Community POTW #50

[Swoobat]

Abilities;
Limber-no paralysis... not very impressive. If you're scared of stall, you could use it but it really pales in comparison to unburden
Reckless-boosts power of recoil moves... does it even get recoil moves? I looked through and I don't think so. In which case this is useless.
Unburden-speed is doubled when held item is consumed... a great ability, especially because you can pair a gem and one of its 3-4 priority moves to activate this ability.

Hi Jump Kick is a Recoil move which is boosted by Reckless, and Limber is a great ability on a sweeper.

[Inchtall]

Reckless Sweeper
Ability: Reckless
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers/Zoom Lens
Attacks:
- Hi-Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Meditate

With it's ability, Reckless, Hi-Jump Kick devastate the field, and if you use Zoom Lens, you don't have to worry about missing and taking some nasty recoil damage. Life Orb will increase attack power, but Leftovers will heal you over the course of time. Meditate can increase damage done by all moves. Sucker Punch to two hit KO any psychic in your way. Fake out to dish a small amount of damage, but to possibly stall a plan.




Unburden Stryker
Ability: Unburden
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Spe
Item: Fighting Gem
Attacks:
- Hi-Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
- Fake Out
- Blaze Kick

Hitmonlee has been blessed with Unburden. Use it to your advantage by equipping it with the Fighting Gem for a strong Hi-Jump Kick(assuming you land). Fake Out to stall the opponents plan just for a moment, Sucker Punch to rid of Psychic types, and Blaze Kick for some added variety.

[Porgon-XYZ]

Life Orb Sweeper
Hitmonlee@Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252atk/4def/252spe
Moveset:
-High Jump Kick
-Double Edge/Earthquake
-Sucker Punch/Mach Punch
-Stone Edge

Reckless+Life Orb+Stab+130 base power means Hi Jump Kick will destroy anything that doesn't resist it. Double Edge's power is boosted making it great, Sucker Punch or Mach Punch for your preferal of Priority, and Stone Edge gives you coverage against flying types and junk. Earthquake might be tempting, but remember that High Jump Kick will usually take care of anything that Earthquake can.

[Zachmac]

^I wouldn't use Double Edge, it would stack on the life orb.

Unburden Stryker
Ability: Unburden
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Spe
Item: Fighting Gem
Attacks:
- Hi-Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
- Fake Out
- Blaze Kick

Hitmonlee has been blessed with Unburden. Use it to your advantage by equipping it with the Fighting Gem for a strong Hi-Jump Kick(assuming you land). Fake Out to stall the opponents plan just for a moment, Sucker Punch to rid of Psychic types, and Blaze Kick for some added variety.

Normal Gem. With a normal gem, fake out would give it a free agility. That's the whole point of fake out being on this set, remember? Stone Edge could be used over Sucker Punch, it's still good coverage, more power, and benefits from the speed boost.

With those two changes, I think this should be the main set of this POTW.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

This pokemon has a lot of potential, especially with Unburden. It will be hard to get one with a good nature and the right IVs, but it's worth the effort. The following move sets use unburden.

"I have zero tolerance if you hit me"
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 speed, 252 attack, and 4 hp
Item: Focus sash
Moves:
Revenge/Meditate/Foresight/Double Team
Reversal
Fake Out
Rock Slide/Stone Edge

You can use fake out first for free damage or create a delay so you can execute your plans safely. You can meditate for more power, double team up (if not banned, however, this is why I encourage haze or clear smog) for having a chance to sweep more, foresight ghost types, or hit hard with revenge. After that focus sash is used up, sweep away with reversal and your preferred rock type move (rock slide for those using double team for flinchies).

If you plan on using the Liechi Berry...

"Eating fruit make you stronger!"
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, and 4 hp
Item: Liechi Berry
Moves:
Endure
Reversal
Feint
Rock Slide

A basic strategy that came from GSC with a major upgrade! Endure to get down to one hp to raise both speed and attack with the Liechi Berry. Afterwords, sweep away!

Counters: Watch out for priority moves, hail, and sandstorms. A good way to avoid these hazards is to bring cloud niners/air lockers, droughters/drizzlers, or quick guarders.

[Zachmac]

^You're first set is gimmicky, and looks like something that would be better off in other options.

