Is Honchkrow Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Dusk Stone on Murkrow. Dark/Flying with AbilityInsomnia preventing sleep. The Gen 4 evolution gives Murkrow real power. Strong Attack handles Morty through Dark and Will through Dark. Available if you source Murkrow from Safari Zone.
Murkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Murkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Murkrow trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Murkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Murkrow trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Jasmine's team hits Honchkrow's weaknesses hard.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Honchkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Lt. Surge's team hits Honchkrow's weaknesses hard.
Honchkrow resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Honchkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Honchkrow resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Honchkrow resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Honchkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Honchkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Honchkrow has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Honchkrow trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Murkrow
Catch Murkrow in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 15-17, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 15)
- LV 15FlyingWing AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 35
- After Morty
- TM88FlyingPluckPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 40
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15From Chuck's wife outside Cianwood Gym
- LV 35DarkFeint AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- LV 45DarkSucker PunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
Evolve Murkrow to Honchkrow
Murkrow evolves into Honchkrow with a Dusk Stone. Post-Game: You can pick up the Dusk Stone in Cerulean Cave. Requires Rock Climb.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31FlyingWing AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 35
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Morty
- TM88FlyingPluckPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 40
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15From Chuck's wife outside Cianwood Gym
- After Clair
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- LV 45DarkNight SlashPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 55DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Honchkrow in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Honchkrow doesn't appear wild. Catch Murkrow instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Honchkrow. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.
Catch Murkrow at any of these 3 spots to eventually evolve into Honchkrow.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Murkrow
- 2Evolve HonchkrowUse Dusk Stone
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Honchkrow in HGSS
To get Honchkrow, start by catching Murkrow through walking encounters at Lv. 15-29. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Honchkrow ✓
How to Get Shiny Honchkrow in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Honchkrow needs a Dusk Stone, so breed a Murkrow Masuda-style and evolve it up once it shines. Compare Shiny Honchkrow odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Honchkrow Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Honchkrow already selected.
Honchkrow Weakness
Type-wise, Honchkrow takes extra damage from Electric, Ice, and Rock. Ground and Psychic moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Ghost, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground, Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Honchkrow Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Honchkrow
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x249-293%KO Avalanche 2x67-79% Thunderbolt 2x49-57% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Tyranitar builds →Stone Edge 2x139-163%KO Thunderbolt 2x66-77% Ice Beam 2x66-77% | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Aggron builds →Stone Edge 2x117-138%KO Avalanche 2x47-56% Thunderbolt 2x46-54% | ||
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x135-159%KO Avalanche 2x54-64% Thunderbolt 2x37-44% | ||
 Raikou Electric | B | |
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Pewter City Gift) | ||
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodRoute 10 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Zapdos builds →Thunderbolt 2x124-146%KO Ancient Power 2x53-62% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Kabutops builds →Stone Edge 2x122-143%KO Ice Beam 2x49-57% | ||
 Articuno Ice | C | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 2x98-116%KO Ancient Power 2x41-49% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Honchkrow View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 2x90-106%KO Thunderbolt 2x60-71% | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter | ||
Honchkrow Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed with Honchkrow to get Murkrow eggs easily using 31 partners from the Flying egg group. Notable egg moves include Brave Bird, Confuse Ray, Drill Peck and 9 more.
HGSS Honchkrow Best Moveset
Dark/Flying at 125 Attack with MoveSucker Punch bypassing the mediocre 71 Speed through priority. The moveset fires Dark-type priority that hits before anything responds, and 105 Sp. Atk adds mixed potential. AbilitySuper Luck boosts crit rates. 52 defenses are the cost.
Best Build
Honchkrow best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Heat Wave
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Brave Bird and Confuse Ray give Honchkrow options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 8 types already covers a decent range on top of Sky Attack and Brave Bird. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
25 of 26 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
It is merciless by nature. It is said that it never forgives the mistakes of its MURKROW followers.
Honchkrow HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Honchkrow plays as a cannon. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Naughty is the go-to nature for Honchkrow. That's +Attack / -Sp. Def. Pair it with 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the cannon role.
Game Availability
Obtainable through an item-based evolution, Honchkrow appears in 12 titles across 6 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
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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