Honchkrow
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Catching all those pesky Murkrow wasn’t for nothing. In swoops a highly accessible glass cannon with two notable attacking sets. Honchkrow’s Dark type DPS is surprisingly solid given how common its pre-evolution tends to be, while its Flying-type performance is just outstanding, making it a top attacker when Flying is the best type to use. It’s a handy budget option to fill raid team gaps.
Offense
- Peck + Sky Attack is a great moveset that puts Honchkrow among the game's top Flying-type DPS options. Brave Bird is also usable, but it tends to be a bit weaker.
- Snarl + Dark Pulse is a solid Dark-type attacking moveset.
- Psychic has no offensive role for Honchkrow.
Defense
- Snarl is slightly superior to Peck, but it is resisted by Machamp.
- Dark Pulse, Psychic, and Sky Attack are all strong as 2 bar charged moves.
- Brave Bird is hard to dodge, but Honchkrow doesn’t have the bulk to use it.
Snarl is recommended for its very fast energy generation, which lets it utilize its strong charge moves much sooner.
Dark Pulse is tied with Sky Attack for cost, but is slightly stronger. Brave Bird is generally the preferred secondary damage for its massive damage potential
Honchkrow is a very fragile and offensive-oriented Pokemon, with one of the poorest bulk ratings among competitive picks in this league. Honchkrow somewhat makes up for this major liability by threatening huge damage from its strong STAB charge moves, which it can access very quickly thanks to its fast energy generation. Unfortunately its reliance on shields for survival in addition to its inability to endure prolonged battles results in a poor rating. Honchkrow can make highlight reels with the sheer nuking power of its Brave Bird, but that's about all it does.
Mandibuzz, Galarian Moltres, and Bombirdier are all superior options for a Dark/Flying Pokemon, and Mandibuzz is at the top of the pecking order.
