Honchkrow (Update)

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Honchkrow
Credit to Tobes for the original analysis.

[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it would have some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, it makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in this generation because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Honchkrow can also use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie, making it even more threatening. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, as the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow, such as Registeel and Rhyperior, now fare much worse against it. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because it can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be somewhat fixed with paralysis support, Honchkrow's over-reliance on the move makes it rather predictable. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, Honchkrow's poor defenses leave it unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player and threatening offense and stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop as it can destroy every Pokemon that doesn't resist Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent's. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, as otherwise, you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, making use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, as it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow, Superpower is a fancy toy that is very beneficial as well. What would seem to be solid counters to Honchkrow, such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong, are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep. Superpower is also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, as the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally needed anyway. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure Brave Bird, but with Roost you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, as it is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch. However, Substitute can also be used with Heat Wave to break walls effectively. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, as Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and then it will be all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep will often be cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are needed to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better as the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid the Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave, feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue thanks to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going to use Substitute, though, Leftovers is an option to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves that it can use on the set from its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and like Substitute, protects Honchkrow from status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, as it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished by using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can make use of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, as Honchkrow has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable to hit Rhyperior and Swampert, but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert takes a lot of damage from Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch, but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard users, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, as Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, because it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, as it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes it very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts are gained. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, as, by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, because it's not fast enough to outspeed Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty useful move to use along with Moxie, because as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all of the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single Attack boost, and overall is a better move to use late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself with Brave Bird recoil. Pursuit is another good option in that slot, as due to its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, as one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose, however, because Swampert and other bulky Water-types take a lot of damage from Brave Bird.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, as with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie with Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only allow Honchkrow to outspeed them, but also to outspeed Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set because Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, making KOs easier due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, as Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types and has to switch out again to use its other moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. Because this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types, such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune, and defeat them for Honchkrow. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, as Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited for Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise, Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. Payback might seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed, but Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and it will be extremely weak against slower opponents. Honchkrow has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that role is done better by something with better defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, as it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants of Honchkrow. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are ideal when dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other Pokemon that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying Hidden Power Ice to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same; it can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and then KO Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, as the standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. Because the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win. You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall out Sucker Punch's PP by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>
 

PK Gaming

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Looking good for the most part; Ditch the convoluted EV spread and use 252 atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe. I understand why you'd want to use that spread, but it doesn't provide Honckrow with noticeably bulk / Download is relevant enough to warrant messing around with your EVs. I'll admit that maxing out speed isn't very useful, but it lets us avoid a speed creeping war with Arcanine & Xatu, and it just looks neater in general.
 
I think we could probably get another set. The first set is way too busy. The old standard of Brave Bird / Sucker Punch / Sub / Roost plays way differently from Brave Bird / Sucker Punch / Superpower / 4th move. The SubRoost set has some decent longevity and can sweep effectively once walls are broken down. Any set with Superpower is doing the wallbreaking duties itself. So, I think the "Moxie" set should stay as it is on site with updated comments (and drop Taunt), then a "Wallbreaker" set without Substitute should include Superpower / HP Grass / etc and be the first set.

Pursuit should also be the main option on the Scarfer. Pursuit / Drill Peck / HP Grass in order on the last slot. HP Grass is solely for RP Rhyperior and Heat Wave is a wallbreaking move, not a revenging move. Pursuit gives Honchkrow some mid-game utility
 

FlareBlitz

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Be sure you mention HP Ice for breaking Gligar, who can otherwise stall you out with recoil. Roost can also help against Gligar, but if it Toxics you, you're kind of stuck praying for a crit. HP Grass isn't as useful anymore because SpD Rhyperior is common and Swampert really doesn't like Brave Bird in the first place.
 

Nas

Banned deucer.
Be sure you mention HP Ice for breaking Gligar, who can otherwise stall you out with recoil. Roost can also help against Gligar, but if it Toxics you, you're kind of stuck praying for a crit. HP Grass isn't as useful anymore because SpD Rhyperior is common and Swampert really doesn't like Brave Bird in the first place.
Brave Bird vs 252/252+ Gligar: 38.02 - 44.91%

Two consecutive Brave Birds after rocks is dealing a minimum of 88%, so unless Gligar is at perfect health HP Ice is unnecessary.
 

complete legitimacy

is it cold in the water?
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Looking good for the most part; Ditch the convoluted EV spread and use 252 atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe. I understand why you'd want to use that spread, but it doesn't provide Honckrow with noticeably bulk / Download is relevant enough to warrant messing around with your EVs. I'll admit that maxing out speed isn't very useful, but it lets us avoid a speed creeping war with Arcanine & Xatu, and it just looks neater in general.
Done.

