Although Hitmontop can stand on and even walk with their legs, it is as painful and disorienting as a human standing on their head. Yet standing on their head for a Hitmontop is not much better; they can only balance on their head while standing still for about a minute, and must rely on the centrifugal force generated by their spinning kicks to stay upright. Because of this, most Hitmontop continue spinning until they fall over, and it is this trait which has led small spinning toys to be called "tops".
Their lack of mobility and restricted field of vision makes them poor athletes in all sports save perhaps for pokemon battles, where their spinning kicks allow them to block many an attack; indeed, it is common for their heads to drill into the ground while they spin in place. (They are, however, quite overrated in fighting video games, where their spin-kicks require little more than button mashing to perform effectively.) Where they are useful, however, is in training. If one tosses a ball to a Hitmontop, they can kick it with a mighty force at virtually any angle, a fact which has seen them pressed into service to train goaltenders in Goal Roll. To many goaltenders, this training is more difficult than a match itself.
A couple enterprising coaches have gone so far as to use Hitmontop, despite their lack of mobility, as players, making them stand near the front and receive passes in order to take advantage of their excellent shots. This strategy has been generally dismissed as a failure, for Hitmontop who try to stay in place and wait for a pass get as dizzy as humans who try to spin like Hitmontop.