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Hitmonchan is a male-only species with no female counter-part. However, its appearance at first led many people to believe that it was a female species because of the light purple tunic it wears.
Special abilities
Hitmonchan's most notable ability is its wide versatility in boxing--its major attacks are almost all punches, making use of the boxing gloves that protect its fists.
Hitmonchan are well-known for their capability of lightning-fast punches, faster than bullet trains, that are impossible to be seen by the naked human eye. When doing this, it sometimes appears as if Hitmonchan is standing still, as the assault is too fast to be seen.
Although they have an extremely well-developed talent in quick, light blows, Hitmonchan can also throw power-packed punches. By punching in corkscrew fashion, they are able to punch through solid concrete in the same way as a drill.
Before making contact with a target, Hitmonchan will spin its arms to increase the power of its attacks. Both its speed and power punches slice the air, and are launched at such a high speed, just a slight graze by one can cause a burn.
Behavior
It is widely said that Hitmonchan possesses the spirit of a professional boxer working towards the world championship. With an indomitable spirit pushing it to work harder, it never gives up, especially in the face of adversity. However, it usually needs a short break after each fight it takes part in.
Hitmonchan are known to casually practice and hone their abilities by launching unseen volleys of punches. Since they aren't normally found in the wild, it can be hard to determine their behavior without a trainer's influence. When under the possession of a trainer, however, a Hitmonchan will eventually take after the person, as most Pokémon do; it may become a hard worker, striving to become better, or it might fight for bad purposes without question.
Habitat
Hitmonchan are extremely rare in the wild, and have virtually never been seen. It is an urban species that would typically be found near cities or suburbs rather than in forests. But, some Hitmonchan have been known to train in the mountains or at facilities made for such work, such as an abandoned fighting dojo.
In Riddle Me This, Hitmonchan was one of the Pokémon shown in an exercise gym. Team Rocket tried to steal the group of Template:Type2 Pokémon, but were stopped by Ash and his friends.
Hitmonchan also had an appearance near the very start of the Orange Islands era during The Lost Lapras, where it was owned by an obnoxious trainer that used it to attack a beached Lapras.
In Stage Fight, Hitmonchan was a major performer in a Pokémon show, where the plot was around a boxing match between it and a glove-wearing Machoke.
In Misty Meets Her Match, Rudy owned one that was momentarily shown, although it didn't participate in battle.
In Chikorita's Big Upset, it was part of a group of fighting-types that roamed the streets of the city as a gang.
Two Hits and a Miss featured a fighting-type dojo where one of the many Pokémon was a Hitmonchan.
In A Tyrogue Full of Trouble, Karate King Kiyo owned one and fought alongside it to break a rolling boulder. He later used it in battle to attempt to capture a wild Tyrogue.
Back in Kanto, another classic replay of the Hitmonlee versus Hitmonchan battle was performed in Pasta La Vista. A trainer named Kyle owned a Hitmonchan that was used in battle to decide the fate of his father's fighting dojo.
A Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working towards a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity.
A Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working towards a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity.
A Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who aimed to become the world champion. Having an indomitable spirit means that it will never give up.
Hitmonchan can be found in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon in several locations: in Mt. Faraway on floors 1-9, in Buried Relic on Floors 5-11, and in Purity Forest on floors 51-56. If the player obtains one, it will be stationed in the Mountain Range friend area at Mt. Discipline, amongst other Fighting-type Pokémon, to be called upon at any time.
However, it is impossible to befriend a Hitmonchan (or any other of the Hitmon evolutions) in a dungeon, no matter what level or rank the player is, or even if they have a Friend Ribbon. The only way to obtain a Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop is to recruit a Tyrogue, raise it to level 20, and let it evolve at Luminous Cave at the Whiscash Pond. This can be very difficult to do, because a Tyrogue's base Attack is usually much higher than its Defense. Therefore, the player has to use Gummis on it in its friend area to raise a random stat up by 1, or give it an Iron to raise the Defense stat up by 3 in order to get its Defense higher than its Attack.
It may be a personification of boxing, a fighting style and sport that focuses on punching.
Name origin
Hitmonchan's name can be broken down into hit, monster and Chan - as in Jackie Chan; perhaps meaning "The monster that hits like Jackie Chan." Its name is similar to its two parallel evolutions to Tyrogue, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop. Its Japanese name is from world champion boxer えびはら ひろゆき, Hiroyuki Ebihara.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.