I think we could probably get another set. The first set is way too busy. The old standard of Brave Bird / Sucker Punch / Sub / Roost plays way differently from Brave Bird / Sucker Punch / Superpower / 4th move. The SubRoost set has some decent longevity and can sweep effectively once walls are broken down. Any set with Superpower is doing the wallbreaking duties itself. So, I think the "Moxie" set should stay as it is on site with updated comments (and drop Taunt), then a "Wallbreaker" set without Substitute should include Superpower / HP Grass / etc and be the first set.

Pursuit should also be the main option on the Scarfer. Pursuit / Drill Peck / HP Grass in order on the last slot. HP Grass is solely for RP Rhyperior and Heat Wave is a wallbreaking move, not a revenging move. Pursuit gives Honchkrow some mid-game utility
Believe it or not, I originally thought there was going to be three sets. However, when I tested it, 95% of the time you'd rather have Superpower than Substitute because there's not much you can even set up a Substitute on, which makes that HP better spent on Brave Bird. Roost is just the best option in the fourth slot since it's pretty much filler anyway, and Honchkrow forces switches pretty easily. To be honest, the two sets were only separate last time because of Honchkrow's move restrictions.

As for your second point, I think I'll have to do some more testing with Pursuit on Scarf Honchkrow, but I'm confident that you're right. When I was listing it as an AC option, I did kinda have doubts.

Be sure you mention HP Ice for breaking Gligar, who can otherwise stall you out with recoil. Roost can also help against Gligar, but if it Toxics you, you're kind of stuck praying for a crit. HP Grass isn't as useful anymore because SpD Rhyperior is common and Swampert really doesn't like Brave Bird in the first place.
Ok, this kinda reinforces Friar's point. I'll mention HP Ice.

Brave Bird vs 252/252+ Gligar: 38.02 - 44.91%

Two consecutive Brave Birds after rocks is dealing a minimum of 88%, so unless Gligar is at perfect health HP Ice is unnecessary.
I still think it couldn't hurt to AC mention it, and on the Scarf set it's more useful.
 
AM check.

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(Comments)

[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it would have some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, it makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in BW because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Even problems it faced in the past such as move illegalities are no more, since with the release of BW2, Honchkrow can now use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, since the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow such as Registeel and Rhyperior now fare much worse against it than previously. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because Honchkrow can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws that allow it to be beaten more often than not. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be fixed somewhat by paralysis support, its overreliance on the move makes it rather predictable so it can be played around. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, its poor defenses leave Honchkrow unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player, and threatening offense and stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop since it can destroy every non-resist with Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, since otherwise you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, making use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, since it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow and have been legal with the ability since day one, Superpower is a fancy new toy that is very beneficial as well. In the past, Honchkrow was always faced with a difficult decision; give up its best ability of Moxie in order to use Superpower, or be perennially walled by the Rock- and Steel-types of UU. Now, Honchkrow no longer has to make that decision. Once-solid counters such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep anymore. It's also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, since the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally necessary there. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure the Brave Bird, but with Roost you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, and is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch, in a throwback to before BW2. However, Substitute can also be used effectively with Heat Wave to break walls effectively too. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, since Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and it's all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep is often cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are necessary to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better since the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as with opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special Defense to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set, and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue due to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going Substitute though, Leftovers is viable to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves it can use on the set from amongst its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and like Substitute, protects Honchkrow against status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, since it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can make use of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, since Honchkrow just has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable too, which hits Rhyperior, Swampert, and other bulky Water-types such as Suicune for large damage (Brave Bird hits Suicune harder than Hidden Power Grass), but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert and others don't like taking Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard layers, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, since Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, since it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, since it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes it very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts are gained. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, since by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, since it's not fast enough to outspeed incredibly fast Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty cool move to use along with Moxie, since as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single attack boost, and overall is a better move in the late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself. Pursuit is another good option in that slot though, since with its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, since one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose however, since Swampert and other bulky Water-types don't like taking Brave Birds in the first place.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, since with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only outspeed them, but also outspeeds Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set since Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, landing more KOs easier due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, since Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types, and has to switch out again to use its STAB moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. Since this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune and defeat them, since they can all take Honchkrow's hits reasonably well before it attains any boosts from Moxie. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, since Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited to Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is pretty bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. While Payback may seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed, Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and against slower opponents it will be extremely weak. If only Honchkrow had better defensive stats, because it certainly has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that kind of thing is done better by something with better defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, since it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are good ways of dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other examples of Pokemon that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying either Hidden Power Ice or Hidden Power Rock to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same. It can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and KOes Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, since its standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. Since the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are pretty good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall it out of Sucker Punch by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>
 

