#236, #106 - #107, #237: Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan & Hitmontop

Official Sugimori art of Tyrogue, the pre-evolution of Hitmonlee,
Hitmonchan and Hitmontop.

In Gen. I, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were two seemingly unrelated Pokémon with completely different movepools. One generation later, they both got the same pre-evolution, Tyrogue, and another brother (probably from another mother) to boot. Whereas baby Pokémon are mostly useless in my opinion, Tyrogue has one nice shtick: it is able to evolve into three different Pokémon (one per Tyrogue, of course), which is more than any other Pokémon aside from Eevee. It actually makes Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan related, something that wasn't really clear in Red, Blue and Yellow, mainly because they look different from each other and have completely different movepools: Hitmonlee focuses on kicking moves, while Hitmonchan specializes in punching moves. The second generation even saw the introduction of another evolution alongside Tyrogue: Hitmontop. This means you can choose from three different Tyrogue evolutions to use, and that is exactly what a baby Pokémon should be used for (the only other useful one is Pichu, who can learn the exclusive move Volt Tackle through breeding). Unfortunately, most baby Pokémon are useless and don't have anything to add to their already existing basic forms. I know I've said this a million times already, but I just can't emphasize it enough.

The Hitmon family, consisting of (clockwise
starting from the left) Tyrogue, Hitmonchan,
Hitmonlee and Hitmontop. 

Combat-wise, though, Tyrogue is far from useful. No surprises there, as it is a baby Pokémon and baby Pokémon are generally not really useful in battle, anyway. Maybe that's why this little rascal is always bursting with energy, challenging everyone (even larger foes) to become stronger. Because it is determined to do so, Tyrogue will not quit no matter how many times it loses, often nursing its injuries as a result of that. It even becomes stressed if it won't be able to exercise every single day, which is why its Trainer should establish and maintain a regular training schedule. Tyrogue will be happy, because all of this training will pay off quickly when it evolves at level 20. When its attack is higher than its defense, it will evolve into Hitmonlee; when its defense is higher than its attack, it will evolve into Hitmonchan; and when its attack and defense are the same, it will evolve into Hitmontop. This suggests that you'll get one of those three at random, but you'll be able to manipulate that by giving Tyrogue certain vitamins (Proteins when you want Hitmonlee, Irons when you want Hitmonchan, and both if you want Hitmontop) or grinding Tyrogue up to level 20 while battling Pokémon that give off attack or defense EVs. This sounds complicated, but it's not if you know what you're doing. Even if you don't, you'll get at least one of Tyrogue's three evolutions, and all three of them work out differently in competitive play.

The first is Hitmonlee (whose name is derived from Bruce Lee), who may be the personification of kickboxing and the martial art taekwondo, as it specializes in kicking moves. In fact, Hitmonlee's legs act like a coiled spring, which allows it to run with lengthy strides and gives it greater reach for its kicks due to its flexibility, while its excellent sense of balance enables it to launch lethal successive kicks from any position, especially since the sole of Hitmonlee's foot turns as hard as diamond upon impact. It's a little unsettling Hitmonlee looks like blemmyae or βλέμμυες, headless men in Greek mythology who have their facial features on their chests, but otherwise it's just a cool and strong Pokémon.

TCG art of Hitmonlee.

So it won't come as a surprise that Hitmonlee has a great attack stat that it can use to easily OHKO opponents. Too bad its speed is a little average, but that can be fixed by using a Jolly-natured Hitmonlee with invested speed EVs and a Choice Scarf as a hold item, even though an Adamant nature and/or a Life Orb can be used for a little extra power, especially in combination with Reckless. This ability powers up moves that cause recoil or crash damage, like its staple move High Jump Kick. Limber prevents paralysis but is situational, while Unburden doubles Hitmonlee's speed when its held item is lost (usually a Berry). In combination with a Liechi Berry, which raises its attack in a pinch, and the moves Endure and Reversal, this makes for a great late-game sweep. Otherwise just go with Reckless and the moves High Jump Kick, Knock Off, Stone Edge and Close Combat, while moves like Mach Punch (to make a move first), Bullet Punch (see Mach Punch), Rapid Spin (to remove entry hazards) and other strong coverage moves like Blaze Kick, Poison Jab and Earthquake are also viable options.

