What is a good moveset for Honchkrow?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Honchkrow, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Honchkrow Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Honchkrow is easily one of my most favorite Pokemon, so I did this to work well with him.

Honchrow @ Life Orb / Focus Sash / Leftovers
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant
- Night Slash / Sucker Punch
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Tailwind

From my experience, almost everything Honchkrow can handle will switch out for fear of sucker punch, and since it requires the foe to attack you to work, they essentially get a free switch out of you. You could use Pursuit, but it limits you since it's not powerful enough to take out some essential targets without them switching out, and if you want another STAB move, you severely limit what he can cover. This tries to use honchkrow's dependability on the opponent's movements to his advantage. Send him out against a Pokemon you know will switch out with. Once it switches out, use Tailwind to double his speed. It makes him dangerously powerful, and with 530 speed (using a speed nature) not even Deoxys-S can outspeed him without a boost of its own. However, he's the only Pokemon that can if you give him an attack nature. You should watch out for enemies in his tier with speed boost, such as Yanmega, Combusken, Ninjask and Sharpedo, for fear of their outspeeding him. If your opponent has priority, you can answer back with sucker punch. Brave bird gives him an extra bit of power, while superpower's stat drops won't bother him since he'll switch out once Tailwind wears off. You could use this with moxie, but I wouldn't really recommend it from testing. Also note that he can't learn Superpower with his DW ability.

Answer 2

Honchkrow (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Night Slash-(STAB)
- Brave Bird-(STAB)
- Superpower-(Coverage)
- Roost-(Heals)

Answer 3

Gen VI

Honchkrow
Ability: Super Luck
Nature: Adamant (+ Attack, -SpAtk)
Item: Dark boosting item or flying boosting item
EVs: 252 Attack/ 252 HP/ 4 Speed

Moveset:
Night Slash: STAB, also works well with Super Luck ability.
Drill Peck: STAB, not as powerful as Brave Bird but safer and no recoil.
Steel Wing: Covers weakness to Ice, Rock, and Fairy type.
Roost: Healing move, works well with his high HP, and I just like healing moves.

Comments

I don't know if you noticed this or not but wouldn't a critical item be better for this so then you can pretty much always crit night slash or is that why it says dark or flying type boosting item

Answer 4

Honchkrow is the only Pokémon to get both STAB pursuit and perish song. How lovely.

Honchkrow @ Dread Plate / Lefties
Ability: Super Luck /Moxie
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Perish Song
- Pursuit
- Roost
- Drill Peck / Superpower / [filler]

• coverage (drill peck, superpower, etc.)

Sadly he can’t get U-turn. I would’ve put it in the last move slot.
This bad boi is set up so he can take hits and dish them out as well and heal when necessary.

Answer 5

Gen 7

Honchkrow @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Brave Bird
- Steel Wing
- Snatch

This set is similar to my Z-Snatch Mightyena set. Darknium-Z is for Z-Snatch, which doubles your speed and could potentially steal a stat boosting move like Swords Dance. Night Slash is STAB. Drill Peck is also STAB. Steel Wing covers fairy, ice, and rock weaknesses. Snatch is for Z-Snatch.

Comments

Brave Bird > Drill Peck. The higher BP is much better than just no recoil, as I can’t see it being very bulky.

Answer 6

Honchkrow @ Razor Claw
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Night Slash
- Drill Peck
- Superpower

So it appears razor claw is banned on this site, whatever replace it with life orb or leftovers.

Thunder Wave, Cuts opponents speed by x4.
Night Slash, Abusing ability, would be abusing item but that's banned,STAB.
Drill Peck, Fresh STAB and abuses ability.
Supapowa, covers some annoying weaknesses.

Answer 7

Murkrow @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Night Shade
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray / Tailwind
- Roost

Night-shade is for direct damage and for those who taunt you. Thunder-wave because there are few things more annoying than having your top Sweeper Paralyzed. Confuse-ray would give them an even lower chance of hitting you when combined with his previous move while Tailwind would be for team support. Roost is for healing. He does not have great defenses even with Evolite about 300 Defense, and 270 S.Def, with 262 Hp so he is unlikely to be OHKOed and can stall but do not over estimate him or under estimate him.