Oglemi

Borf
is a Top Contributoris a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnusis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnus
c_l please address DTC's amateur check

you don't have to implement everything that he changed, just what you agree with

if you have questions, ask, and don't implement it and the next gper will address it

PS: next time DTC, use a different color instead of underline to indicate deletions, atm it's really hard to see, thanks!
 

complete legitimacy

is it cold in the water?
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Oh sorry, I've been away for most of the week and I meant to do it but forgot. Believe it or not, editing my posts is like the one thing I can't do on my phone. I'll start implementing it now.

EDIT: Done. Implemented almost everything.
 
[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it would have some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, it makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in BWthis generation because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Even problems it faced in the past such as move illegalities are no more, since with the release of BW2, Honchkrow can now use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with MoxieHonchkrow can also use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie, making it even more threatening. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, sinceas the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow, such as Registeel and Rhyperior, now fare much worse against it than previously. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because Honchkrow can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws that allow it to be beaten more often than not. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be fixed somewhat by paralysis support, its over-reliance on the move makes it rather predictable so it can be played around. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, itHonchkrow's poor defenses leave Honchkrowit unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player, and threatening offense and stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop sinceas it can destroy every non-Pokemon that doesn't resist with Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, sinceas otherwise, you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, making use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, sinceas it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow and have been legal with the ability since day one, Superpower is a fancy new toy that is very beneficial as well. In the past, Honchkrow was always faced with a difficult decision; give up its best ability of Moxie in order to use Superpower, or be perennially walled by the Rock- and Steel-types of UU. Now, Honchkrow no longer has to make that decision. Once-solid countersWhat would seem to be solid counters to Honchkrow, such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong, are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep anymore. It'. Superpower is also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, sinceas the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally necessary there. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure the Brave Bird, but with Roost, you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, ands it is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch, in a throwback to before BW2. However, Substitute can also be used effectively with Heat Wave to break walls effectively too. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, sinceas Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and it'sthen it will be all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep is often cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are necessary to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better sinceas the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid the Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as with opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave, feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special Defense to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set, and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue due to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going to use Substitute, though, Leftovers is viablean option to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves that it can use on the set from amongst its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and, like Substitute, protects Honchkrow againstfrom status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, sinceas it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished by using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can make use of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, sinceas Honchkrow just has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable to hit Rhyperior and Swampert for large damage, but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert doesn't like takingtakes a lot of damage from Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch, but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard layusers, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, sinceas Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, sincbecause it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, sinceas it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes it very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts are gained. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, sinceas, by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, sincbecause it's not fast enough to outspeed incredibly fast Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty coouseful move to use along with Moxie, sincbecause as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all of the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single aAttack boost, and overall is a better move to use late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself with Brave Bird recoil. Pursuit is another good option in that slot though, since with, as due to its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, sinceas one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose, however, sincbecause Swampert and other bulky Water-types don't like taking Brave Birds in the first placetake a lot of damage from Brave Bird.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, sinceas with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie with Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only allow Honchkrow to outspeed them, but also to outspeeds Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set sincbecause Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, landing more KOs easier due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, sinceas Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types, and has to switch out again to use its STABother moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. SincBecause this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types, such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune, and defeat them, since they can all take Honchkrow's hits reasonably well before it attains any boosts from Moxie for Honchkrow. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, sinceas Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited tofor Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise, Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is pretty bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. While Payback may seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed, Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and against slower opponents it will be extremely weak. If only Honchkrow had better defensive stats, because it certainlyit will be extremely weak against slower opponents. Honchkrow has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that kind of thing is done better by something with betthigher defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, sinceas it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants of Honchkrow. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are good ways of dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other examples of Pokemon that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying either Hidden Power Ice to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same. I; it can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and KOesthen KO Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, since itsas the standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. SincBecause the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are pretty good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win. You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall it out of Sucker Punch's PP by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>


