Pokemon Let's Go: Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan - who should you choose in the Fighting Dojo?

One classic moment in Pokemon Red, Blue and Green is the moment when you fight through the pseudo-gym that is the Saffron City Fighting Dojo - and when you do, you'll be given the option to pick up Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan. This choice is also present in Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let's Go Eevee - but which should you choose?

Ultimately at a base level this choice will give you the same thing - a high-powered fighting Pokemon that's very difficult (although not impossible) to encounter in the wild in Kanto.

As with choosing between the Helix and Dome Fossils, there is something of a difference between the two, however, and that's what we're going to break down on this page, in turn helping you to make that difficult choice between Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan.

For more Pokemon Let's Go help, check out our other guides covering everything from Mega Evolution and Alolan forms to the new Pikachu and Eevee exclusive moves.

Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee - who should you take from the fighting Dojo?

The truth is, there's no wrong decision between these two Pokemon species - it all depends on your team make-up in Pokemon Let's Go. The easiest way to make the decision is to be informed - so we're going to break down the need-to-know information here in that old faifthful classic - a bullet point list. We love a list. Especially when it comes to Pokemon. So - Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee?

Before we get to the list, here's the tldr - Hitmonlee is a better raw fighting-type Pokemon with higher attack and speed but a more limited range of moves, but Hitmonchan can be a jack-of-all trades that can also dish out physical elemental damage.

It's important to note that while Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee are rare, you can encounter them rarely in the wild - look for them in the late game in the Victory Road area. Increase your chances of encountering them by racking up a nice high catch combo (which also gives you higher odds of encountering shiny Pokemon, by the way.

Hitmonlee facts and figures

When kicking, the sole of its foot turns as hard as a diamond on impact and destroys its enemy.

• Hitmonlee features some stats that are more impressive than its rival:
  • Hitmonlee has a higher attack stat of 120
  • It also has a naturally higher speed stat of 87
• Through leveling up, Hitmonlee can learn a variety of moves including a wide variety of powerful kicks.
• Notably, Hitmonlee is a more purely fighting-type focused character, though it can learn a few elemental moves such as Blaze Kick (fire-type) naturally and several others via TM.

Hitmonchan facts and figures

Punches in corkscrew fashion. It can punch its way through a concrete wall like a drill.

• Hitmonchan has some solid stats of its own, but these are quite notable:
  • Hitmonchan has a higher Defense stat of 79, making it better at withstanding physical attacks
• Crucially, however, Hitmonchan learns a wide variety of elemental punch-based moves, meaning it can dish out damage outside the fighting type:
  • Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunder Punch are all learned at level 30, making Hitmonchan a more competent elemental fighter naturally - plus there are some further elemental moves that can be learned via TM.