Should You Choose Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop in Pokemon GO?

What form should Pokemon GO trainers choose for their Tyrogue: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop?

This may be one of the toughest choices fighting-type fans will have to make. Upon receiving a Tyrogue, there are three options trainers can make for its evolution. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan both hail from the Kanto region and are best known for their lower and upper-body-focused fighting styles, respectively—as well as their references to beloved martial arts legends, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. The third, form, Hitmontop, did not debut until much later with the Johto region.

Pokemon GO: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop

For the sake of time and reader convenience, we've split each Pokemon into its own separate subheading. All three are pure fighting-types that share a resistance to rock, bug, and dark-types while being vulnerable to psychic, flying, and fairy-types. They all require 25 candies to evolve.

Hitmonlee

Hitmonlee can only evolve from a Tyrogue with a high attack stat and is best known for its spring-like legs. It can deliver "devastating kicks" to opponents and potentially knock them over in battle. Its PokeDex number is 106.

Hitmonlee has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 2912
• Maximum HP: 217
• Attack: 224
• Defense: 181
• Stamina: 137

Its best moveset contains the quick move(s) Low Kick and Counter and charged move Close Combat.

Hitmonchan

Hitmonchan can only evolve from a high-defense Tyrogue and is known for its indomitable spirit in the fact of adversity. It "is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working toward a world championship." Hitmonchan's PokeDex number is 107.

It has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 2636
• Maximum HP: 127
• Attack: 193
• Defense: 197
• Stamina: 137

Hitmonchan's best moveset contains the quick move(s) Counter and Rock Smash alongside the charged move(s) Close Combat and Power-Up Punch.

Hitmontop

Hitmontop can only evolve from a high-stamina Tyrogue and is best known for spinning on its head like a top. It lashes out with its feet, providing this Pokemon with "a remarkable mix of both offense and defense at the same time." Its PokeDex number is 237.

Hitmontop has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 2438
• Maximum HP: 127
• Attack: 173
• Defense: 207
• Stamina: 137

Its best moveset contains the quick move(s) Counter and Rock Smash paired with the charged move Close Combat.

Who to Choose in Pokemon GO: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop

Surprisingly, there isn't a true loser in this contest—but there is a clear winner. Hitmonlee outdoes its siblings both in stats and CP threshold. Unlike Hitmonchan, it doesn't suffer the poor trade-off of equalizing its attack and defense into the 190s and doesn't have nearly the same deficit comparison as Hitmontop.

Our runner-up would be Hitmonchan simply due to its more balanced stats and higher CP threshold. This leaves the youngest sibling, Hitmontop, as the poorest choice of the bunch.