[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it would have some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, it makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in this generation because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Honchkrow can also use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie, making it even more threatening. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, as the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow, such as Registeel and Rhyperior, now fare much worse against it. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because Honchkrow can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be fixed somewhat by paralysis support, its over-reliance on the move makes it rather predictable. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, Honchkrow's poor defenses leave it unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player and threatening offense and stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop as it can destroy every Pokemon that doesn't resist Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, as otherwise, you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, making use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, as it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow, Superpower is a fancy toy that is very beneficial as well. What would seem to be solid counters to Honchkrow, such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong, are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep. Superpower is also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, as the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally necessary there. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure Brave Bird, but with Roost, you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, as it is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch. However, Substitute can also be used effectively with Heat Wave to break walls effectively. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, as Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and then it will be all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep is often cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are necessary to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better as the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid the Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave, feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special Defense to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set, and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue due to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going to use Substitute, though, Leftovers is an option to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves that it can use on the set from its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and, like Substitute, protects Honchkrow from status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, as it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished by using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can make use of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, as Honchkrow has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable to hit Rhyperior and Swampert for large damage, but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert takes a lot of damage from Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch, but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard users, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, as Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, because it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, as it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes it very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts are gained. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, as, by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, because it's not fast enough to outspeed Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty useful move to use along with Moxie, because as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all of the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single Attack boost, and overall is a better move to use late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself with Brave Bird recoil. Pursuit is another good option in that slot, as due to its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, as one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose, however, because Swampert and other bulky Water-types take a lot of damage from Brave Bird.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, as with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie with Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only allow Honchkrow to outspeed them, but also to outspeed Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set because Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, landing more KOs easier due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, as Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types and has to switch out again to use its other moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. Because this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types, such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune, and defeat them for Honchkrow. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, as Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited for Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise, Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. While Payback may seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed, Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and it will be extremely weak against slower opponents. Honchkrow has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that kind of thing is done better by something with higher defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, as it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants of Honchkrow. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are good ways of dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other examples of Pokemon that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying Hidden Power Ice to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same; it can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and then KO Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, as the standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. Because the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win. You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall out Sucker Punch's PP by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>


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Yonko7

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[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it would hasve Sounds a bit odd some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, it which makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in this generation because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Honchkrow can also use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie, making it even more threatening. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, as the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow, such as Registeel and Rhyperior, now fare much worse against it. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because Honchkrow it can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be somewhat fixed somewhat by with paralysis support, it Honchkrow's over-reliance on the move makes it rather predictable. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, Honchkrow's poor defenses leave it unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player and threatening offense and as well as stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop as it can destroy every Pokemon that doesn't resist Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent's. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, as otherwise, you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, making which makes use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, as it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow, Superpower is a fancy toy that is very beneficial as well. What would seem to be solid counters to Honchkrow, such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong, are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep. Superpower is also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting an extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, as the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally necessary there needed anyway. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure Brave Bird, but with Roost, No comma you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, as it is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch. However, Substitute can also be used effectively with Heat Wave to break walls more effectively. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, as Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and then it will be all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep is will often be cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are neededcessary to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better as the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid the Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave, feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set, No comma and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue due thanks to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going to use Substitute, though, Leftovers is an option to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves that it can use on the set from its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and, No comma like Substitute, protects Honchkrow from status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, as it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished by using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can make use take advantage of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, as Honchkrow has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable to hit Rhyperior and Swampert for large damage, but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert takes a lot of damage from Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch, but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard users, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, as Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, because it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, as it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes it Honchkrow very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts are gained. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, as, by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, because it's not fast enough to outspeed Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty useful move to use along with Moxie, because as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all of the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single Attack boost, and overall is a better move to use late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself with Brave Bird recoil. Pursuit is another good option in that slot, as due to its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, as one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose, however, because Swampert and other bulky Water-types take a lot of damage from Brave Bird.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, as with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie with Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only allow Honchkrow to outspeed them, but also to outspeed Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set because Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, easily landing more KOs easier due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, as Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types and has to switch out again to use its other moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. Because this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types, such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune, and defeat them for Honchkrow. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, as Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited for Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise, Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. While Payback may might seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed,but Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and it will be extremely weak against slower opponents. Honchkrow has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that kind of thing role is done better by something with higher better defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, as it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk when paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants of Honchkrow. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are good ways of ideal when dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other examples of Pokemon that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying Hidden Power Ice to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same; it can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and then KO Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, as the standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. Because the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win. You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall out Sucker Punch's PP by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>


