For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, we rate Honchkrow C-Tier: a niche pick in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's meta. At 505 BST, it fits the cannon role. Bravebird with Scopelens is the standard set.

What is Honchkrow weak to?

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Honchkrow's biggest threats include Manectric (Electric), Weavile (Ice), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Fairy-type attackers are also a problem.

What is the best ability for Honchkrow?

Insomnia is the go-to ability for Honchkrow. It prevents sleep. Its hidden ability Moxie can work in specific setups. Super Luck is the other option. Pick based on what your team needs.

What role does Honchkrow play in battle?

Base 71 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Honchkrow is a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a cannon.

What are the best moves for Honchkrow?

For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, the core moveset is Bravebird, Sucker Punch, Heat Wave, and Superpower. Bravebird leads at 24% usage. This set covers the cannon role with a mix of damage and utility.

Honchkrow - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Cannon

CTier

71Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

Raw Attack carries Honchkrow's bulk more than the defenses do. Defense barely registers. But that HP pool covers for it. A tough to catch Big Boss Pokemon that yields 2 Attack EVs on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats

High

HP100

Attack125

Defense52

Sp. Atk105

Sp. Def52

Speed71

Total505

Details

Catch Rate

Difficult30 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height0.9 m

Weight27.3 kg

Base XP177

Abilities

Insomnia

Prevents sleep.

Super LuckTop Pick

Raises moves' critical hit rates one stage.

MoxieHANiche

Raises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.

EV Yield

HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

Becoming active at night, it is known to form flocks with numerous Murkrow in tow.

Honchkrow Weakness

Type-wise, Honchkrow takes extra damage from Electric, Ice, Rock, and Fairy. Ground and Psychic moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity.

Honchkrow Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Electric, Ice, Rock, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)	Grass, Ghost, Dark
0x (Immune)	Ground, Psychic

Type ChartGood

4Weak

3Resist

2Immune

Score+1

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Electric Ice Rock Fairy

½xResist

Grass Ghost Dark

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Ground Psychic

STAB (5)

Psychic Ghost Grass Fighting Bug

How to Beat Honchkrow in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Weavile's Ice Shard hits Honchkrow for 58-68%. Clefable's Moonblast hits Honchkrow for 82-97%. Rotom's Discharge also KOs at 89-104%.

Weavile DarkIce	A
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves Knock Off Ice Shard Triple Axel Swords Dance Damage vs Honchkrow Knock Off 23-28% Ice Shard 2x 58-68% View Weavile builds →
Clefable Fairy	A
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Guard ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves MoonblastSTAB Soft Boiled Calm Mind Knock Off Damage vs Honchkrow Moonblast 2x 82-97% Knock Off 7-9% View Clefable builds →
Rotom ElectricGhost	C
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemAssault Vest NatureTimid Moves Dark Pulse DischargeSTAB HexSTAB Nasty Plot Damage vs Honchkrow Dark Pulse 15-17% Discharge 2x 89-104%KO Hex 18-21% View Rotom builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

Getting Honchkrow requires an evolution item, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Murkrow. Breed this form to get Murkrow eggs (average hatch time). HP grew the most through evolution (+40 over Murkrow), and Honchkrow peaks at 505 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#198Murkrow

Dusk Stone

#430Honchkrow

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Murkrow

DarkFlying

Honchkrow

DarkFlying

100+40

ATK

125+40

DEF

52+10

SP.ATK

105+20

SP.DEF

52+10

SPE

71-20

BST

405B-Tier

505B-Tier+100

ROLE

Balanced

Cannon

TYPE

Mixed

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Honchkrow to get Murkrow eggs easily using 31 partners from the Flying egg group. Notable egg moves include Assurance, Brave Bird, Confuse Ray and 9 more.

Egg Groups

Flying

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

12moves

Breed With (best first)

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Honchkrow Best Moveset

Fighting coverage keeps opponents guessing about Honchkrow's real targets. Scopelens provides extra utility while max HP and Attack EVs and Lonely nature handle the stat profile. Superluck ties it together.

