Murkrow
Overview
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- bird
- Just like last generation, one of the more powerful offensive mons in the tier.
- Has the ability to go physical or mixed
- Very strong priority in the form of Sucker Punch
- Prankster is cool
- Very versatile in what kind of sets it can run.
- Stealth Rock weak .-.
- Moves can be somewhat unreliable due Brave Bird causing recoil and Sucker Punch only working when being attacked.
Mixed Attacker
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name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Roost
ability: Insomnia
item: Life Orb
evs: 236 Atk / 76 SpA / 188 Spe
nature: Naive
Moves
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- Main spam move. Brave Bird is ridiculously powerful coming off of 18 attack combined with lo, recoil kind of sucks though.
- Sucker Punch provides an incredibly strong priority move to hit potential revenge killers.
- Heat Wave toasts the Steels such as Pawniard or Magnemite that would otherwise wall you.
- Hidden Power Ice makes Gligar and Archen cry
- Roost can be used if Gligar doesn’t pose a significant problem and having a form of recovery to deal with lo and bb recoil is more helpful.
Set Details
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- Life Orb allows Krow to do maximum dommage.
- Naive + 188 Spe allows Murkrow to hit 19 speed, speed tieing with most Gligar and Misdreavus.
- 236 Atk EV’s maximize physical attack to hit as hard as possible with Murkrow’s two STABs
- Last 76 EV’s are thrown in SpA to give Heat Wave / Icy Wind an extra oomph.
- Insomnia > Prankster because all attacks (unless roost is used), plus insomnia allows Krow to absorb sleep powders n shit, giving it the ability to put Sun teams and their chloro sweepers in a sort-of checkmate position because they are forced to attack and are susceptible to a strong LO Sucker Punch.
- Life Orb can actually be replaced with Berry Juice if you want to try and bluff non-mixed Murkrow and would like to run 4 attacks but still have a way of recovering some health.
Usage Tips
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- Bring Krow in through Volt Switch / U-turn, Ground switch-in, or weak resisted atks and destroy shit.
- Spam Brave Bird, shit hits hard.
- Use Sucker Punch when the opposing pokemon is faster, or to by-pass opposing priority
- Try to use Heat Wave and Icy Wind sparingly, as they not only help to sweep, but can be used to lure and KO certain Pokemon if the illusion that you don’t have them can be kept up.
- Continually, if you want to use this set to lure more effectively and don’t like the kamikaze-like qualities of LO, Berry Juice can be used to increase longevity and bluff a non-4 attack set.
- LO Krow really appreciates Stealth Rock support as it helps it ensure KOs such as a OHKO on CM Swirlix and a 2HKO on Bulky Spritzee, and just bolsters it's sweeping potential overall.
Team Options
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- Pokemon that can take advantage of certain lured and KO’d pokemon like Gligar, Pawniard, and Magnemite. (Your own Pawniard for example)
- Offensive pokemon that share the same type as Krow (Dark / Flying) may find an easier time sweeping due the holes it can punch in a team.
- Faster cleaners like to abuse the damage done by LO Krow.
- Volt Turners and U-turners like Chinchou and Mienfoo allow it to switch in a lot easier.
- Pokemon that can easily switch-in on or take care of bulky waters like Chinchou, Slowpoke, and Tirtouga. (Grass Pokemon like Ferroseed, Lileep, and Foongus especially come in handy for this)
SubRooost Attacker
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name: SubRoost Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Roost
ability: Prankster
item: Eviolite / Life Orb
evs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 20 Def / 20 SpD / 188 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- Substitute is a great move for Murkrow because it takes advantage of Krow’s ability to force switches, allows for the easier use of Sucker Punch, blocks status, and is priority due to prankster.
- Brave Bird is obligatory STAB nuke.
- Sucker Punch is STAB priority, pairs really well with substitute forcing opposing mons to attack.
- Roost helps to alleviate Substitute and BB recoil.