Answer 8

Double/Triple Support-krow

Murkrow @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Quash
- Tailwind
- Haze / Sunny Day / Rain Dance
- Roost

Quash is great to make fast and strong Pokemon epically fail. Tailwind makes your team Super fast. Haze can get rid of stat boosters, while Sunny-day and Rain-dance would be if you were running a weather team. Roost is for healing.

Answer 9

Scarf set

Honchkrow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Super Luck / Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Brave Bird
- Steel Wing / Return
- Superpower

Alright lemme explain.
This set works out well for me. 70 base speed and scarf is OK. Night Slash + Super Luck = Insane crits. And a Brave Bird crit can be extremely dangerous from a Pokemon with base 125 Attack. This thing is the Big Boss (pun intended). The 3rd move is a filler as the 3 moves are the best and only good moves in Honchkrow's physical movepool. Return works well while teel Wing is coverage. Superpower is OK since it has crappy defense and you're gonna switch out because Honchkrow sees many threats in UU.
Hope this set brings victory to many! :D
EDIT: SUPERPOWER + MOXIE = BOSS

Answer 10

Honchkrow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Ability: Moxie
- Sucker Punch
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Pursuit

I didn't really know what to put for the fourth moveslot, but this is what it came out to be. Sucker Punch for priority. Brave Bird for just high damage. Superpower is for coverage and high damage, and Pursuit is for predicting switches.

Answer 11

Role: Physical Sweeper

Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 128 HP / 128 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Drill Peck
- Steel Wing
- Roost

EV spread: Honchkrow, upon evolution, receives a lackluster speed but with Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) and EVs to boost its speed, it may have a chance to attack first. In case it doesn't, I prefer to spread the remaining EVs to boost its Atk as well as HP so it may hopefully take some hits.
Movepool: Night Slash for STAB as well as increased critical hit with Super Luck. Drill Peck is also for STAB, and Steel Wing is for coverage against its Ice type weakness. Roost is for recovering its HP due to using the Life Orb boosts Atk but drains a tenth of its HP per turn.

Answer 12

Gen 9 NU All-Out-Attacker

Honchkrow @ Life Orb / Black Glasses
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Assurance
- Brave Bird
- U-turn

Honchkrow unfortunately lost Roost and Superpower in Gen 9, but it did gain access to U-turn(about time). This is a Physical AoA set for Gen 9 NU. Sucker Punch is used for a priority Dark STAB to allow Honchkrow to deal damage to Pokemon faster than it. Assurance is used as Honchkrow's secondary Dark STAB. Before you ask why I chose Assurance, let me explain. As of now, hazards are pretty much everywhere, and there isn't a lot of hazard removal options that are good. Stealth Rock chipping Honchrow procs the double BP for Assurance, giving Honchkrow a Dark STAB that's stronger than Night Slash. Brave Bird is used for a powerful Flying STAB. U-turn allows Honchkrow to escape from Pokemon it cannot beat, which can allow Honchkrow to come back and clean through weakened teams late game. Black Glasses is used to boost your Dark STABs since you'll use them most of the time. Life Orb can be used instead to boost all of your attacks at the cost of recoil damage each turn. You could justify running a Choiced set with this, but the items I listed work much better for this set.

Comments

GF removing Roost doesn't make any sense at all

Answer 13

Gen 9 NU Rain Dance Setter

Murkrow @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rain Dance
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Brave Bird

If you feel like using a rain team in NU, here is a rain setter set that Murkrow can use. Rain Dance is the main move of this set since you can setup rain that lasts for 8 turns. Because of Prankster, Murkrow can setup rain first most of the time. Thunder Wave allows Murkrow to slow down fast Pokemon, and Prankster lets Murkrow slow down Pokemon faster than it. Taunt stops Pokemon from setting up hazards as well as setting up to wallbreak better. Should Murkrow be at low HP after setting up rain, Murkrow can use Brave Bird for a flying STAB that makes Murkrow take recoil damage. Murkrow taking recoil damage at low HP is useful to be able to get in a rain abuser like Barraskewda and Floatzel or Pokemon that can take advantage of rain safely. Tera Ghost is the Tera Type should you want Murkrow to spinblock Rapid Spinners trying to clear away Stealth Rock from a teammate such as Klawf or Bombirdier.