option to strike the opponent with priority, being able to bypass the priority of other Pokemon after Endure and bypass the Speed of other Pokemon before Enduring.</p>
<p>Some enemies have priority to outspeed Hitmonlee, such as Azumarill, Honchkrow, Bisharp, and Houndoom, and KO it at 1 HP. Mach Punch can be used to finish off these weakened enemies. Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed can take down Hitmonlee in the blink of an eye, so it should be destroyed before Hitmonlee appears on the battlefield. Gligar and Qwilfish resist Reversal, and have massive Defense stats that allow them to tank multiple Reversals. To sweep, Hitmonlee will need aid from teammates to either severely weaken or remove them. Offensive Water- and Electric-types, such as Hidden Power Ice Raikou and Earthquake Swampert, can eradicate these foes with their STAB attacks. Psychic- and Ghost-types also resist Reversal. A Dark-type, such as Zoroark or Honchkrow, can be called upon to eliminate these threats from the field. Abomasnow can create an unnatural blizzard to buffet Hitmonlee with ice, rendering the EndRev strategy useless. A manual weather setter can be used to summon sun or rain to neutralize the hail after Abomasnow is defeated. Hitmonlee is helpless against opponents who drop poisoned Toxic Spikes onto the field, therefore it requires the aid of Poison-types or Rapid Spin users such as Blastoise or Claydol in removing them before entering the field.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Bulk Up set can be used to patch up Hitmonlee's weak Defense stat while complementing its high Special Defense; however, it does not have synergy with its two main attacking moves, Hi Jump Kick and Close Combat, as Hi Jump Kick can cause problems with a miss and Close Combat negates Bulk Up boosts. A Reckless set with Life Orb has a niche thanks to Mach Punch, but is outclassed by Mienshao as a faster and more powerful sweeper. Knock Off is an option to remove items from bulky enemies such as Eviolite Gligar and Porygon2, or Leftovers from common switch-ins such as Suicune, Slowbro, and Crobat. This gives Hitmonlee an easier time beating its checks over the course of the match. However, this sacrifices an important coverage move. Hitmonlee can fulfill a niche as a Rapid Spin user, but is generally a much better offensive Pokemon than a support Pokemon. Close Combat can be used with Limber if you want reliability with power, although it's then outclassed by the other Fighting-types in UU. Choice Band can be used for Hi Jump Kick spam, but not only is it outclassed by Mienshao and Heracross, it is also unhealthy to be spamming Hi Jump Kick with Ghost-types so common in UU.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Gligar is a unique enemy, using Eviolite to become an unbreakable wall with a resistance to Fighting-type attacks, and Earthquake or Toxic to finish off 1 HP Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee therefore must enlist the help of its allies to take it out. Psychic-types, such as Slowbro, Mew, Cresselia, and Uxie, can resist a powerful Reversal and strike back with a super effective Psychic. However, they are unable to take more than one hit and must be kept healthy in order to survive. Ghost-types can also attack with Shadow Ball, as Reversal cannot touch them at all. Some of them, such as Sableye and Cofagrigus, can even use Will-O-Wisp to burn and cripple Hitmonlee for the rest of the match. However, note that Froslass and Chandelure should run from Stone Edge. Finally, Poison-types are also able to resist Fighting-type attacks and strike back with Toxic, causing Hitmonlee to be unable to live indefinitely at 1 HP. Qwilfish is especially effective here, as it can Intimidate Hitmonlee and neutralize the effects of its Liechi Berry.</p>
name: Bruce Lee
move 1: Endure
move 2: Reversal
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Close Combat
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
[Other Options]