[Overview]

<p>Looks can be deceiving, but that's not the case with Honchkrow. Being the mob boss-looking bird that it is, it looks like it has some pretty high stats to take advantage of. Honchkrow's base 125 Attack stat is the best thing about it, and when used in combination with powerful STAB moves such as Brave Bird and Sucker Punch, which makes life very difficult for those who play against it. Dropping down from BL last generation, Honchkrow has only gotten better in this generation because of its Dream World ability: Moxie. Honchkrow can also use moves such as Superpower and Heat Wave with Moxie, making it even more threatening. This is nothing but good news for Honchkrow, but bad news for the rest of the metagame, as the Rock- and Steel-types that were once strong checks to Honchkrow, such as Registeel and Rhyperior, now fare much worse against it. Sacrificing Pokemon to Honchkrow is now much more dangerous, because it can completely sweep teams after it gets an Attack boost or two.</p>

<p>That being said, Honchkrow has some pretty crippling flaws. While it boasts one of the most powerful priority attacks in the game in STAB Sucker Punch, it is extremely reliant on the move to hit faster opponents, of which there are many in the UU metagame. Zapdos, Raikou, Shaymin, Cobalion, and others are all faster than Honchkrow, and have enough bulk to take a Sucker Punch and hit Honchkrow back hard. While this issue can be somewhat fixed with paralysis support, Honchkrow's over-reliance on the move makes it rather predictable. Also, Honchkrow's only noteworthy defensive stat is its high HP; while it helps to mitigate Brave Bird recoil, Honchkrow's poor defenses leave it unable to take a hit, and it will fall to most decently-powered STAB attacks. This means that Honchkrow has to KO everything in its path in order to sweep, which is a tough task before any Attack boosts are attained. While Honchkrow has a very threatening movepool, it suffers heavily from four-moveslot syndrome, making it unable to use all the right moves in all the right places. Nevertheless, Honchkrow is a major threat in today's metagame that every team should have a solid answer to.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Superpower / Substitute
move 4: Roost / Heat Wave / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is Honchkrow's flagship set, striking fear into the hearts of every player and threatening offense as well as stall alike. Once Honchkrow can get a kill or two, it becomes almost impossible to stop as it can destroy every Pokemon that doesn't resist Brave Bird, kill all fast offensive Pokemon with Sucker Punch, and obliterate all Rock- and Steel-types with Superpower. If you can open up a spot on your team to fit Honchkrow, its downfall will be by its own hand most of the time, as opposed to your opponent's. Honchkrow hits brutally hard, and you can't allow it to kill anything on your team, as otherwise, you'll fall prey to the mighty bird. Brave Bird and Sucker Punch are the two main moves on the set, which makes use of Honchkrow's semi-unique STAB combination. Generally speaking, Brave Bird finds more use against slower opponents, as they tend to be bulkier, while Sucker Punch finds more use against faster ones. Brave Bird is capable of 2HKOing almost all physical walls in UU that don't resist it, with Gligar being the rare exception. Sucker Punch is also a very good move for Honchkrow, as it can KO most faster threats with the move before they can hit, especially the numerous fast Psychic- and Ghost-types in UU such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius.</p>