Set Details
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- Eviolite is preferred because this set takes on a marginally more stallish / defensive role, doesn’t need the extra LO recoil, and already has recovery in the form of prankster Roost.
- Jolly + 188 speed again to make sure Krow is as fast as possible because even with prankster sub / roost, it is going to want to be hitting things with Brave Bird first.
- 236 Atk for maximum powa.
- last 36 EVs in HP because it doesn’t need them anywhere else.
- Life Orb can be used over Eviolite if bulk is not valued, recoil is not cared about, and doing as much damage as possible is most valuable.
Usage Tips
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- As opposed to the LO set, Brave Bird is not going to be the spam move of choice, substitute is.
- This is because Krow forces a lot of switches, and that coupled with prankster and roost makes Substitute the number one way to fuck with an opposing team.
- It might go without saying, but use each move intelligently and at the right time, as if you can, this set can be incredibly annoying to most teams.
- Even though it is carrying Eviolite, Murkrow is no defensive behemoth, so switch-ins must still be done with caution and don’t expect it to tank too many SE attacks.
- Remember, prankster is the shit, so don’t be afraid to Sub / Roost on pokemon such as Chinchou / Magnemite who may get too cocky and use Volt Switch, but again do so with caution.
Team Options
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- Rapid Spinner / Defogger helps Krow get more switch-ins by getting rid of SR.
- Pokemon that can help take on potential Murkrow checks (Pawniard, Magnemite, Bulky Waters, Gligar)
- A Magnemite of your own can help get rid of steels.
- SubRoost Krow is very good at stalling things out, so weather from Snover and even Toxic Spikes from the likes of Tentacool, who can rapid spin as well, can come in handy.
Calm Mind
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name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Taunt / Feather Dance
ability: Prankster
item: Eviolite
evs: 196 HP / 20 Def / 76 SpA / 20 SpD / 188 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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- Calm Mind is actually a pretty great move on Murkrow, boosting it’s already decent SpA even further and allowing it to tank / set up on weaker special attacks.
- Due to the Steel nerf, Dark STAB is actually a very good STAB to have, and Dark Pulse is the best option Murkrow has on a mono-attacking set like this, and if Murkrow can accrue a couple CM’s, it can be become very powerful even against resists.
- Roost makes Murkrow’s job of setting up CM’s a whole lot easier, especially with prankster allowing it priority so Krow can heal in front of faster mons and take away rock, ice, and electric weaknesses.
- The last slot is definitely up to preference, but the best option seems to be Substitute as it eases prediction, blocks status, and works well alongside cm.
- Taunt can be used > Sub if you want to stop status and prevent other pokemon setting up on you.
- Feather Dance allows you to take on physical attackers much easier as you boost on the special side, but users must be wary of Pawniard (most notably) and Hyper Cutter Gligar
Set Details
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- First priority here, as it usually is with Murkrow, is speed. 19 speed is an ultra important speed tie, and with CM / Dark Pulse combined with it makes taking on Gligar / Missy a lot easier, so Timid + 188 Spe is recommended.
- Next, as this is supposed to be able to set up on shit, 196 HP EV’s to capitalize on some bulk.
- 76 SpA EV’s boost Murkrow’s SpA to 16, more than enough to do some damage alongside CM.
- 20 extra EV’s are thrown into Def, and 20 into SpD to give Krow a little more added bulk.
- Prankster again is superior because priority CM, Roost, and Sub are all amazing assets to be able to make use of.
Usage Tips
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- Be careful on what you switch in on, as not only is Murkrow still not the bulkiest mon around, but stray status could really hurt Krow’s chances of setting up can actually being useful.
- Because this is a mono-attacking set, don’t assume to bring this out early or even mid-game too often because it’s going to need things such as Pawniard and Fairies weakened in order to sweep properly.
- CM Murkrow is best brought in to set up on things such as Abra, Bronzor, and most Grass-type pokemon. It can beat Misdreavus as well, but one must be wary of Dazzling Gleam.
- Even though your only attack is Dark-type, you can easily scare away Fighters with threat of Brave Bird and get a free Sub or CM up.
