Draft Hitmonlee

BurningMonSoul

BurningMonSoul

Formerly Guertena
[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards

**Price Range**: 4-5 points

**Overview**: Hitmonlee boasts two powerful abilities in Unburden and Reckless alongside strong coverage moves that boost its offensive value to the teams that draft it. With Swords Dance and a Speed boost, it can threaten to clean up weakened teams or simply use its helpful movepool to take advantage of momentum generated by teammates. However, its base Speed is relatively poor, and its Defense is abysmal, leaving Hitmonlee incredibly vulnerable without stat boosts.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Boasting the second strongest base Attack of all Unburden users and arguably the best coverage options, Hitmonlee can position itself for a clean sweep of enemy teams by consuming its item and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance, especially when paired with Terrain.

**Wallbreaker**: Hitmonlee can use its good Attack stat, high-Base Power moves, and sometimes Reckless to punch holes in opponents' defensive cores, softening them up for a teammate's late-game sweep.

**Offensive Utility**: Hitmonlee has access to the coveted Rapid Spin, meaning it has the ability to threaten a strong Fighting-type STAB move, spammable coverage moves like Knock Off and Earthquake, Taunt to shut down passive walls, and entry hazard removal with a built-in Speed boost all in the same moveset.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Close Combat, High Jump Kick, Mach Punch

**Setup Moves**: Bulk Up, Swords Dance

**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Rapid Spin, Taunt, Substitute

**Coverage**: Earthquake, Knock Off, Lunge, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sucker Punch, Bullet Punch, Blaze Kick

Niche Moves
========
**Endure / Reversal**: One of the oldest tricks in Hitmonlee’s book, Endure and Reversal can be utilized alongside a Liechi Berry on Unburden sets allowing it to fire off 200-Base Power STAB Reversals at +1 with a doubled Speed stat when reduced to a sliver of HP. This can be an risky yet potentially lucrative strategy, vulnerable to Fighting-immune Pokemon, status, chip damage, priority, and opponents predicting the Endure.

**Upper Hand**: When paired with the above two moves, this can mitigate Hitmonlee’s weakness to priority against non-Ghost-type foes.

**Fling**: Hitmonlee can use Fling alongside a Big Nugget for a 130-Base Power one-time use Dark-type move while also activating Unburden. Other items, like Light Ball, can provide utility instead of raw damage.

**Fake Out**: Hitmonlee’s Fake Out serves a niche purpose in dealing chip damage while also activating Unburden by consuming a Normal Gem.

Common Items
========
**Terrain Seed**: Terrain Seeds are the standard method of activating Unburden when Hitmonlee is paired with a Terrain-setting Pokemon. The Defense boost from Electric and Grassy Seed deserve special mention for upgrading Hitmonlee's Defense stat from awful to average.

**White Herb**: White Herb can activate Unburden without the help of a teammate by clearing the negative stat drops from Hitmonlee’s Close Combat.

**Choice Band**: On wallbreaking sets, a Choice Band can help Hitmonlee deliver a maximally powerful Close Combat or High Jump Kick.

Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Expert Belt, Black Belt, and Life Orb can offer more flexibility to Hitmonlee than a Choice Band can for using its utility moves and combating Pokemon with immunities to its most common attacks.

**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Hitmonlee resists Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots can help it switch in and remove entry hazards more often over the course of the battle, aiding its utility sets.

**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can be used in place of a Liechi Berry to free up a moveslot and a turn for Swords Dance, but it can be completely negated by hazards or chip damage, so it is not as reliable for activating Unburden.

**Assault Vest**: Hitmonlee boasts a bizarrely high Special Defense stat, so an Assault Vest can make Hitmonlee a reasonably effective special tank in a pinch.

**Normal Gem**: As mentioned above, Normal Gem can be used with Fake Out to activate Unburden.

**Protective Pads**: Most of Hitmonlee's most common attacks deal contact damage, so Protective Pads may alleviate the pain of Rocky Helmet and other contact effects in problematic matchups.

**Lum Berry**: Hitmonlee hates getting statused, so Lum Berry is one way to gain a free turn while also activating Unburden, but this is an unreliable strategy due to relying on the foe using a status move.

