Which status move would be the most useful on a competitive Honchkrow?

Question

I have already chosen its three attacking moves, but I am stuck on choosing between Confuse Ray, Toxic, and Roost. If you want to know the other moves and its ability and held item, then here it is:

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Ability - Super Luck
Item - Scope Lens
Moves -Drill Peck, Night Slash, and Steel Wing

Comments

It's really pissing off my OCD on not being able to indent...

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Also if you choose Roost I will replace Drill Peck with Brave Bird.

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What format are you asking about?

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Singles.

Answer 1

Of the three moves you listed, roost is the best. Confuse ray has been bad since the confusion nerf, and toxic is only good if you're playing defensively. Roost at least can occasionally be used when you're forcing the opponent to switch. However, if you're not limiting yourself to those three, and you're playing...

...UU, then the best status move is taunt because you can use it to stop common setup sweepers like Gliscor and Breloom.

...RU, then the best status move is mirror move because it raises your physical attack and lets you sweep if you use it as your Z-move.

...Monotype with a dark team, then the best status move is defog because Honchkrow is the best dark-type Pokemon at forcing a switch and defogging on the switch.

...anything else, then you can use any status move because Honchkrow sucks no matter what moves you teach it.

Comments

Confusion nerf?

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Confusion has only a 1/3 chance to activate when the Pokemon tries to move.

Answer 2

First off, let me congratulate you on using Honchkrow. He's one of my favorites.

Now, let's look at some of the advantages of all of the moves you have selected.

Confuse Ray: confuses the foe.
According to THIS: https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/14538/does-confuse-ray-hit-a-normal-pokemon
it hits Normal-types. It would be useful, as Honchkrow isn't very durable, and that chance for your confused foe to lose a turn is pretty nice.
Although, even one hit could spell disaster for your Honchkrow.

Toxic: Poisons the foe.
Toxic is a popular move, and for good reason. It can completely cripple sweepers under certain conditions, and it dramatically reduces the effectiveness of walls that lack an anti-status move.
Honchkrow isn't a poison-type, so Toxic's accuracy is slightly less than perfect. Also, the moves you have for Honchkrow, except for Night Slash, are resisted by steel. So, toxic won't give you a huge offensive advantage. Bulkier walls might also give you trouble.

Roost: Heals you fifty percent, loses Flying-type.
This could increase your lifespan. Also, Ice and Electric attacks would only have neutral effectiveness.
However, Honchkrow is really frail, and most hits can 2HKO it anyway, even without the super-effective bonus.

Some more moves to think about:
Taunt: prevents the foe from using status moves.
This could really mess up some stallers and walls, as well as prevent Honchkrow from being set-up bait.
Again, Honchkrow's pathetic defenses mean that most opponents won't bother inflicting him with status.

Torment: prevents the foe from using a move twice in a row.
This one can work sometimes, but it takes a bit of luck to pull of.

Haze: Eliminates all stat changes.
This can be pretty useful, especially if a Swords Dance or Nasty Plot user is knocking you down.

Tailwind: doubles the speed of your Pokemon for four turns.
This could be really useful. Aids your team, and sets Murkrow up as a potential sweeper.

OKAY.
Personally, I would choose Confuse Ray. Almost all of the other moves listed are hindered by Honchkrow's lack of bulk.
However, Toxic and Tailwind are also decent options, and in the long run, they would probably help your team more than Confuse Ray.

Comments

Confusion now only has a 1/3 chance to activate. Confuse ray is too luck-reliant and stoppable to be good.

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Better go with tailwind, then.

Answer 3

I prefer to go with Roost. It can heal Honchkrow, that is useful. But you will lose flying type and two weaknesses.