- Due to the more stally nature of this set, and possibly even more so than Sub Physical, Toxic Spikes can really come in handy for beating / stalling out certain pokemon.
Team Options
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- Rapid Spinner / Defogger
- Gligar works especially well for being able to Defog, possibly set up SR, and take on Fighting-types and Pawniard, who resist Dark Pulse.
- As mentioned, Toxic Spikes can come in handy, and Tentacool can both TS and Spin.
- Thunder Wave / Stun Spore support from the likes of Slowpoke or Foongus works well with Dark Pulse’s flinch chance and helping to slow down scarfers.
- If played right, CM Krow honestly doesn’t too much support though, just a solid team surrounding it.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Dark Pulse / Hidden Power Ice / Pursuit
ability: Insomnia
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 236 Atk / 76 SpA / 188 Spe
nature: Naive
Moves
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- Brave Bird is still very strong without Life Orb, and Scarf lets Krow fire them off while outspeeding most of the tier.
- Drill Peck provides a solid STAB for when low on health, because you’ll need it when your best STAB has recoil, you have no recovery, and you’re SR weak.
- Heat Wave hits steels who want to wall your Flying moves.
- The last slot is up for grabs, and again depends on what you want to accomplish with Scarf Krow.
- Dark Pulse gives Krow another solid STAB to work with, and off the special side as well.
- With scarf, you’re guaranteed to outrun unboosted Gligar, so HP Ice can come in handy to bully it.
- Pursuit helps you trap shit like Abra or Misdreavus I guess.
Set Details
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- Pretty much a standard scarf revenger set, meant to use strong STABs and high speed to revenge threats.
- Idk if I’ve mentioned that 19 speed is really good, so it also means you’re going to be outspeeding the majority of other scarfers as well which is cool.
- Notice the lack of Sucker Punch, which while SOMETIMES could come in use, it’s better to not use it because you already outspeed so much and choice locked Sucker Punch just begs to be set up on.
- Insomnia > Prankster, all attacks; prevents sleep.
Usage Tips
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- Use pretty much whenever you want to try and soften up a team with BB or revenge a threat that needs to be taken out.
- Choose wisely between BB and Drill Peck; plan out if it’s better to conserve HP or go for the most damage possible.
- As with all choice sets, use good prediction.
Team Options
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- Um Defog / Rapid Spin support?
- Possibly hazard / spike support to make cleaning with Drill Peck a thing. (Defog sucks though)
- Can’t think of much else, doesn’t need much support as it’s not meant to sweep or set up on anything.
Other Options
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- With help from prankster, Murkrow can run an incredibly annoying Thunder Wave + Confuse Ray set, but it is rather unreliable and honestly Murkrow is usually better off doing other things.
- HP Grass can be used on an LO or BJ set to hit switch-ins such as Tirtouga and Omanyte hard.
- Murkrow can run a 2-attack Thunder Wave set alongside Prankster and cripple an opposing team with priority paralyze.
Checks & Counters
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- Pawniard (checks sub and cm sets, can knock off item, needs to watch out for heat wave)
- Gligar (bulky glig can check most sets lacking icy wind)
- Bulky Waters [Chinchou, Shellder, Tirtouga] (can take the majority of Krow’s STABs and coverage moves and can respond with respective super effective moves)
- Magnemite (switches into flying moves easily, threatens with tbolt)
- Fairy’s such as Swirlix and especially Spritzee can take a BB or anything else and retaliate with SE Fairy attacks.
- Murkrow doesn’t like faster mons, mostly scarfers, that resist Sucker Punch all too much.
- Amaura gets a special mention for not only being able to take Murkrow’s Flying STABs, but with a choice scarf, being able to by-pass Sucker Punch through Refrigerate Nature Power.
- Bulky Archen can take BBs fairly easily, can roost off damage, only fears HP Ice, and can hit back hard with STAB Rock Slide.
- tbh most Rocks give Krow a hard time if it's not running HP Grass.
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