<p>While Brave Bird and Sucker Punch form the core threat of Moxie Honchkrow, Superpower is a fancy toy that is very beneficial as well. What would seem to be solid counters to Honchkrow, such as Empoleon, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Bronzong, are all hit hard by Superpower, leaving them unable to stop Honchkrow's sweep. Superpower is also useful against Snorlax and Porygon2, with the former causing Honchkrow to take ridiculous amounts of recoil if using Brave Bird, and the latter boasting an extremely high Defense due to Eviolite. However, Heat Wave is another long-lost friend for Honchkrow, and can be used as well, most notably hitting threats such as Cobalion, Escavalier, and Ferroseed harder. It's generally not necessary though, as the latter two are hit hard by Brave Bird anyway, and Cobalion outspeeds Honchkrow and takes little from Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Instead of Heat Wave, Roost is the preferred option in the last slot. While it will rarely be of use, it is wonderful for healing off the damage taken from Life Orb and Brave Bird, and no other move is generally needed anyway. It is best used when your opponent tries to play around Sucker Punch and tries to lure Brave Bird, but with Roost you can stay one step ahead. Substitute is a good move in Honchkrow's repertoire that works well in conjunction with Roost, as it is good for avoiding status and decreasing Honchkrow's reliance on Sucker Punch. However, Substitute can also be used with Heat Wave to break walls more effectively. Heat Wave is the better option in tandem with Substitute because Superpower makes Honchkrow's sweep harder to attain in a shorter period of time, and also makes Honchkrow's already frail Substitutes easier to break. Pursuit is another good option in the last slot as an easy way to get Honchkrow's sweep started, as Honchkrow can trap a weakened Xatu or Slowbro to get its first Attack boost, and then it will be all downhill for your opponent from there. However, if you don't use Roost, then Honchkrow's sweep will often be cut short by Life Orb and Brave Bird recoil.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is the optimal EV distribution if you're not using Heat Wave; Honchkrow is most effective when it's as fast as possible while hitting as hard as possible. Note that only 196 Speed EVs are needed to outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Xatu and Arcanine, but maximum Speed is better as the remaining EVs wouldn't add much bulk, and that way you can avoid the Speed creep with Xatu and Arcanine as well as opposing Honchkrow. However, if using Heat Wave, feel free to subtract EVs from Speed and Special to leave about 60 EVs to be placed in Special Attack, slightly increasing the power of Heat Wave. Life Orb is the preferred item on the set and provides a sizable boost to all of Honchkrow's moves. The added recoil generally isn't an issue thanks to Roost, which makes it an absolute necessity if not using Substitute. If you are going to use Substitute, though, Leftovers is an option to reduce the damage taken from Substitute, Brave Bird, and possibly Stealth Rock. It helps with this problem to some degree, but not enough to drastically enhance the set's performance.</p>

<p>Needless to say, Honchkrow has some other moves that it can use on the set from its wide movepool. Taunt is the first thing that can be of some use, and like Substitute, protects Honchkrow from status. It works especially well in combination with Sucker Punch, as it forces the opponent to attack, making the move unavoidable except by switching. However, the health lost in order to create Substitutes can be easily replenished by using Roost, and Substitute allows Honchkrow to shield itself against revenge killers that can take a Sucker Punch, such as Cobalion. Night Slash is another good option that Honchkrow can take advantage of; it is especially useful against slower Pokemon such as Slowbro that are hit super effectively by it, but can use a status move to avoid Sucker Punch altogether. It doesn't find a place on the set most of the time though, as Honchkrow has more important moves to use. Hidden Power Grass is viable to hit Rhyperior and Swampert, but Rhyperior commonly invests heavily in Special Defense, and Swampert takes a lot of damage from Brave Bird in the first place.</p>