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Hitmonlee is one of the few Pokemon in the game—let alone UU—with the ability Unburden. With its ability, Hitmonlee can double its Speed immediately and become an extremely threatening sweeper, like Yanmega and Sharpedo. That's not all Hitmonlee has going for it: it has a whopping base 120 Attack, a decent base 87 Speed, and great offensive options to utilize them with. Hitmonlee has a surprisingly high Special Defense to boot, which allows it to survive extremely powerful special attacks, such as Zapdos's Thunderbolt and Raikou's Extrasensory, and retaliate with a powerful attack of its own. Unfortunately, the fun ends there; Hitmonlee has an extremely low base Defense of 53, which makes it difficult for it to survive even resisted physical hits. However, with sufficient team support and good play, Hitmonlee can sweep whole teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Endure + Reversal Sweeper
move 1: Endure
move 2: Reversal
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Close Combat
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Stacked boosts have always been a force to reckon with in battle. Hitmonlee uses this principle as its strategy for success. By consuming its Liechi Berry, it is able to obtain a power boost of 150%. Using up its item also permits the activation of Unburden, doubling its Speed and allowing it to outspeed the entirety of the UU metagame, including Kingdra in rain and Choice Scarf Raikou. Finally, 1 HP Reversal is a 200 Base Power nuke that can destroy all opponents that do not resist it. All this can be triggered in just one turn by using the move Endure, the catalyst for ultimate destruction. The science behind its power is this: Reversal's 200 Base Power, equivalent to Snorlax's Selfdestruct in this generation, multiplied by 1.5x because of Liechi Berry then another 1.5x thanks to STAB, results in an eventual raw Base Power destruction of 450, which will OHKO all Pokemon that do not resist it.</p>
<p>Hitmonlee is a flexible and versatile fighter, and can use various moves to break down its counters. Stone Edge is a popular choice, as it is able to bombard the Bug- and Flying-type enemies that resist Reversal; Earthquake is another hot option to take down the various Poison-types. If Earthquake is not needed, Close Combat, which is also boosted by its STAB, is an option to crush opponents while Hitmonlee is healthy. These powerful attacks are boosted by its Liechi Berry as well, therefore making no difference if they are used at 25% HP or at 1 HP. If Hitmonlee happens to consume the Liechi Berry, yet not quite at the 1 HP to unleash Reversal, it can spam the relevant coverage move to destroy enemies before it, only using Endure to maximize Reversal when absolutely necessary.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hitmonlee's blazing Speed lets it outspeed even the fastest foes, such as Kingdra under rain and Choice Scarf Raikou and OHKO them with Reversal. In order to lure opponents into triggering Endure, Hitmonlee can elect to feint its opponents with Fake Out, causing its opponents to let down their guard and attack Hitmonlee, only to become victims of the Endure and Reversal combination. Mach Punch is a plausible option to strike the opponent with priority, being able to bypass the priority of other Pokemon after Endure and bypass the Speed of other Pokemon before Enduring.</p>
<p>Some enemies have priority to outspeed Hitmonlee, such as Azumarill, Honchkrow, Bisharp, and Houndoom, and KO it at 1 HP. Mach Punch can be used to finish off these weakened enemies. Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed can take down Hitmonlee in the blink of an eye, so it should be destroyed before Hitmonlee appears on the battlefield. Gligar and Qwilfish resist Reversal, and have massive Defense stats that allow them to tank multiple Reversals. To sweep, Hitmonlee will need aid from teammates to either severely weaken or remove them. Offensive Water- and Electric-types, such as Hidden Power Ice Raikou and Earthquake Swampert, can eradicate these foes with their STAB attacks. Psychic- and Ghost-types also resist Reversal. A Dark-type, such as Zoroark or Honchkrow, can be called upon to eliminate these threats from the field. Abomasnow can create an unnatural blizzard to buffet Hitmonlee with ice, rendering the EndRev strategy useless. A manual weather setter can be used to summon sun or rain to neutralize the hail after Abomasnow is defeated. Hitmonlee is helpless against opponents who drop poisoned Toxic Spikes onto the field, therefore it requires the aid of Poison-types or Rapid Spin users such as Blastoise or Claydol in removing them before entering the field.