Best Build

Experimental

Physical Tank

Ability

Super Luck

Item

Scope Lens

Best Nature for Honchkrow

Lonely+ATK

Honchkrow best EVs are Attack and HP

EVs

Atk

SpA

Physical Tank Moveset

Brave BirdSTAB
Sucker PunchSTAB
Heat Wave
SuperpowerCoverage

Recommended Teammates

ZapdosDecent

MachampDecent

Moves

Breeding's the move. Assurance and Brave Bird give Honchkrow options it can't learn any other way, and Ghost and Psychic coverage and more already covers a decent range on top of Sky Attack and Brave Bird. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Air Cutter

C609525Flying

Lv 1

Assurance

—6010010Dark

Lv 1

Astonish

—3010015Ghost

Lv 1

Gust

C4010035Flying

Lv 1

Haze

C——30Ice

Lv 1

Mean Look

D——5Normal

Lv 1

Night Shade

D—10015Ghost

Lv 1

Night Slash

B7010015Dark

Lv 1

Peck

—3510035Flying

Lv 1

Sucker Punch+1

S701005Dark

Lv 1

Tailwind

C——15Flying

Lv 1

Taunt

C—10020Dark

Lv 1

Torment

D—10015Dark

Lv 1

Wing Attack

—6010035Flying

Lv 25

Swagger

D—8515Normal

Lv 35

Nasty Plot

C——20Dark

Lv 45

Foul Play

B9510015Dark

Lv 55

Night Slash

B7010015Dark

Lv 65

Quash

D—10015Dark

Lv 75

Dark Pulse

B8010015Dark

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

C60—20Flying

TM45

Attract

C—10015Normal

TM04

Calm Mind

C——20Psychic

TM79

Dark Pulse

B8010015Dark

TM97

Defog

C——15Flying

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM85

Dream Eater

C10010015Psychic

TM58

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM94

Fly

B909515Flying

TM68

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM63

Nasty Plot

C——20Dark

TM66

Payback

C5010010Dark

TM88

Pluck

—6010020Flying

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM77

Psych Up

C——10Normal

TM29

Psychic

C9010010Psychic

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM51

Roost

C——10Flying

TM30

Shadow Ball

C8010015Ghost

TM82

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM78

Snarl

C559515Dark

TM47

Steel Wing

A709025Steel

TM90

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

D—8515Normal

TM12

Taunt

C—10020Dark

TM46

Thief

C6010025Dark

TM73

Thunder Wave

C—9020Electric

TM41

Torment

D—10015Dark

Egg Moves

Egg

Assurance

—6010010Dark

Egg

Brave Bird

S12010015Flying

Egg

Confuse Ray

D—10010Ghost

Egg

Drill Peck

B8010020Flying

Egg

Feather Dance

D—10015Flying

Egg

Flatter

D—10015Dark

Egg

Perish Song

D——5Normal

Egg

Psycho Shift

D—10010Psychic

Egg

Screech

D—8540Normal

Egg

Sky Attack

B140905Flying

Egg

Whirlwind-6

D——20Normal

Egg

Wing Attack

—6010035Flying

Tutor Moves

Honchkrow can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Honchkrow in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

You're catching Murkrow first, not Honchkrow. Murkrow appears at decent rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Honchkrow in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

The path to Honchkrow starts with Murkrow at Lv. 10-21 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

Step 1Catch Murkrow
Eterna Forest
Grass Lv.10-11 Forest
20%Early
Night
Lost Tower - 1F
Grass Lv.17 Building
20%Mid
Night
Lost Tower - 2F
Grass Lv.18 Building
20%Mid
Night
Lost Tower - 3F
Grass Lv.19 Building
20%Mid
Night
Lost Tower - 4F
Grass Lv.20 Building
20%Mid
Night
Lost Tower - 5F
Grass Lv.21 Building
20%Mid
Night
Grassland Cave
Grass Lv.16-20 Cave
Mid
Riverbank Cave
Grass Lv.16-20 Cave
Mid
Spacious Cave
Grass Lv.16-20 Cave
Mid
Still-Water Cavern
Grass Lv.16-20 Cave
Mid
Sunlit Cavern
Grass Lv.16-20 Cave
Mid
Dusk Stone
Step 2Honchkrow ✓

Honchkrow Guide

For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, we rate Honchkrow C-Tier: a niche pick in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's meta. At 505 BST, it fits the cannon role. Bravebird with Scopelens is the standard set.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Honchkrow's biggest threats include Manectric (Electric), Weavile (Ice), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Fairy-type attackers are also a problem.
Insomnia is the go-to ability for Honchkrow. It prevents sleep. Its hidden ability Moxie can work in specific setups. Super Luck is the other option. Pick based on what your team needs.
Base 71 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Honchkrow is a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a cannon.
For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, the core moveset is Bravebird, Sucker Punch, Heat Wave, and Superpower. Bravebird leads at 24% usage. This set covers the cannon role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Obtainable through an item-based evolution, Honchkrow appears in 12 titles across 7 generations since Diamond & Pearl. The evolution method adds a barrier that wild-catchable Pokemon don't have.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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