<p>Paralysis support is the most important thing that Honchkrow asks of its teammates. Several Pokemon can take a Sucker Punch, but are also naturally faster than Honchkrow, such as Raikou, Cobalion, and Crobat. Therefore, good teammates are those that can inflict paralysis upon them, such as Slowbro, Togekiss, Registeel, and Snorlax. Entry hazards are also appreciated to aid Honchkrow in its sweep; not only does it make several Pokemon much more vulnerable to Sucker Punch, it lessens the recoil taken from Brave Bird against slower opponents. Roserade, Froslass, Rhyperior, and Qwilfish are all good hazard users, and Honchkrow can help them by trapping Xatu with Pursuit. Of course, a Xatu of your own would be a wise choice, as Honchkrow is weak to Stealth Rock and can't afford to take any more residual damage than it already does. Magneton is a good partner that pretty much eliminates the need for Superpower, because it can trap nearly all of the Steel-types in the metagame, giving Honchkrow a free sweep most of the time. Flygon functions similarly as a partner, as it lures in Steel-types to take an Outrage, but can hit them all hard with Earthquake, or even Fire Punch for Bronzong.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Drill Peck / Pursuit / Hidden Power Grass
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Honchkrow's main problem is that it isn't particularly fast, nor particularly bulky. This makes Honchkrow very reliant on Sucker Punch to do its dirty work, and sometimes it just can't get the job done before a couple of Attack boosts. This set attempts to fix Honchkrow's Speed problem, as, by holding a Choice Scarf, Honchkrow can outspeed the entire metagame. Honchkrow doesn't function like a typical Choice Scarf user that revenge kills Speed-boosting sweepers, because it's not fast enough to outspeed Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Kingdra, Quiver Dance Venomoth, or anything that's been passed a Shell Smash. This set functions more similarly to other Choice Scarf users with Moxie, such as Krookodile and Heracross, trying to set up a Moxie sweep by outspeeding the opponent and hitting them with a powerful STAB move. For Honchkrow, this move is none other than Brave Bird, its most powerful STAB move. It gets good neutral coverage on most of the metagame, and along with Night Slash as a secondary STAB move, is only resisted by Steel-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>To hit Steel-types, look no further than Superpower. It's great for hitting threats such as Empoleon, Cobalion, and Registeel, as well as Rock-types such as Rhyperior. It's a pretty useful move to use along with Moxie, because as long as Honchkrow keeps killing things with it, Honchkrow's Attack will never drop. In the last slot, Drill Peck is the primary option to provide Honchkrow with a Flying-type STAB move without recoil, and can be used to clean effectively once Superpower has broken through all of the Rock- and Steel-types. It's as powerful as Brave Bird after only a single Attack boost, and overall is a better move to use late-game so Honchkrow doesn't kill itself with Brave Bird recoil. Pursuit is another good option in that slot, as due to its newfound Speed, Honchkrow can trap several Pokemon that it couldn't before, such as Azelf, Froslass, and Mismagius. However, it doesn't really add to the set's purpose. Hidden Power Grass is another option over Drill Peck, and is more of a revenge killing move, as one of the few Speed-boosting sweepers that Honchkrow can outspeed is Rock Polish Rhyperior, and Hidden Power Grass hits it hard. It serves no other purpose, however, because Swampert and other bulky Water-types take a lot of damage from Brave Bird.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Maximum investment in Attack and Speed enable Honchkrow to hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is necessary here, as with an Adamant nature, Honchkrow can only Speed tie with Pokemon with base 115 Speed such as Azelf and Raikou. On the other hand, a Jolly nature can not only allow Honchkrow to outspeed them, but also to outspeed Weavile and Crobat. Needless to say, if you're going with Hidden Power Grass, use a Naive nature instead. Sucker Punch is typically one of Honchkrow's staple moves, but isn't advised on this set because Honchkrow already outspeeds most of the metagame while holding a Choice Scarf, and being locked into Sucker Punch is a surefire way to allow threats to set up. Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit certain threats harder, such as Cobalion, Bronzong, and Escavalier. However, its uses are more related to wallbreaking as opposed to sweeping, especially when being locked into the move. Hidden Power Ice also finds use on this set, although it's really only good against Gligar; this set can't hope to break the flying scorpion without a couple of Attack boosts, and Hidden Power Ice is a surefire 2HKO.</p>