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Bulk Up set can be used to patch up Hitmonlee's weak Defense stat while complementing its high Special Defense; however, it does not have synergy with its two main attacking moves, Hi Jump Kick and Close Combat, as Hi Jump Kick can cause problems with a miss and Close Combat negates Bulk Up boosts. A Reckless set with Life Orb has a niche thanks to Mach Punch, but is outclassed by Mienshao as a faster and more powerful sweeper. Knock Off is an option to remove items from bulky enemies such as Eviolite Gligar and Porygon2, or Leftovers from common switch-ins such as Suicune, Slowbro, and Crobat. This gives Hitmonlee an easier time beating its checks over the course of the match. However, this sacrifices an important coverage move. Hitmonlee can fulfill a niche as a Rapid Spin user, but is generally a much better offensive Pokemon than a support Pokemon. Close Combat can be used with Limber if you want reliability with power, although it's then outclassed by the other Fighting-types in UU. Choice Band can be used for Hi Jump Kick spam, but not only is it outclassed by Mienshao and Heracross, it is also unhealthy to be spamming Hi Jump Kick with Ghost-types so common in UU.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Gligar is a unique enemy, using Eviolite to become an unbreakable wall with a resistance to Fighting-type attacks, and Earthquake or Toxic to finish off 1 HP Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee therefore must enlist the help of its allies to take it out. Psychic-types, such as Slowbro, Mew, Cresselia, and Uxie, can resist a powerful Reversal and strike back with a super effective Psychic. However, they are unable to take more than one hit and must be kept healthy in order to survive. Ghost-types can also attack with Shadow Ball, as Reversal cannot touch them at all. Some of them, such as Sableye and Cofagrigus, can even use Will-O-Wisp to burn and cripple Hitmonlee for the rest of the match. However, note that Froslass and Chandelure should run from Stone Edge. Finally, Poison-types are also able to resist Fighting-type attacks and strike back with Toxic, causing Hitmonlee to be unable to live indefinitely at 1 HP. Qwilfish is especially effective here, as it can Intimidate Hitmonlee and neutralize the effects of its Liechi Berry.</p>
- One of the few viable users of Unburden
- Pretty good Attack stat
- Not just another Mienshao
- Surprisingly high Special Defense that can survive one powerful Special attack
- Has a pretty good movepool to boot
- Typing allows it to take on Kingdra, Cobalion, even Rhyperior.
- Poor Defense
- Niche speed stat of 87 which outspeeds the Rotom Formes and base 85s
- A Reckless set can be used but outclassed by Mienshao
name: Bruce Lee
move 1: Endure
move 2: Reversal
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Close Combat
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Liechi Berry activates at 25% HP; triggering Unburden at the same time; relating to a +1 Attack Boost and +2 Speed boost at the same time.
- Hitmonlee can sweep with his attacks not including Reversal at 25% HP with the boosts
- Reversal has 200 Base Power at 1 HP, also works in conjunction with the Unburden Boosts, resulting in an OHKO on all neutral enemies with a few exceptions
- Self-Sufficient Sweeper
- Several Coverage moves are available for Hitmonlee to use. Close Combat can be an option if you do not want to be locked into weak moves when unable to trigger Endure.
- Stone Edge is for eliminating Flying Types or Bug Types or certain Ghost Types such as Venomoth, Yanmega, Chandelure, Crobat, Xatu and more.
- Earthquake is to take down Bulky Poison Types such as Nidoqueen(Reversal OHKOs without any investment) and more. It has niche coverage compared to Stone Edge, so you can use Close Combat if you want a reliable Fighting STAB when not at 1% HP.
- Weak to mind games
- Requires extreme precision to be used correctly.
- Delicate play is required to pull off a sweep, if unable to do so should use another pokemon.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- EV spread is straightforward, after the Unburden boost can outspeed Kingdra in Rain with the same nature and subsequently OHKO with Reversal.
- Surprise factor is important; it is vital to make the opponent trigger Endure in order to win the game, Fake Out can be used to confuse your opponents.
