#198, #430: Murkrow & Honchkrow

Murkrow.

So. Two more entries before I get to discussing Unown. Man, I can't wait to talk about Unown.

For now I'm gonna focus on Murkrow and Honchkrow, though. These Pokémon are obviously crows and Honchkrow is even the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch... oh wait, wrong franchise. Well, at least it is the Lord Commander of the Italian mafia, as it is not only based on a crow but on a mob boss as well. That's awesome. However, let's not jump ahead too much and take a look at Murkrow first. This bird can be taken to resemble a gang member under Honchkrow, although the crest on its head and its tail might also resemble a pointed hat and the bristles of a broom, respectively, giving it a resemblance to a witch in flight. Additionally, Honchkrow's tail looks like a besom broom, which, along with its hat- and beard-like feathers, give it the impression of a sorcerer or wizard. All this reminds me a little of Magica De Spell (in the Netherlands we call her Zwarte Magica, after zwarte magie, 'black magic'), who is a duck witch with a pet crow and continuously attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime. It's all very innocent, of course, as it's Disney after all, but still...

Darker pieces of fan art are some of my favorite. This artist managed to make
Murkrow really ominous here, as seeing one is an omen of dark things to come,
although it is more of a prankster. 

And, lo and behold, Murkrow has a fondness for sparkly things and will steal objects such as jewelry to bring back to its nest, even when it comes directly from a woman's finger. Stealing glittering things is a trait that is more often attributed to magpies than to crows, but whatever. Contrary to popular belief, magpies and crows don't steal shiny things anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Murkrow does steal shiny things, and goes as far as to fight with other Pokémon that like them; Meowth and Murkrow even loot one another's stashes. Whenever it is chased, it loses its pursuer by leading it down a dark mountain trail, which it even does to other humans and Pokémon by way of a mean-spirited prank. People in the Pokémon world even get superstitious when it comes to Murkrow: they fear and loathe it and believe it to bring misfortune to those who see it at night.

Honchkrow acting as if it's putting a fedora on its head.

In short, Murkrow is nothing more than a criminal bird, which brings me to Honchkrow's origin. What, you want evidence that Honchkrow is based on the boss of a crime syndicate? Well, three leaders of villainous teams have had a Honchkrow on their teams so far: Giovanni from Team Rocket (who is a mob boss himself, which is a very nice touch Game Freak added there), Cyrus from Team Galactic and Lysandre from Team Flare. Its crest looks like a fedora hat, a piece of headgear often associated with mobsters, and its namesake screams it is based on a crime boss. Let's go:

English: Honchkrow is derived from 'honcho' - which in itself is derived from the Japanese word of hanchō - and means as much as 'leader' or 'boss'.

Japanese: Donkarasu (ドンカラス) is from don, Spanish for 'lord', and karasu, Japanese for crow. The Korean name Donkeurou (돈크로우) is a transliteration of Honchkrow's Japanese name and means exactly the same. This name actually makes the most sense, because 'Don' is a title many mafia leaders adopt.

German: Kramshef is a combination of Krähe and Chef, meaning 'crow' and 'boss', respectively.

Mandarin Chinese: Wūyātóutóu (烏鴉頭頭) is literally 'crow chief'.

French: Corboss is derived from the French word for 'crow', corneille (Bulbapedia says corbeau, but I'm going to contradict that because a corbeau is a raven), and 'boss'.

Still not convinced? Well, Honchkrow makes all Murkrow its bitches by uttering a deep cry, for which it is called the "Summoner of Night". It makes its Murkrow cronies bring it food and follow them when it wanders about at night. It is merciless by nature and never forgives the mistakes of its Murkrow followers. If that doesn't sound like a mob boss, then I don't know what does.

Honchkrow looks much more intimidating than Murkrow does.

Honchkrow is a great competitive battler as well. While Murkrow is just mediocre all around, Honchkrow gains much better HP and offensive stats and slightly better defensive stats when it evolves from Murkrow by use of a Dusk Stone (they're the only non-ghost types who can do that). Unfortunately, Honchkrow loses quite a bit of speed, so it is slower than its pre-evolution, which is never a good thing. Luckily there is a move that can get around that quite easily: Sucker Punch, which always hits first but fails when the target is not using a damaging move. Honchkrow has access to a great hidden ability, Moxie, which raises its attack by one stage when it knocks something out. Combine that with an Adamant nature and a Life Orb, and Honchkrow hits like a truck with moves like Brave Bird, Sucker Punch and Superpower (with Roost for reliable recovery). That's as far as useful moves go, though; it learns Steel Wing as well, but it's a rather weak move that's hardly worth the hassle. But fear not: there is another set that is worth your while. Honchkrow's base 125 attack is great, but its base 105 special attack is nothing to sneeze at, either. While it has no access to special-based flying-type moves, it does learn Nasty Plot naturally, with which it essentially doubles its special attack. In conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb it can cause some serious damage. And it has access to just enough useful special moves, too: Dark Pulse, Psychic and Heat Wave are all viable options. It is advisable to go for Insomnia or Super Luck as its ability, though, as Moxie becomes useless when you decide to go for a special Nasty Plot set.

I think it's great Game Freak went for a mob boss Pokémon. It's such a unique concept; I don't think there are many animal Pokémon based on humans - in this case, a crow that resembles a crime boss. Well, there are humanoid Pokémon, but that's not exactly what I mean. While Honchkrow is not one of my all-time favorite Pokémon, it is definitely worthwhile of a 4.5-star rating. Honchkrow is a boss.

Rating: 4.5/5