<p>Once again, entry hazard support is critical to this set's success, easily landing more KOs due to the lack of a Life Orb boost, and reducing the recoil taken from Brave Bird. Qwilfish, Rhyperior, Roserade, and Cobalion are all prime choices to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Magneton is another great partner that is more helpful to this set than the previous one, as Honchkrow must be locked into Superpower in order to break through Steel-types and has to switch out again to use its other moves. Magneton can trap and kill almost every Steel-type in the tier, including Bronzong. Because this set doesn't hit as hard as the Life Orb set, Shaymin is a good partner that can switch into UU's many bulky Water-types, such as Blastoise, Milotic, and Suicune, and defeat them for Honchkrow. Stealth Rock is a top priority to get off the field, as Stealth Rock damage and Brave Bird recoil can quickly add up; Blastoise, Claydol, and Hitmontop are your best choices. Likewise, Wish support can also remedy this issue, with Pokemon such as Umbreon and Togekiss being good choices.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Honchkrow has a bunch of other options it can utilize, but most of them aren't any good. Honchkrow has a couple of moves that can boost its Special Attack such as Nasty Plot and Calm Mind. Nasty Plot would be better suited for Honchkrow because of its awful bulk, and you'd probably want to use a mixed Nasty Plot set to incorporate Sucker Punch, because otherwise, Honchkrow can't take on faster opponents at all. That being said, a bulky Calm Mind set consisting of Calm Mind, Dark Pulse, Rest, and Sleep Talk employs the conventional mono-attacker, but RestTalk is bad in BW due to the sleep mechanics. While Moxie is clearly the better ability, Honchkrow can take some slack off of its teammates with Insomnia, making it a good check to threats such as Roserade and Lilligant that use Sleep Powder along with their Grass-type STAB attacks. Perish Song and Mean Look form a lethal combination, but Honchkrow typically won't last long enough to stall out the turns for Perish Song. While Payback might seem like a good choice due to Honchkrow's low Speed,but Honchkrow can't take a hit in the first place, and it will be extremely weak against slower opponents. Honchkrow has the movepool for a defensive set; Thunder Wave, Toxic, Haze, and Whirlwind would make for a great set, but for now that role is done better by something with better defenses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Zapdos is generally the best all-purpose counter to Honchkrow, with physically defensive variants obviously being ideal. Physically defensive Zapdos has the bulk to switch into Brave Bird easily, and can use Roost to avoid Sucker Punch before it KOes with Discharge or Thunderbolt. Even offensive Zapdos is a strong check to Honchkrow, as it can take a Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Rhyperior is a similarly strong check, as it can take all of Honchkrow's attacks comfortably bar Hidden Power Grass; it's not even 2HKOed by a Life Orb Superpower thanks to its immense physical bulk when paired with Solid Rock. It can even use Rock Blast to beat Substitute variants of Honchkrow. Gligar is immensely bulky with Eviolite, and can even take two Life Orb Brave Birds after Stealth Rock. If Gligar can land a timely Toxic, it can force Honchkrow to its doom; Taunt has a similar effect by preventing Honchkrow from using Roost, so it succumbs to Brave Bird recoil.</p>

<p>When attempting to check Honchkrow, the main order of business is finding a way to avoid Sucker Punch. Of course, faster Pokemon that resist the move such as Cobalion and Heracross are ideal when dealing with Honchkrow, but Choice Scarf Honchkrow gives both of them a run for their money. Shaymin, Raikou, and Crobat are other examples that have the bulk to take a Life Orb Sucker Punch and retaliate, but in Shaymin's case, it must be carrying Hidden Power Ice to significantly damage Honchkrow. Mismagius is a good check that can use Will-O-Wisp to burn Honchkrow, thus avoiding Sucker Punch despite its weakness to it. It can also use Substitute to put Honchkrow into a checkmate position, but like many of Life Orb Honchkrow's checks, it loses to the Choice Scarf set. Porygon2 is a decent check to Honchkrow that can't really switch in, but can beat Honchkrow all the same; it can take a Life Orb Superpower thanks to Eviolite, and then KO Honchkrow with Discharge, Thunderbolt, or Ice Beam; it's also a full stop to the Choice Scarf set, as the standard defensive set can avoid the 2HKO from Superpower. Because the Choice Scarf set lacks the raw power of the Life Orb set, bulky Water-types are good checks as well. Milotic, Suicune, and Swampert can all check Honchkrow somewhat effectively thanks to their well-placed stats; the former can use Toxic to stall Honchkrow out, while the latter two can use Ice Beam or Ice Punch to bring it down. While having one of the aforementioned checks to Honchkrow will certainly help you, sometimes you'll just have to play around it to win. You can try to force it into using Brave Bird and making it take a lot of recoil damage, or stall out Sucker Punch's PP by using non-attacking moves. The main thing to remember is that Honchkrow must be stopped before it can acquire too many Attack boosts, because it can snowball into an OHKO machine very quickly.</p>



Nice job!

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