- Liechi Berry for obvious reasons
- Mach Punch is another option to deal with priority users such as Honchkrow, Bisharp, Houndoom, Azumarill and more.
- Needs Ghosts and Psychics, and also Gligar along with Qwilfish removed from the field before delivering a sweep
- Ghost or Dark types such as Mismagius and Zoroak work well to eliminate the Ghosts and Psychics from the field; Ghost types have also the added advantage of Spinblocking
- Offensive Water types or other pokemon with strong Ice type coverage such as Suicune, Azumarill, Porygon2 and Empoleon can be used to take down Gligar and Qwilfish.
- Toxic Spikes ruin this set, can elect to run a grounded Poison type to absorb them or a Rapid Spinner such as Hitmontop or Blastoise to spin them away. Claydol is a good spinner being able to Ice Beam enemy Gligars and Earth Power enemy Qwilfishes.
- This set is reliant on mind games, advised not to use Hitmonlee if weak at such battling skills
- Choice Locked opponents make good lures to trigger Endure
- A few neutral pokemon cannot be OHKOed by Reversal, for example Max/Max Suicune which is very common. In order to secure a OHKO without losing your Hitmonlee at 1 HP, you can set up Stealth Rock or Spikes to secure all kills against all neutral pokemon in the UU metagame.
- Abomasnow is a special counter to this set because of the special residual damage it brings.
- Arcanine is also a special counter to this set because of Extremespeed being able to bypass Mach Punch and the speed boost granted by Unburden.
- If you are not using Mach Punch, you have to eliminate all other priority users before activating Endure, or else you may be easily revenge killed.
[Other Options]
- A Bulk Up set can be used to patch up Hitmonlee's weak Defense stat will complimenting its high Special Defense. However, it does not synergise with Hitmonlee's 2 main attacking moves, Hi Jump Kick and Close Combat, as Hi Jump Kick can cause problems with a miss and Close Combat defeats the purpose of Bulk Up altogether.
- A Reckless Set with Life Orb can be used with a niche role of Mach Punch, but is outclassed by Mienshao as a faster and more powerful sweeper.
- Knock Off is an option to remove items from powerful enemies such as Eviolite Gligar, Eviolite Porygon2, or Leftovers from common switch-ins such as Suicune, Slowbro and Crobat. This gives Hitmonlee an easier time beating its checks over the course of the match. However this sacrifices an important coverage move.
- Close Combat can be run with Limber if you want Reliability with power, although it can be outclassed by the other Fighting Types in UU
- Hitmonlee can fulfil a niche as a Rapid Spin user, but is generally a much better Offensive pokemon than a support pokemon.
- Choice Band can be used for Hi Jump Kick spam, but not only is it outclassed by Mienshao and Heracross, but it is also unhealthy to be spamming Hi Jump Kick with Ghost types all around.
[Checks and Counters]
- Gligar has an extremely large Defense, and also resists Hitmonlee's main Fighting STAB, making it a good counter to Hitmonlee. A +1 Stone Edge only deals around 30% to Gligar, so it can easily roost off the damage and toxicstall or just finish off with Earthquake
- Bulky Psychic types such as Slowbro, Mew, Cresselia and Uxie can be used to tank a Reversal and retaliate with a powerful Psychic. However, they must be kept healthy as a Reversal can 2HKO them.
- Ghost type pokemon are always a hindrance to Hitmonlee, as its STAB Fighting attacks cannot even deal damage and Hitmonlee's coverage moves do not pack enough power to take them one on one. Several Ghost types such as Cofagrigus and Sableye also carry Will-O-Wisp which can put Hitmonlee out of the game. However, some ghost types are not considered counters to Hitmonlee, such as Chandelure and Froslass, as they are demolished by Stone Edge.
- A few poison types in the UU metagame can also check Hitmonlee, especially Qwilfish with its Intimidate. However, some Poison types are unable to check Hitmonlee such as Crobat and Roserade, because Crobat loses to Stone Edge and Roserade is OHKOed by Reversal regardless.