Substitute over endure on your second set, it's more useful. You won't be sandstorm bait either. Feint is kind of useless, swap it for something else. Oh, and I'd personally swap Reversal for Close Combat, just in case you need to attack at full health.

[TrollFreak]

From Smogon

[Overview]

- Reckless + Hi Jump Kick
- Decent movepool with priority and solid coverage to complement powerful STAB
- Faster than Medicham
- Access to Rapid Spin
- Somewhat frail
- Not very talkative
- Reckless + Hi Jump Kick

[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
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]

- Hi Jump Kick brings the ruckus
- Double Edge coming off the Reckless boost provides a strong neutral hit on defensive Psychics / Poisons
- Sucker Punch nails faster Ghosts / Psychics and has some revenge killing utility
- Stone Edge further rounds out coverage and gives him something to do against bulky ghosts on the switch
- Nature is mostly preference

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Sub to ease prediction
- Close Combat if you're a pussy
- Pursuit support duh, ex. Honchkrow, Absol
- Mach Punch over Sucker Punch, but run it with Stone Edge so you can touch ghosts

[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]

- Wields both choice items effectively
- Scarf is used as a late-game sweeper/revenge-killer, CB breaks things
- Hi Jump Kick is the reason you are using him
- Double Edge coming off the Reckless boost provides a strong neutral hit on Psychics / Poisons
- Stone Edge for coverage
- Earthquake is overkill coverage. Try to avoid clicking it.
- Use Mach with CB and even on Scarf if you are afraid of SS Omastar

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Make your life easier and run him with Pursuit support
- Close Combat over EQ as a safer 100 acc alternative to HJK in a pinch (Scarf set)
- Banded Sucker Punch can be a nasty surprise, but leaves him vulnerable to set up

[SET]
name: Offensive Spinner
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Stone Edge / Double Edge
move 3: Foresight
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Reckless
nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

- Lee can easily force a switch to get the spin off
- Foresight turns the tables on typical ghost type counters
- Hi Jump Kick is basically Hitmonlee's manhood. Don't leave home without it.
- Stone Edge gives super-effective coverage on Bug and Flying, and also doesn't pressure you to always predict the foresight
- Double Edge provides a strong neutral coverage overall
- Second slot varies according to what your team needs

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Sucker Punch is p good too
- Leftovers should be the primary item choice so SubSplit Rotom can't stall you into KO range
- Life Orb 2HKOs Cofag after Foresight on the switch, but that's banking on Will-o-miss
- *I have used Lum Berry which doesn't allow Rotom to stall you and beats Cofag by shedding the burn (with like 8% prior damage)
^ QC OPINIONS?
ex. CB Scyther is good at luring Cofag in with U-turn and putting it into KO range of Lee. Lee spins for Scyther.

[OTHER OPTIONS]

- Bulk Up
- Knock Off catches Eviolite users like MissyD and Gligar
- CC + Limber
- SubReversal

[Checks and Counters]

- If it's defensive make sure it resists or is immune to HJK
- Cofagrigus counters, but has unreliable recovery.
- Dusknoir fares well against Lee also
- Other ghosts like Eviolite MissyD and Rotom make decent checks
- Defensive Qwilfish and Weezing can handle most attacks, excluding CB Double Edge
- Eviolite Gligar
- Offensive checks have to be wary of Scarf variants and priority, but Lee folds like construction paper if they can get a hit in

There, hopefully that'll get smart idea's flowing

[halodeoxys]

UGGH SO CLOSE TO HITMONTOP.

Oh well, I like the Hittys in general, so I must write a "quality" review on all of them. Wario Time.

Limber: Its...Eh...Well...Okay, this ability kinda sucks. You can't be paralyzed. While your speed won't be lowered this way, Hitmonlee is pretty slow anyway.
Reckless: Hi Jump Kick was buffed. Therefore, Reckless Hitmonlee is buffed. This ability can destroy tons of things in UU/RU with HJK. Also works with Double Edge if you want to destroy the Tornadus, just beware the recoil, especially with Hitmonlee's low HP.
Unburden: Works on a sweeper, I guess. The problem is that this is illegal with Mach Punch, Rapid Spin, Bullet Punch, and more importantly, Sucker Punch, which sucks.
ON TO THE GOOD STUFF.

