I see that a majority of users on here still prefer Hitmonlee.
That worries me. Especially after this pic was leaked onto the internet about a year ago.
I prefer Hitmonchan because he just seems cooler to me. Yes, he is a little bit low on the attack stat side and doesn't really need the little increase in defense that Hitmonlee doesn't have, but he has a much broader movepool. In addition to the elemental punches (which don't work well for him in Gen III, sadly), he also has access to Pursuit and Sky Uppercut, so it's able to hit escaping pokemon and flying pokemon as well. For example, if both Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were up against a flying pokemon, Hitmonchan would probably end out on top after using Sky Uppercut on the flying pokemon, because both would probably be K.O.'d after a hit from Fly.