Hitmontop

Author: Bryan Lance

Hitmontop is a Pokemon that evolves from the Pokemon Tyrogue. They are mostly known for spinning on their head like a top. They are sometimes referred to as a handstand-type of Pokemon, but their real classification is a fighting-type of Pokemon. Hitmontop is a humanoid looking Pokemon that spins on its head. Its body is mostly spherical in shape and blue in color. Hitmontops have a brown triangle on their chest. They have white-colored bands on their short legs. They have very large feet that are blue in color, with a brown pad on the underside of their feet. Hitmontops have a long skinny tail that is all brown in color except for the blue sphere at the very end. Which also has a sharp spike on the end of it. Just the same as the tail, the head of Hitmontop also has a spike on it. Which it uses to maneuver around with. This Pokemon moves a lot faster using the spike on its head, than it does walking upright on its legs. They sometimes spin so fast on their heads, that the spike may sometimes act as a drill and they may accidentally bore themselves into the ground. Hitmontop also uses this same spinning motion as its main line of defense. While spinning, this Pokemon can deliver very graceful, smooth kicks to its enemies. Hitmontops are a male-only species of Pokemon. Which means there are no females. They are an urban Pokemon that are found around people in major cities and towns.

Hitmontops Abilities

One ability that Hitmontops have is an ability called Intimidate. Using Intimidate upon entering battle will cause the opposing Pokemon to lower their attack stat by one point. Which means your opponents Pokemon will deal less damage. Another ability that Hitmontops use is an ability called Technician. Using Technician in battle will power up the Pokemon's weaker moves. If the move has a power of 60 or less, it will increase the power of that move by 50%. Which can make some pretty strong moves. Hitmontops also have an ability called Steadfast. Using Steadfast in battle will boost the Pokemons speed by one point each time that the enemy causes your Pokemon to flinch. In battle when a Pokemon flinches, it stops the Pokemon from attacking, basically losing their turn in battle. Hitmontops signature move is a move called Triple Kick. Triple Kick is used by fight-type Pokemon and is a muti-strike move. Using Triple Kick will deal 10x the damage each time a blow hits an opposing Pokemon in battle.

Major Appearances

Hitmontop made his first appearance in Pichu & Pikachu. The episode aired in Japan on July 8, 2000, and then in North America on April 6, 2001. It was a very minor appearance where Hitmontop was a resident in a big town. Hitmontops first major appearance was in the episode Two Hits and a Miss. The episode was first released in Japan on September 28, 2000, and in the United States on September 15, 2001. In the episode, Hitmontop belonged to a Pokemon trainer named Chigusa. Hitmontop helps Chigusa teach students how to make their fighting-type attacks more graceful. Another episode that featured a Hitmontop was the episode Gotta Catch Ya Later. Gotta Catch Ya Later was released in Japan on November 7, 2002, and in the United States on October 18, 2003. The Hitmontop Belonged to one of the Invincible Pokemon Brothers. In the episode, he assisted another brother's Hitmonchan in a battle against Misty. The Hitmontop lost the battle against Ash's Pikachu when Pikachu used the attack Thunderbolt. In the episode Pasta La Vistawhich was released in Japan on September 29, 2005, and in the United States on July 8, 2006. In the episode Pasta La Vista, Hitmontop belonged to a Pokemon trainer named Terri. Terri used Hitmontop in a Pokemon battle against the dreadful Team Rocket, in an effort to rescue Kyle's Hitmonchan and Master Hamm's Hitmonlee.

Pokemon Playing Cards

Since the release of the Pokemon Playing Cards, Hitmontop has been featured on 10 different cards. Hitmontops first card appearance was in the Neo Discovery expansion. The card depicts Hitmontop with 60 HP and an ability called Detect. Detect has the player flip a coin and if the coin lands on heads, you prevent all attacks that are done to your Hitmontop. The card also has the move Triple Kick, which has you flip a coin 3 times and the attack does 30 damage times the number of times the coin lands on heads. In the Wizards Black Stars expansion, Hitmontop has 60 HP, with the moves Repeating Kick and Rapid Spin. Repeating Kick has the player flip a coin repeatedly until you land on tails. This attack does 20 damage times the number of times your coin lands on heads. Rapid Spin does 30 damage and if your opponent has any benched Pokemon they switch it out for the active Pokemon. You also do the same. In the Aquapolis expansion, the card has Hitmontop with 60 HP and the moves Double Kick and Triple Spin. With Double Kick, you flip two coins and do 20 damage times the number of times the coin lands on heads. In Triple Spin, you flip three coins and you do 20 damage times the number of heads. If your coin lands on heads two out of the three times, you switch out your Hitmontop for one of your benched Pokemon. In the Ex Unseen Forces expansion, Hitmontop has 70 HP and the moves Upward Kick and Spiral Kick. When using Upward Kick, if the opponents Pokemon already has two damage counters on it, you dish out the original 20 damage plus another 30. And Spiral Kick does 50 damage. In the Legends Awakened expansion, Hitmontop has 80 HP and uses the moves Triple Kick and Gut Spin. When using Gut Spin, If you have the Pokemon Tyrogue anywhere under your Hitmontop card, you can switch him out for one of your benched Pokemon. The move hits for 50 damage. In the HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion, Hitontop has 60 HP and does the moves Triple Kick and Close Combat. When using Close Combat, you deal out 60 damage but in return, any damage done to Hitmontop by attacks is increased by 20. In the Furious Fists expansion, Hitmontop has 90 HP and has the moves Quick Draw and Helicoptero. Quick Draw doesn't deal out any damage but allows you to draw one card. Helicoptero does 40 damage and allows you to switch outHitmontop for a benched Pokemon.

Hitmontop is one fighting Pokemon you definitely want on your team. The graceful kicks they produce are very strong making them great fighters in Pokemon Battles. And having some Hitmontop playing cards in your Pokemon deck will also give you a step up in the playing card world. You can produce some pretty strong attacks if you have good luck flipping a coin.