FALCON KICK
Hitmonlee@Life Orb
Reckless
-Hi Jump Kick
-Blaze Kick
-Double Edge/Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
Simple set. Destroy most of RU/UU with Reckless Hi Jump Kick, smack Grasses around with Blaze Kick, and while Double Edge becomes stupidly powerful, you get this massive recoil. In that case, use Stone Edge. Sucker Punch is here to remove Ghosts and because its one of the strongest priority moves.

This post may be updated over time, so stay tuned.

[paracelsus]

Ability: Unburden
Item: Normal Gem
Fake Out
High Jump Kick
Stone Edge
Close Combat
EVs: 252 Att. 252 Sp. 6HP
Nature: beneficial to speed
IVs: breeding for a 31 in Att. is key, high in speed is also important
Open W/ fake out to consume normal gem, sweep from there

[Zachmac]

Ability: Unburden
Item: Normal Gem
Fake Out
High Jump Kick
Stone Edge
Close Combat
EVs: 252 Att. 252 Sp. 6HP
Nature: beneficial to speed
IVs: breeding for a 31 in Att. is key, high in speed is also important
Open W/ fake out to consume normal gem, sweep from there

Nature should be adamant, since it gets it's speed form unburden. Don't ever used both CC and High Jump Kick, it's one or the other. Give it Blaze Kick for it's last move.

[Aura Flare Riolu]

There's quite a few people that are making quite a few mistakes. So let me make it clear:

Since the Hitmons are always Male, you cannot pass down Unburden and therefore you CANNOT use any Egg Moves. And since it's a Hidden ability, you CANNOT have any tutor moves from PtHGSS. So no Sucker Punch and no Bullet Punch when using Unburden.

[Psycho Cut]

Set 1

Hitmonlee @ Normal Gem
Unburden
Adamant ( +Atk, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spd
Moves:
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick/Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

The Dream World really gave Hitmonlee a great boost with Unburden, which allows him to double his speed just by using up an item, getting over his mediocre Base 87 Speed and making him one of the fastest things in UU. In this set, that comes with a Normal Gem Boosted Fake Out, right off the bat. After that, he is free to abuse his Base 120 Attack and great physical movepool hopefully taking a few pokemon down with him.

Set 2

Hitmonlee @ Focus Sash
Unburden
Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spd
Moves:
- Focus Energy/Bulk Up
- Reversal
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge/Earthquake

Although this set is somewhat of a gimmick, and may not work as well thanks to hazards, it can be a real threat when pulled off effectively. The plan is to get Hitmonlee 'OHKOd' by perhaps sending him foolishly against something he'd otherwise be wiped out by. On the first turn, he either uses Focus Energy (for crit spam) or bulk up (for more reliable power boost, though send him against a Sp.Attacker if you go with this) while the opponent breaks its Sash, giving it the Unburden boost. After that, Hitmonlee can cause some real destruction with Reversal, a Base 300 BP move coming off 120 Base Attack at +2 Speed hurts. Mach Punch is an attempt to get rid of other pokemon who would otherwise use priority on Hitmonlee and finish him off. The last move is coverage

Set 3

Hitmonlee @ Iron Ball
Unburden
Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spd
Moves:
- Fling
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

This set is very similar to Set 1, but with distinct disadvantages and advantages. The disadvantage is that Hitmonlee may potentially be outsped and OHKOd before it gets chance to get the Unburden boost, but the advantage is a good one: if you predict the switch to a ghost (they'll be expecting Fake Out or HJK) you can nail them with a high power, super effective fling (which does more damage to fake out on non-resistors anyway) then get the +2 to speed and sweep.

Other Options

Hitmonlee also has two other niches: Reckless boosted HJK which, while very powerful, often leads to hitmonlee being outsped and KO'd. The other option is as a rapid spinner, but it's brother, Hitmontop, tends to fit that role better

-----

Well, that's my input. Hope it's of use! Happy Hitmonlee-ing!

[Zachmac]

^Earthquake is usually a good move, but is kind of useless on fighting types. All it really hits for them is poison types. Fighting already hits rock and steel. Blaze kick is probably better, it's a more reliable way to hit Celebi and Venasaur.

Though I guess it can be used to surprise Jirachi and electric types.

[sSerenity]

Earthquake can score some critical kills against Fire, Electric, Poison and on weak Psychic

[Vandslaux]

This gen, from the Dream World, Hitmonlee was blessed with the amazing ability, Unburden. Combine with Normal Gem Fake Out, wreak havoc with Close Combat, Stone Edge, and a filler move. This pretty much sums up Hitmonlee.

And if the Hitmons are always Male, then how do the Hitmons even have egg moves?

[Shadow249]

Y r we doing Hitmonlee for our 50th potw special? I thought we'd do something special for our 50th potw.

[Zachmac]

Y r we doing Hitmonlee for our 50th potw special? I thought we'd do something special for our 50th potw.

The pokemon is chosen by a RNG. Check "Regarding our Selection Process" next time.

Earthquake can score some critical kills against Fire, Electric, Poison and on weak Psychic

Weak psychics are handled by Stone Edge. The only common poison type I can think of is Venasaur, which is handled by Blaze Kick. The two most common electric types, Zapdos and Rotom-W, are immune.

And if the Hitmons are always Male, then how did I breed a Hi Jump Kick Tyrogue from my Hitmonlee and Hitmontop on my SS?

That's how.

[PardonMyHarden]

Hitmonlee (M) @ Liechi Berry
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Reversal
- Mach Punch/Stone Edge
- Endure
- Earthquake

Well Hitmonlee is basically one of the best, hard hitting low tier Pokemon. It's Hi Jump Kick is pretty... well you know. Too bad its not on this set though. This is a more of a late game sweeper set. You send in your Hitmonlee on a hit you know is going to KO and you endure to survive. This will activate your unburden and your liechi berry both, boosting your stats to ridiculous extents. Not even Deoxys-S will be outspeeding you. Reversal will have base 200 damage with 1 HP and do work. Mach punch is for priority if your team lacks good priority moves. Stone edge is for flying types who wall this set. Earthquake is a great physical move that does good neutral damage to a lot the resist you STAB. It could also be replaced for Stone Edge.

[Zachmac]

Reversal/Endure is a pretty gimmicky combo, but if you want to use it, Hitmonlee is probably the best. It's wrecked by priority, iron barbs, toxic spikes, and certain kinds of weather though. I think a SubLeichi is a much better option, Reversal/Endure should only be under "other options", and Subleichi should be listed after the Fake Out/Normal Gem set.

Oh, and for the Subleichi?

Hitmonlee
Adamant/252att/252speed
Unburden/Leichi Berry
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Blaze Kick
-Substitute

Substitute will bring your health down, and after it is used three times, it will unlock unburden and the leichi berry(It's HP must be dividable by 4, though). Close Combat is for reliable STAB, while...ah, what the heck. Most of this has already been eplained.

[PhilosophicalPsychologica]

Fake Out + Normal Gem + Unburden is pretty much Hitmonlee's only new tool this Gen. Otherwise, try not to engineer Hitmonlee so it turns out inferior to Mienshao or Conkledurr.

[Aura Flare Riolu]

Wow...the amount of people putting Egg moves with Unburden. Remember: You CANNOT put any Egg Moves or Gen 4 Tutor Moves with Unburden since Hitmonlee cannot pass down Unburden. The only priority moves it can have are Fake Out and Feint. It cannot have Bullet Punch or Mach Punch since they're Egg Moves and Sucker Punch since it comes from Gen 4.
Limber and Reckless can have them but not Unburden.

I'm not much of a competitive battler or know a lot about it but personally I would go with this set:

Sweeper Hitmonlee
~ Fake Out
~ Hi Jump Kick
~ Stone Edge
~ Blaze Kick / Earthquake
Ability: Unburden
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
Item: Normal Gem
IVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[Locormus]

Weird question, but I thought that the Liechi Berry hasn't been released yet in the fifth gen.. So ALL those sets with it are unable to exist yet..

[Zachmac]

Weird question, but I thought that the Liechi Berry hasn't been released yet in the fifth gen.. So ALL those sets with it are unable to exist yet..

It hasn't, but POTW also makes sets assuming that they will be released in the future.

[Missingno. Master]

Just a note, Mach Punch is actually legal with Unburden. Tyrogue can have Mach Punch as one of its special moves from the Dream World. Same with Feint, but who uses that?

[Blue Harvest]

Unburden sucks. Use Reckless and bomb everything with Hi Jump Kick. Throw Rapid Spin on and you have yourself an offensive Spinner.