Tera
========
Hitmonlee appreciates having Tera as an option, although it isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost of a higher-tier Tera Captain that has better stats and worse type coverage. When given the opportunity, Hitmonlee most often uses Tera Fighting to further increase the power of its STAB moves or Tera Ground and Dark to gain relevant immunities and boost its most useful coverage moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Hitmonlee is a useful secondary wincon on teams that support Unburden users well or are in need of more offensive power, but it should never be the linchpin of the team. Its utility movepool, particularly Rapid Spin, can also make it attractive, but it is decidedly a budget pick and is unlikely to be the first choice for its role even when a team is in dire need of a sweeper or entry hazard removal.

**Terrain Setters**: Pokemon with abilities that set Terrain can enable Hitmonlee to activate its Unburden ability upon switching in. These include Rillaboom, Galarian Weezing, Indeedee, and Pincurchin.

**Wallbreakers**: If Hitmonlee is attempting to sweep, it appreciates having the sturdiest walls damaged or defeated beforehand by powerful teammates like Chi-Yu, Ursaluna-B, and Iron Moth.

**Pivots**: Hitmonlee can rarely switch in on hits, so it appreciates teammates that can help it utilize its colorful movepool, such as Meowscarada, Corviknight, and Slowking.

Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Damage**: Most of Hitmonlee’s moves make contact, so Rocky Helmet or contact abilities can quickly drain its health, especially when using Rapid Spin or Reversal.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to both Rapid Spin and Hitmonlee’s Fighting-type STAB attacks, although none of them like switching in on a Knock Off. Note that a Ghost-type switching in on Hitmonlee's High Jump Kick will result in it taking disastrous crash damage.

**Phazing**: Unburden can be permanently disabled if Hitmonlee is forced to switch out with moves like Roar and Dragon Tail or items like Red Card. This is especially dangerous for Hitmonlee due to its middling Speed, crippling it for the rest of the battle.

**Priority Moves**: While Hitmonlee has some counterplay options with priority moves of its own, it can still be quite vulnerable against enemies that negate its Speed boosts from Unburden and Rapid Spin like Palafin, Rillaboom, and Azumarill.

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/guertena.582655/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
 
Last edited:
I should AMQC check this
(it's an AMQC so you can't use this to mark QC 1/2, but implement as much as you want)
ADD REMOVE COMMENT

[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards

**Price Range**: 5-6 points

**Overview**: Hitmonlee sets itself apart from the other Fighting-types in the format with the combination of the powerful ability Unburden and the valuable move Rapid Spin this is not why people draft Hitmonlee, alongside enough coverage to hit almost the entire metagame. With Swords Dance and a Speed boost, it can threaten to clean house against weakened teams, or simply use its narrow but satisfying movepool to take advantage of momentum generated by teammates. Its base Speed is relatively poor and its physical Defense is abysmal, however, leaving Hitmonlee incredibly vulnerable when caught with its weird, springy pants down. Hitmonlee really doesn't go for utility as much as you're making it out, he's more of an unburden sweeper that HAPPENS to get Rapid Spin, like how Hawlucha gets Defog. that's kind of a weakness for Hitmonlee, its stats railroad it into playing offensively, though it can get a spin off in the right matchup.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Boasting the second strongest base Attack of all Unburden users and arguably the best coverage options, Hitmonlee can position itself for a clean sweep of enemy teams by consuming its item and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance.

**Offensive Utility**: Despite lacking the ability to spin on its head like a dreidel, Hitmonlee has access to the coveted Rapid Spin, granting it the ability to threaten a strong STAB Fighting-type move, spammable coverage moves like Knock Off or Earthquake, Taunt to shut down passive walls, and hazard removal with a built-in Speed boost, all in the same moveset. run-on sentence much If Unburden is unlikely to activate sweep, then Limber or Reckless can also be used when they are suitable to either blank Thunder Wave and Static users, or buff the power of Hitmonlee’s signature kick attacks to impressive levels.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Close Combat, High Jump Kick, Axe Kick, has anyone ever run this over HJK Mach Punch

**Setup Moves**: Bulk Up, Swords Dance

**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Rapid Spin, Taunt, Substitute

**Coverage**: Earthquake, Knock Off, Lunge, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sucker Punch, Bullet Punch, Blaze Kick

Niche Moves
========
**Endure / Reversal**: One of the oldest tricks in Hitmonlee’s book, Endure and Reversal can be utilized alongside a Liechi Berry on Unburden sets to fire off 200 BP STAB Reversals at +1 with a doubled Speed stat when reduced to a sliver of HP. This can be an risky yet potentially lucrative strategy, vulnerable to Fighting-immune Pokemon, status, chip damage, priority, and predicting the Endure. Consider using a Naughty or Lonely nature and minimum defensive IVs to ensure Hitmonlee takes as much damage as possible from the opponent’s attack. it's not really our place to talk about natures and that sorta stuff here

**Upper Hand**: When paired with the above two moves, this can mitigate Hitmonlee’s weakness to priority against non-Ghost-type opponents.

**Fling**: No Unburden Pokemon’s “Niche Moves” section would be complete without Fling, which can be a strong one time use Dark-type attack that also activates their ability. It sees less use on Hitmonlee than on a Pokemon such as Sneasler, however, due to its access to the reliable and powerful Knock Off. I appreciate the shoutout but comparing Hitmonlee to Sneasler is like comparing Indeedee to Tapu Lele

**Fake Out**: While not as powerful as a Fake Out from its Technician-wielding brother, Hitmonlee’s Fake Out serves a niche purpose in dealing chip damage while also activating Unburden by consuming a Normal Gem.

Common Items
========
**Terrain Seed**: The standard method of activating Unburden, when paired with a terrain-setting Pokemon. did you forget to finish this one

**White Herb**: White Herb can activate Unburden without the help of a teammate by clearing the negative stat drops from Hitmonlee’s Close Combat.

**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Hitmonlee resists Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots can help it switch in and remove hazards more often over the course of the battle, making it ideal for non-sweeping sets.

Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Expert Belt, Black Belt, Life Orb, or even Choice Band can be used alongside the ability Reckless to make Hitmonlee a potent surprise wallbreaker by elevating its moves High Jump Kick and Axe Kick well above the 120 BP Close Combat. personally I'd separate Choice Band from Damage-boosting Items and put it in common, banded HJK really strong

**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can be used in place of a Liechi Berry to free up a moveslot (and a turn) for Swords Dance, but it can be completely negated by hazards or chip damage, so it is not as reliable for activating Unburden.

**Assault Vest**: The Hitmon family share a bizarrely high Special Defense stat, so an Assault Vest can make Hitmonlee a reasonable imitation of a special wall tank in a pinch.

**Lum Berry**: all the hitmons really hate status

Tera
========
Hitmonlee appreciates having Tera as an option, although it isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost of a higher-tier Tera Captain. elaborate: why isn't Hitmonlee as good of a captain as its peers? does Hitmonlee not gain as much as other captains? is he too inconsistent? When given the opportunity, Hitmonlee most often uses Tera Fighting to further increase the power of its STAB, or Tera Ground and Dark to gain relevant immunities and boost its most useful coverage moves. maybe mention tera Ghost for funny STAB + immunity to some moves

Draft Strategy
========
Hitmonlee is a useful secondary win condition on teams which support Unburden users well, but it should never be the linchpin of the team. Its utility movepool (particularly Rapid Spin) can also make it attractive, but it is decidedly a budget pick, and is unlikely to be the first choice when a team is in dire need of hazard removal. again worth mentioning that Hitmonlee's physical bulk is so poor that it can't really use its utility like its brothers

**Terrain Setters**: Pokemon with the “Surge” abilities can enable Hitmonlee to activate its Unburden ability upon switching in. These include Rillaboom, Galarian Weezing, Indeedee, and Pincurchin.

**Wallbreakers**: If Hitmonlee is attempting to sweep, it appreciates having the sturdiest walls damaged or defeated beforehand by powerful teammates like Chi-Yu, Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, and Iron Moth.

**Entry Hazard Setters**:

**Pivots**: Hitmonlee can rarely switch in on hits, so it appreciates teammates which can help it utilize its colorful movepool, such as Meowscarada, Corviknight, and Slowking.

Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Damage**: Most of Hitmonlee’s moves make contact, so Rocky Helmet or its equivalent contact abilities can quickly drain its health, especially when using Rapid Spin or Reversal.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to both Rapid Spin and Hitmonlee’s STAB Fighting-type attacks, although none of them like switching in on a Knock Off.

**Phazing**: Unburden can be permanently disabled if Hitmonlee is forced to switch out with moves like Roar or Dragon Tail, or items like Red Card. This is especially dangerous for Hitmonlee due to its middling Speed, crippling it for the rest of the battle.

**Priority**: While Hitmonlee has some counterplay options with priority moves of its own, it can still be quite vulnerable against enemies that negate its Speed boosts from Unburden and Rapid Spin like Palafin, Rillaboom, and Azumarill.

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/guertena.582655/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000 you should put me here :)
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
 
qc 1/2, I added pharma's comments where appropriate in blue
add comment remove
[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 6 7 onwards

**Price Range**: 5-6 4-5 points

**Overview**: Hitmonlee sets itself apart from the other Fighting-types in the format with the combination of the powerful ability Unburden and the valuable move Rapid Spin fulfils a niche in the metagame with two great abilities in Unburden and Reckless (rewrote this sentence since Hitmonlee has more playstyles than just being an unburden sweeper.), alongside enough coverage to hit almost the entire metagame to be a good offensive piece to support its team. With Swords Dance and a Speed boost, it can threaten to clean house against weakened teams, or simply use its narrow but satisfying movepool to take advantage of momentum generated by teammates. Its base Speed is relatively poor and its physical Defense is abysmal, however, leaving Hitmonlee incredibly vulnerable when caught with its weird, springy pants down.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Boasting the second strongest base Attack of all Unburden users and arguably the best coverage options, Hitmonlee can position itself for a clean sweep of enemy teams by consuming its item and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance.

add wallbreaker as a role here since the combination of reckless and 120 base atk gives it that option.

**Offensive Utility**: Despite lacking the ability to spin on its head like a dreidel, Hitmonlee has access to the coveted Rapid Spin, granting it the ability to threaten a strong STAB Fighting-type move, spammable coverage moves like Knock Off or Earthquake, Taunt to shut down passive walls, and hazard removal with a built-in Speed boost, all in the same moveset. If Unburden is unlikely to activate, then Limber or Reckless can also be used when they are suitable to either blank Thunder Wave and Static users, or buff the power of Hitmonlee’s signature kick attacks to impressive levels.


Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Close Combat, High Jump Kick, Axe Kick, Mach Punch

**Setup Moves**: Bulk Up, Swords Dance

**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Rapid Spin, Taunt, Substitute

**Coverage**: Earthquake, Knock Off, Lunge, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sucker Punch, Bullet Punch, Blaze Kick

Niche Moves
========
**Endure / Reversal**: One of the oldest tricks in Hitmonlee’s book, Endure and Reversal can be utilized alongside a Liechi Berry on Unburden sets to fire off 200 BP STAB Reversals at +1 with a doubled Speed stat when reduced to a sliver of HP. This can be an risky yet potentially lucrative strategy, vulnerable to Fighting-immune Pokemon, status, chip damage, priority, and predicting the Endure. Consider using a Naughty or Lonely nature and minimum defensive IVs to ensure Hitmonlee takes as much damage as possible from the opponent’s attack.

**Upper Hand**: When paired with the above two moves, this can mitigate Hitmonlee’s weakness to priority against non-Ghost-type opponents.

**Fling**: No Unburden Pokemon’s “Niche Moves” section would be complete without Fling, which can be a strong one time use Dark-type attack that also activates their ability. It sees less use on Hitmonlee than on a Pokemon such as Sneasler, however, due to its access to the reliable and powerful Knock Off.

**Fake Out**: While not as powerful as a Fake Out from its Technician-wielding brother, Hitmonlee’s Fake Out serves a niche purpose in dealing chip damage while also activating Unburden by consuming a Normal Gem.

Common Items
========
**Terrain Seed**: The standard method of activating Unburden, when paired with a terrain-setting Pokemon. add a small note that seeds give Hitmonlee a much needed defense boost.

**White Herb**: White Herb can activate Unburden without the help of a teammate by clearing the negative stat drops from Hitmonlee’s Close Combat.

**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Hitmonlee resists Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots can help it switch in and remove hazards more often over the course of the battle, making it ideal for non-sweeping sets.

Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Expert Belt, Black Belt, Life Orb, or even Choice Band can be used alongside the ability Reckless to make Hitmonlee a potent surprise wallbreaker by elevating its moves High Jump Kick and Axe Kick well above the 120 BP Close Combat. seperate choice band from this section and move choice band to common

**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can be used in place of a Liechi Berry to free up a moveslot (and a turn) for Swords Dance, but it can be completely negated by hazards or chip damage, so it is not as reliable for activating Unburden.

**Assault Vest**: The Hitmon family share a bizarrely high Special Defense stat, so an Assault Vest can make Hitmonlee a reasonable imitation of a special wall tank in a pinch.

add normal gem and protective pads, add lum berry

Tera
========
Hitmonlee appreciates having Tera as an option, although it isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost of a higher-tier Tera Captain. (Elaborate on why Hitmonlee gets passed over as a Tera Captain) When given the opportunity, Hitmonlee most often uses Tera Fighting to further increase the power of its STAB, or Tera Ground and Dark to gain relevant immunities and boost its most useful coverage moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Hitmonlee is a useful secondary win condition on teams which support Unburden users well, or in need of further breaking power, but it should never be the linchpin of the team. Its utility movepool (particularly Rapid Spin) can also make it attractive, but it is decidedly a budget pick, and is unlikely to be the first choice when a team is in dire need of hazard removal.

**Terrain Setters**: Pokemon with the “Surge” abilities can enable Hitmonlee to activate its Unburden ability upon switching in. These include Rillaboom, Galarian Weezing, Indeedee, and Pincurchin.

**Wallbreakers**: If Hitmonlee is attempting to sweep, it appreciates having the sturdiest walls damaged or defeated beforehand by powerful teammates like Chi-Yu, Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, and Iron Moth.

**Pivots**: Hitmonlee can rarely switch in on hits, so it appreciates teammates which can help it utilize its colorful movepool, such as Meowscarada, Corviknight, and Slowking.

Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Damage**: Most of Hitmonlee’s moves make contact, so Rocky Helmet or its equivalent contact abilities can quickly drain its health, especially when using Rapid Spin or Reversal.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to both Rapid Spin and Hitmonlee’s STAB Fighting-type attacks, although none of them like switching in on a Knock Off.

**Phazing**: Unburden can be permanently disabled if Hitmonlee is forced to switch out with moves like Roar or Dragon Tail, or items like Red Card. This is especially dangerous for Hitmonlee due to its middling Speed, crippling it for the rest of the battle.

**Priority Moves**: While Hitmonlee has some counterplay options with priority moves of its own, it can still be quite vulnerable against enemies that negate its Speed boosts from Unburden and Rapid Spin like Palafin, Rillaboom, and Azumarill.

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/guertena.582655/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
 
green = add
red = remove
blue = comment
[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards

**Price Range**: 4-5 points

**Overview**: Hitmonlee boasts two powerful abilities in Unburden and Reckless, alongside strong coverage moves that boost its offensive value to the teams that draft it. With Swords Dance and a Speed boost, it can threaten to clean house against weakened teams, or simply use its narrow but satisfying movepool to take advantage of momentum generated by teammates. Its base Speed is relatively poor and its physical Defense is abysmal, however, leaving Hitmonlee incredibly vulnerable on non-Bulk Up sets. when caught with its weird, springy pants down.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Boasting the second strongest base Attack of all Unburden users and arguably the best coverage options, Hitmonlee can position itself for a clean sweep of enemy teams by consuming its item and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance.

**Wallbreaker**: Hitmonlee can use its good attack stat, high base power moves, and sometimes Reckless to punch (or rather, kick) holes in opponents' defensive cores, softening them up for a teammate's late game sweep.

**Offensive Utility**: Despite lacking the ability to spin on its head like a dreidel, Hitmonlee has access to the coveted Rapid Spin, granting it the ability to threaten a strong STAB Fighting-type move, spammable coverage moves like Knock Off or Earthquake, Taunt to shut down passive walls, and hazard removal with a built-in Speed boost, all in the same moveset.

would mention terrain somewhere above, specifically psychic/grassy.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Close Combat, High Jump Kick, Mach Punch

**Setup Moves**: Bulk Up, Swords Dance

**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Rapid Spin, Taunt, Substitute

**Coverage**: Earthquake, Knock Off, Lunge, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sucker Punch, Bullet Punch, Blaze Kick

Niche Moves
========
**Endure / Reversal**: One of the oldest tricks in Hitmonlee’s book, Endure and Reversal can be utilized alongside a Liechi Berry on Unburden sets to fire off 200 BP STAB Reversals at +1 with a doubled Speed stat when reduced to a sliver of HP. This can be an risky yet potentially lucrative strategy, vulnerable to Fighting-immune Pokemon, status, chip damage, priority, and predicting the Endure.

**Upper Hand**: When paired with the above two moves, this can mitigate Hitmonlee’s weakness to priority against non-Ghost-type opponents.

**Fling**: No Unburden Pokemon’s “Niche Moves” section would be complete without Fling, which can become a 130 BP, one time use Dark-type attack that also activates their ability. Hitmonlee can use Fling + Big Nugget to get a one-time extremely powerful Dark-type move, or something like Light Ball to give itself some utility, while also activating Unburden.

**Fake Out**: While not as powerful as a Fake Out from its Technician-wielding brother, Hitmonlee’s Fake Out serves a niche purpose in dealing chip damage while also activating Unburden by consuming a Normal Gem.

Common Items
========
**Terrain Seed**: The standard method of activating Unburden, when paired with a terrain-setting Pokemon. The defense boost from Electric and Grassy Seed deserve special mention for upgrading Hitmonlee's Defense stat from "awful" to "average".

**White Herb**: White Herb can activate Unburden without the help of a teammate by clearing the negative stat drops from Hitmonlee’s Close Combat.

**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Hitmonlee resists Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots can help it switch in and remove hazards more often over the course of the battle, making it ideal for non-sweeping sets. never seen hdb hitmonlee, can throw it under damage boosting items in niche

**Choice Band**: On wallbreaking sets, a Choice Band can help Hitmonlee deliver maximally powerful Close Combats or High Jump Kicks.

Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Expert Belt, Black Belt, Life Orb, can offer more flexibility to Hitmonlee than a Choice Band can for using its utility moves, and combating Pokemon with immunities to its most common attacks.

**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can be used in place of a Liechi Berry to free up a moveslot (and a turn) for Swords Dance, but it can be completely negated by hazards or chip damage, so it is not as reliable for activating Unburden.

**Assault Vest**: The Hitmon family share a With a bizarrely high Special Defense stat, so an Assault Vest can make Hitmonlee a reasonable imitation of a special tank in a pinch.

**Normal Gem**: As mentioned beforehand, it can be used with Fake Out to activate Unburden.

**Protective Pads**: Most of Hitmonlee's most common attacks deal contact damage, so Protective Pads may alleviate the pain of Rocky Helmet and other contact effects in problematic matchups.

**Lum Berry**: Hitmonlee hates getting statused, so Lum Berry is one way to gain a free turn while also activating Unburden, but this is an unreliable strategy due to relying on the opponent choosing to use the status move.

Tera
========
Hitmonlee appreciates having Tera as an option, although it isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost of a higher-tier Tera Captain that has better stats and worse type coverage. When given the opportunity, Hitmonlee most often uses Tera Fighting to further increase the power of its STAB, or Tera Ground and Dark to gain relevant immunities and boost its most useful coverage moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Hitmonlee is a useful secondary win condition on teams which support Unburden users well or are in need of more offensive power, but it should never be the linchpin of the team. Its utility movepool (particularly Rapid Spin) can also make it attractive, but it is decidedly a budget pick, and is unlikely to be the first choice even when a team is in dire need of either a sweeper or hazard removal.

**Terrain Setters**: Pokemon with the “Surge” abilities that set up terrain can enable Hitmonlee to activate its Unburden ability upon switching in. These include Rillaboom, Galarian Weezing, Indeedee, and Pincurchin.

**Wallbreakers**: If Hitmonlee is attempting to sweep, it appreciates having the sturdiest walls damaged or defeated beforehand by powerful teammates like Chi-Yu, Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, and Iron Moth.

**Pivots**: Hitmonlee can rarely switch in on hits, so it appreciates teammates which can help it utilize its colorful movepool, such as Meowscarada, Corviknight, and Slowking.

Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Damage**: Most of Hitmonlee’s moves make contact, so Rocky Helmet or its equivalent contact abilities can quickly drain its health, especially when using Rapid Spin or Reversal.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to both Rapid Spin and Hitmonlee’s STAB Fighting-type attacks, although none of them like switching in on a Knock Off. Note that a Ghost-type switching in on Hitmonlee's High Jump Kick will result in it disastrous crash damage.

**Phazing**: Unburden can be permanently disabled if Hitmonlee is forced to switch out with moves like Roar or Dragon Tail, or items like Red Card. This is especially dangerous for Hitmonlee due to its middling Speed, crippling it for the rest of the battle.

**Priority Moves**: While Hitmonlee has some counterplay options with priority moves of its own, it can still be quite vulnerable against enemies that negate its Speed boosts from Unburden and Rapid Spin like Palafin, Rillaboom, and Azumarill.

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/guertena.582655/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
 
1/1 GP Team done
[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards

**Price Range**: 4-5 points

**Overview**: Hitmonlee boasts two powerful abilities in Unburden and Reckless (RC) alongside strong coverage moves that boost its offensive value to the teams that draft it. With Swords Dance and a Speed boost, it can threaten to clean house against up weakened teams (RC) or simply use its helpful movepool to take advantage of momentum generated by teammates. Its base Speed is relatively poor, (AC) and its physical Defense is abysmal, however, leaving Hitmonlee incredibly vulnerable without stat boosts.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Boasting the second strongest base Attack of all Unburden users and arguably the best coverage options, Hitmonlee can position itself for a clean sweep of enemy teams by consuming its item and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance, especially when paired with Terrain.

**Wallbreaker**: Hitmonlee can use its good Attack stat, high base power high-Base Power moves, and sometimes Reckless to punch (or rather, kick) holes in opponents' defensive cores, softening them up for a teammate's late game late-game sweep.

**Offensive Utility**: Despite lacking the ability to spin on its head like a dreidel (RC) Hitmonlee has access to the coveted Rapid Spin, granting meaning it has the ability to threaten a strong Fighting-type STAB Fighting-type move, spammable coverage moves like Knock Off or and Earthquake, Taunt to shut down passive walls, and entry hazard removal with a built-in Speed boost (RC) all in the same moveset.

would mention terrain somewhere above, specifically psychic/grassy (RP) (This looks like a QC comment, have you implemented this?)

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Close Combat, High Jump Kick, Mach Punch

**Setup Moves**: Bulk Up, Swords Dance

**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Rapid Spin, Taunt, Substitute

**Coverage**: Earthquake, Knock Off, Lunge, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sucker Punch, Bullet Punch, Blaze Kick

Niche Moves
========
**Endure / Reversal**: One of the oldest tricks in Hitmonlee’s book, Endure and Reversal can be utilized alongside a Liechi Berry on Unburden sets allowing it to fire off 200 BP 200-Base Power STAB Reversals at +1 with a doubled Speed stat when reduced to a sliver of HP. This can be an risky yet potentially lucrative strategy, vulnerable to Fighting-immune Pokemon, status, chip damage, priority, and opponents predicting the Endure.

**Upper Hand**: When paired with the above two moves, this can mitigate Hitmonlee’s weakness to priority against non-Ghost-type opponents foes.

**Fling**: Hitmonlee can use Fling alongside a Big Nugget for a 130 BP (RC) 130-Base Power one-time use Dark-type move while also activating Unburden. Other items, like Light Ball, can provide utility instead of raw damage.

**Fake Out**: While not as powerful as a Fake Out from its Technician-wielding brother (RC) Hitmonlee’s Fake Out serves a niche purpose in dealing chip damage while also activating Unburden by consuming a Normal Gem.

Common Items
========
**Terrain Seed**: The Terrain Seeds are the standard method of activating Unburden (RC) when Hitmonlee is paired with a Terrain-setting Pokemon. The Defense boost from Electric and Grassy Seed deserve special mention for upgrading Hitmonlee's Defense stat from "awful" to "average". (don't need the speech marks here)

**White Herb**: White Herb can activate Unburden without the help of a teammate by clearing the negative stat drops from Hitmonlee’s Close Combat.

**Choice Band**: On wallbreaking sets, a Choice Band can help Hitmonlee deliver maximally powerful Close Combats Combat or High Jump Kicks Kick.

Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Expert Belt, Black Belt, and Life Orb (RC) can offer more flexibility to Hitmonlee than a Choice Band can for using its utility moves (RC) and combating Pokemon with immunities to its most common attacks.

**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Hitmonlee resists Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots can help it switch in and remove entry hazards more often over the course of the battle, aiding its utility sets.

**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can be used in place of a Liechi Berry to free up a moveslot (and a turn) for Swords Dance, but it can be completely negated by hazards or chip damage, so it is not as reliable for activating Unburden.

**Assault Vest**: Hitmonlee boasts a bizarrely high Special Defense stat, so an Assault Vest can make Hitmonlee a reasonable imitation of a (Or something a bit more clear - 'reasomable' means good but the imitation of part doesn't read as good, so this won't be clear to a new reader) special tank in a pinch.

**Normal Gem**: As mentioned beforehand, it Normal Gem can be used with Fake Out to activate Unburden.

**Protective Pads**: Most of Hitmonlee's most common attacks deal contact damage, so Protective Pads may alleviate the pain of Rocky Helmet and other contact effects in problematic matchups.

**Lum Berry**: Hitmonlee hates getting statused, so Lum Berry is one way to gain a free turn while also activating Unburden, but this is an unreliable strategy due to relying on the opponent choosing to use the foe using a status move.

Tera
========
Hitmonlee appreciates having Tera as an option, although it isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost of a higher-tier Tera Captain that has better stats and worse type coverage. When given the opportunity, Hitmonlee most often uses Tera Fighting to further increase the power of its STAB (RC) moves or Tera Ground and Dark to gain relevant immunities and boost its most useful coverage moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Hitmonlee is a useful secondary win condition wincon on teams which that support Unburden users well or are in need of more offensive power, but it should never be the linchpin of the team. Its utility movepool, (AC) (particularly Rapid Spin), (AC) can also make it attractive, but it is decidedly a budget pick (RC) and is unlikely to be the first choice for its role even when a team is in dire need of a sweeper or entry hazard removal.

**Terrain Setters**: Pokemon with abilities that set Terrain on the field can enable Hitmonlee to activate its Unburden ability upon switching in. These include Rillaboom, Galarian Weezing, Indeedee, and Pincurchin.

**Wallbreakers**: If Hitmonlee is attempting to sweep, it appreciates having the sturdiest walls damaged or defeated beforehand by powerful teammates like Chi-Yu, Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Ursaluna-B, and Iron Moth.

**Pivots**: Hitmonlee can rarely switch in on hits, so it appreciates teammates which that can help it utilize its colorful movepool, such as Meowscarada, Corviknight, and Slowking.

Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Damage**: Most of Hitmonlee’s moves make contact, so Rocky Helmet or its equivalent contact abilities can quickly drain its health, especially when using Rapid Spin or Reversal.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to both Rapid Spin and Hitmonlee’s Fighting-type STAB Fighting-type attacks, although none of them like switching in on a Knock Off. Note that a Ghost-type switching in on Hitmonlee's High Jump Kick will result in it disastrous crash damage.

**Phazing**: Unburden can be permanently disabled if Hitmonlee is forced to switch out with moves like Roar or and Dragon Tail (RC) or items like Red Card. This is especially dangerous for Hitmonlee due to its middling Speed, crippling it for the rest of the battle.

**Priority Moves**: While Hitmonlee has some counterplay options with priority moves of its own, it can still be quite vulnerable against enemies that negate its Speed boosts from Unburden and Rapid Spin like Palafin, Rillaboom, and Azumarill.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/guertena.582655/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
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