The second Tyrogue evolution is Hitmonchan (whose name is derived from Jackie Chan) and is the personification of boxing. This becomes apparent when looking at the color of its gloves in its normal (red boxing gloves) and shiny coloration (blue boxing gloves), which is refers to the red and blue corners in boxing. Also, Hitmonchan is said to be possessed by the spirit of a pro boxer working towards a championship, and it needs a break after three minutes of fighting, which is a reference to the duration of rounds in boxing as well. But when Hitmonchan fights, it does so incredibly efficiently: its punches are so fast that they can't bee seen with the naked eye and even a slight graze of one of them can cause a burn. By punching with a corkscrew motion, Hitmonchan is even capable of drilling through concrete.

Hitmonchan's official art.

Despite its characteristics, Hitmonchan isn't as strong as Hitmonlee. However, it makes up for that with an excellent ability: Iron Fist, which powers up punching moves by 20%. And Hitmonchan learns A TON of useful punching moves, including Mach Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Bullet Punch, Drain Punch and even Focus Punch (works best in conjunction with Substitute). Forget about Inner Focus and don't even mention Keen Eye; Iron Fist is the number one ability to go with. Unfortunately, Hitmonchan is slower and slightly weaker than Hitmonlee, which is compensated by a better defense stat, hence its evolution method. The fact that it is capable of taking at least one physical-based hit means that the Substitute/Focus Punch combo is a viable option, but mostly you'll be better off with Drain Punch (which is STAB and heals HP), Mach Punch, Ice Punch and another move like Rapid Spin, Bullet Punch or Close Combat. As it's not fast anyway, an Adamant nature and a Life Orb or Fist Plate are more than fine to use. In that regard, Hitmonchan is quite the predictable Pokémon, which isn't even a bad thing considering its current moveset in combination with its Iron Fist ability is extremely effective.

TCG art of Hitmontop.

The last evolution of Tyrogue is Hitmontop, introduced alongside Tyrogue in Gen. II, one generation later than Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. Based on a top and probably the personification of the Brazilian martial art capoeira, Hitmontop moves more quickly by spinning on the spike on its head than it does by walking normally. Capable of spinning at high speeds, it delivers smooth and graceful kicks and may even bore into the ground similar to a drill. Its spinning technique is an offensive as well as a defensive mechanism, which manifests itself through its evolution method and its stats: the fact that Tyrogue's attack and defense must be equal in order for it to evolve into Hitmontop is akin to how a top must be in equilibrium to remain upright. As for Hitmontops stats, its attack and defense are exactly the same. This actually coincides with its evolution method, something that didn't really apply to Hitmonchan, as Hitmonchan's attack is still higher than its defense. There is an explanation for that, though: Hitmonchan was one of the first 151 Pokémon, while Tyrogue's evolution method wasn't introduced until the second generation.

GIF of Hitmontop spinning. 

Hitmontop's equal attack and defense stats make room for a more defensive take on the Hitmon family, even though its close-to-terrible HP makes an all-out defensive approach nigh impossible. Nigh, not entirely. Run an Impish-natured Hitmontop with Intimidate (lowers the opponent's attack stat by one stage), invest EVs in HP and Defense, and make its moveset consist of Close Combat, Rapid Spin, Foresight and Toxic. Foresight is used to hit ghost-type Pokémon with Rapid Spin, who would otherwise be immune to it as it is a normal-type move, but if you want a more offensive move for type coverage, Earthquake and Stone Edge are viable options as well. Mach Punch is an excellent STAB priority move, while Fake Out can be used when you have just switched in to Hitmontop (otherwise the move will fail) and want the opponent to flinch and receive a little damage first. An all-out offensive Hitmontop isn't unheard of either, especially combined with its ability Technician (which powers up moves with a base power of 60 or lower by 50%) and the moves Mach Punch, Fake Out and/or Bullet Punch, but I recommend leaving that to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan.

That's what I like about the Hitmon family, anyway: all three of them are so completely different in their battle techniques and their flavor. Taekwondo, boxing and capoeira are all completely different fighting sports and I think it's great that these Pokémon are based on them, even though I hate sports in general. Personally, I would like to use Hitmonchan once, just because it is more diverse in its movepool than its two counterparts. But that medieval bowl cut, Hitmontop? Not done. Absolutely not done.

Rating: 4/5