[OVERVIEW]
Hitmonlee is a powerful physical sweeper on Grassy Terrain offense teams, taking advantage of the Defense and Speed boosts from Grassy Seed and Unburden to set up on, outspeed, and sweep through foes like Flygon, Bronzong, and Duraludon. Close Combat and Knock Off are great options against the majority of the metagame, and moves like Poison Jab and Earthquake can give it a super effective option against other foes, such as Scream Tail and Overqwil. Hitmonlee's bulk can be a bit lacking, and the Defense boost from Grassy Seed is required in order to find a turn to set up. Further, if it is phazed by Swampert's or Vaporeon's Roar or Duraludon's Dragon Tail, it will lose this boost and its Unburden boost, severely hampering its later effectiveness. Without a Speed boost, Hitmonlee is limited - it is outsped by common threats like Flamigo, Flygon, and Munkidori, all of which can seriously threaten it. Outside of Grassy Terrain, Hitmonlee is outclassed by other Fighting-types, such as Flamigo, Infernape, and Paldean Tauros-W.
[SET]
name: Terrain Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Poison Jab / Earthquake
item: Grassy Seed
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark / Poison / Steel
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Knock Off allows Hitmonlee to hit Dark-weak foes like Bronzong, Galarian Slowbro, and Houndstone for super effective damage. Poison Jab allows Hitmonlee to hit Fairy-types like Sylveon and Scream Tail, while Earthquake gives it an option against Poison-types like Overqwil and Toxtricity. An Adamant nature gives Hitmonlee a few additional damage rolls, such as +2 Knock Off having good odds to OHKO Galarian Slowbro after Stealth Rock or one layer of Spikes. A Jolly nature allows it to outspeed some weather sweepers, such as Basculegion under rain. Tera Dark boosts Knock Off, OHKOing Galarian Slowbro at +2, and gives Hitmonlee an immunity to Psychic-type attacks from Munkidori as well as Prankster moves from Klefki. Tera Poison boosts the power of Poison Jab, allowing +2 Hitmonlee to OHKO Scream Tail. Tera Steel is a solid defensive typing, allowing Hitmonlee to set up in the face of Psychic-types like Munkidori and Fairy-types like Sylveon.
Hitmonlee works best on Grassy Terrain offense teams, so Thwackey is a must-have partner for its ability to set Grassy Terrain. Other physical Terrain attackers like Grafaiai, Arcanine, and Cinccino are great partners, as they work together to break down shared checks like Houndstone, Altaria, and Galarian Slowbro. Other Terrain sweepers like Galarian Articuno, Oricorio-P, and Calm Mind Chandelure and Meloetta also fit well on such teams and benefit from the threat Hitmonlee poses to specially defensive walls such as Copperajah. Espeon can use Magic Bounce to reflect hazards and block phazing attempts from the likes of Whirlwind Copperajah and Roar Swampert.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Hitmonlee can also run Tera Fire with Blaze Kick to target foes like Amoonguss and to avoid being burned, but this has limited defensive utility and makes Himtonlee more vulnerable to revenge killers like Aqua Jet Basculegion. Stone Edge can also be used to hit foes like Altaria for super effective damage, but this gives up on wallbreaking a wide variety of foes such as Scream Tail and Sylveon with Poison Jab.
Checks and Counters
====
**Status**: Hitmonlee is all-in on physical offense, and there are a number of physically defensive Pokemon that carry Will-O-Wisp, such as Houndstone and Altaria, that Hitmonlee cannot OHKO at +2. Also, Hitmonlee's greatest asset is its Unburden Speed boost, which paralysis easily nullifies.
**Phazing**: Phazing is a death sentence for Hitmonlee, as it removes the Unburden Speed boost, the Grassy Seed Defense boost, and any Attack boosts it has gathered. As a result, phazing moves such as Roar from Swampert, Houndstone, and Vaporeon, as well as Dragon Tail from Duraludon, can be incredibly dangerous.
**Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: A number of powerful Psychic-, Fairy-, and Poison-type Pokemon, such as Reuniclus, Sylveon, and Galarian Slowbro, can effectively wall Hitmonlee while seriously threatening it in return. However, particularly after Hitmonlee uses Swords Dance, these checks must often rely on Terastallization or prediction to succeed.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hammer798.641404/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ascension-evermore.736762/
Hitmonlee is a powerful physical sweeper on Grassy Terrain offense teams, taking advantage of the Defense and Speed boosts from Grassy Seed and Unburden to set up on, outspeed, and sweep through foes like Flygon, Bronzong, and Duraludon. Close Combat and Knock Off are great options against the majority of the metagame, and moves like Poison Jab and Earthquake can give it a super effective option against other foes, such as Scream Tail and Overqwil. Hitmonlee's bulk can be a bit lacking, and the Defense boost from Grassy Seed is required in order to find a turn to set up. Further, if it is phazed by Swampert's or Vaporeon's Roar or Duraludon's Dragon Tail, it will lose this boost and its Unburden boost, severely hampering its later effectiveness. Without a Speed boost, Hitmonlee is limited - it is outsped by common threats like Flamigo, Flygon, and Munkidori, all of which can seriously threaten it. Outside of Grassy Terrain, Hitmonlee is outclassed by other Fighting-types, such as Flamigo, Infernape, and Paldean Tauros-W.
[SET]
name: Terrain Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Poison Jab / Earthquake
item: Grassy Seed
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark / Poison / Steel
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Knock Off allows Hitmonlee to hit Dark-weak foes like Bronzong, Galarian Slowbro, and Houndstone for super effective damage. Poison Jab allows Hitmonlee to hit Fairy-types like Sylveon and Scream Tail, while Earthquake gives it an option against Poison-types like Overqwil and Toxtricity. An Adamant nature gives Hitmonlee a few additional damage rolls, such as +2 Knock Off having good odds to OHKO Galarian Slowbro after Stealth Rock or one layer of Spikes. A Jolly nature allows it to outspeed some weather sweepers, such as Basculegion under rain. Tera Dark boosts Knock Off, OHKOing Galarian Slowbro at +2, and gives Hitmonlee an immunity to Psychic-type attacks from Munkidori as well as Prankster moves from Klefki. Tera Poison boosts the power of Poison Jab, allowing +2 Hitmonlee to OHKO Scream Tail. Tera Steel is a solid defensive typing, allowing Hitmonlee to set up in the face of Psychic-types like Munkidori and Fairy-types like Sylveon.
Hitmonlee works best on Grassy Terrain offense teams, so Thwackey is a must-have partner for its ability to set Grassy Terrain. Other physical Terrain attackers like Grafaiai, Arcanine, and Cinccino are great partners, as they work together to break down shared checks like Houndstone, Altaria, and Galarian Slowbro. Other Terrain sweepers like Galarian Articuno, Oricorio-P, and Calm Mind Chandelure and Meloetta also fit well on such teams and benefit from the threat Hitmonlee poses to specially defensive walls such as Copperajah. Espeon can use Magic Bounce to reflect hazards and block phazing attempts from the likes of Whirlwind Copperajah and Roar Swampert.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Hitmonlee can also run Tera Fire with Blaze Kick to target foes like Amoonguss and to avoid being burned, but this has limited defensive utility and makes Himtonlee more vulnerable to revenge killers like Aqua Jet Basculegion. Stone Edge can also be used to hit foes like Altaria for super effective damage, but this gives up on wallbreaking a wide variety of foes such as Scream Tail and Sylveon with Poison Jab.
Checks and Counters
====
**Status**: Hitmonlee is all-in on physical offense, and there are a number of physically defensive Pokemon that carry Will-O-Wisp, such as Houndstone and Altaria, that Hitmonlee cannot OHKO at +2. Also, Hitmonlee's greatest asset is its Unburden Speed boost, which paralysis easily nullifies.
**Phazing**: Phazing is a death sentence for Hitmonlee, as it removes the Unburden Speed boost, the Grassy Seed Defense boost, and any Attack boosts it has gathered. As a result, phazing moves such as Roar from Swampert, Houndstone, and Vaporeon, as well as Dragon Tail from Duraludon, can be incredibly dangerous.
**Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: A number of powerful Psychic-, Fairy-, and Poison-type Pokemon, such as Reuniclus, Sylveon, and Galarian Slowbro, can effectively wall Hitmonlee while seriously threatening it in return. However, particularly after Hitmonlee uses Swords Dance, these checks must often rely on Terastallization or prediction to succeed.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hammer798.641404/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ascension-evermore.736762/
Last edited:
