#198 - Murkrow
Dark/Flying
In Generation II, this Pokemon got treated absolutely horribly by Game Freak. For some reason they didn't want players to use the new Dark-type Pokemon during the main adventure, so everyone except Umbreon was basically shoved into the post-game---Murkrow didn't appear till Kanto, and by the time you got one, it'd be outclassed by your entire team with no decent way to train one up due to Gen II Kanto's horrifically weak Wild Pokemon. Why did they shove such a weak Pokemon into the end of the game when it could've easily popped up earlier in Johto and been useful at least for the beginning of the game? In my opinion, I almost consider Murkrow a Sinnoh Pokemon due to being treated leagues better in Diamond where it was actually available near the beginning of the game as you'd imagine a Pokemon with its stats to be located, had a decent selection of moves by then, and most importantly received a brand-new evolution allowing it to stay with your team throughout the journey. Unfortunately, it is ONLY in Diamond, and can't be found in Pearl or Platinum, though one can get around this easily thanks to the GTS. In Generation II, Murkrow didn't have any real strengths in the competitive scene---it was more or less another weak "Normal/Flying" Pokemon, though with the Normal switched with the still clunky and unfocused Dark-type, but it's actually not completely terrible in recent years thanks to the pretty useful "Prankster" Ability allowing it to annoy your opponent with various status moves, and Eviolite and Roost helping keep it alive. Just don't venture too far out of its comfort zone, and you got yourself a fun Pokemon to play around with.
I'll be honest, I think Murkrow's evolution helped him IMMENSELY. Probably more than any other Pokemon I can think of, no one cared about Murkrow until he evolved. Apart from the fact he kind of sucked and wasn't readily available and thus few folks really bonded with him, I just find him pretty dull overall and even though he's part-Dark, he really doesn't do much to stick out from the plethora of bird-based Pokemon. Honestly alongside fish-based Water Pokemon, I'm a bit worn out on bird-based Flying Pokemon, and hope Game Freak cuts back on them for a bit, though non-Flying bird Pokemon are something I'd like to see more of. Murkrow is of course a crow, and its trait of going after shiny objects and hoarding them is inspired by a "myth" about crows that they do the same, though it's just that, a myth, and they don't especially like shiny objects any more than other eye-catching objects they may mistake for food. Though Murkrow, and crows in general, are associated with the night often, I don't believe crows are actually nocturnal. Or maybe people just can't see them at night so no one actually knows. In Gold and Silver at the Team Rocket HQ, the player runs into a Murkrow with the ability to mimic voices, saying "HAIL GIOVANNI"---this is another little-known fact about crows and a trait more often thought of as being exclusive to parrots, but crows are capable of mimicking the cries of other birds and the voices of humans, though I don't know if one would be able to clearly say a password like that. Crows are actually extremely intelligent, tool-using animals, though Murkrow doesn't seem to especially be any more intelligent than most Pokemon.
In various cultures crows are depicted as harbingers of bad omens, and associated with witchcraft, thus Murkrow has those traits as well such as its feathers forming a witch's hat on its head, and its tail resembling a broom. It's considered bad luck to see one of them at night, and that reputation is well-deserved as they're known to purposefully lure folks away from the main road into the mountains where they're sure to become lost, though perhaps it only does this out of a need to protect itself. Murkrow's motif got "retconned" somewhat in Generation IV due to its evolution, themed after a mafia don, and now one might see Murkrow as wearing an old-school mobster's hat. There's nothing particularly "mobster" about it otherwise, so I don't think Game Freak had this in mind when they first created the Pokemon, but it works well enough alongside its evolution that it's a retcon I don't really mind.
Murkrow made its debut in the Johto episode "All That Glitters", which was actually a nice and rare focus episode for Ash's Noctowl as well. Despite being "bad" Pokemon who stole shiny objects, such as Ash's badges and James' bottle-caps, Murkrow redeemed themselves at the end by fighting off Team Rocket and thus this started the trend of the show usually depicting Dark Pokemon as being mischievous, but not irredeemably evil. This was the first episode based around Ash losing his badges, which became a bit of a reoccurring theme in a few other episodes throughout the years---though a later episode I recall explained that Gym Leaders would simply replace the badges for him, but of course Ash just can't accept that. In Diamond and Pearl, Ash's rival Paul owned a Murkrow, and the show was weird about this---it popped up in the first Japanese Opening alongside Paul and his other early Pokemon, but didn't actually appear till 37 episodes into the show which was also the episode where Paul introduced all of his reserve Pokemon. It evolved not too long after, and was a pretty important member of his team throughout the show.
#430 - Honchkrow
Dark/Flying
In Generation IV Murkrow obtained a new evolution through the use of the new Evolutionary Stone, the Dusk Stone, that focuses on evolving mainly "evil" Pokemon. There's a decent, but finite, supply of Dusk Stones available in Diamond and Pearl, the first one in Veilstone City, so using a Honchkrow in Generation IV is an easy task---just remember that the Murkrow family is Diamond-exclusive. Honchkrow gets a bit slower, but overall he's easily superior to Murkrow, and a powerful Pokemon in his own right with Sucker Punch, tied as the strongest increased-priority move if you can pull it off, and together with his high Attack and Dark-type STAB he can be a major threat. He can't take much of a hit though, but he'll do you a major favor if you give him a shot. A lot of people love this Pokemon, the highlight of Generation IV, and while I like it, it's not anywhere near my favorite Generation IV evolution. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of popularity backlash towards this Pokemon recently, probably since it's the closest thing to a neckbeard Pokemon, m'ledyba.
Honchkrow is a much larger crow, and thus you could possibly say it may be actually a raven, a member of the Corvus family who are larger than crows, though it resembles the hooded crow due to its "beard" resembling the black-and-white color scheme of its feathers. I know a few people think it's meant to be a wizard, due to evolving from a witch-based Pokemon, having what appears to be a wizened beard, a tail that could be seen as resembling an old-school broom, and its nickname "Summoner of Night". But come on, it's obviously supposed to be basically The Godfather of Pokemon. It's wearing a gangster's fedora *tips*, the white tuft is meant to make it resemble the classic tuxedo worn by Don Corleone, and finally its tail feathers resemble the rose boutineer he wore. Plus, his Japanese name is "Donkarasu"---"the Don of crows", more or less. Considering their association with bad luck, and the fact that a group of crows is known as a "murder", it's no surprise Game Freak went this route with the Pokemon, and it's a really cute idea though I also think it's a bit schlocky and somewhat over-the-top. All Murkrows in an area answer to it, bringing it back food and flying alongside it at night, presumably to offer protection. I wonder if groups of Honchkrow engage in turf wars in the Pokemon World? It's also a pretty ruthless boss as well, as it never forgives a mistake made by any of its henchmen. Don't cross Honchkrow, or you'll wake up with a Ponyta head in your bed.
I'm sort of disappointed Honchkrow's status as a Mafia Don was never actually explored in the show, I don't think we ever saw one alongside Murkrow---in fact the only one of note was Paul's, which evolved from his Murkrow off-screen and first appeared in a flashback. Honchkrow was used by him quite often though, and was shown to be pretty capable. It had two major moments: first it competed in a PokeRinger competition---a reoccurring Flying-type event that's like capture the flag---against Ash's Sinnoh Starter where it had its only loss as Honchkrow. It was also used in the mid-series 6 vs. 6 Ash vs. Paul battle against Ash's Sinnoh Grass Starter, which it had a prior rivalry with due to an earlier fight it won, and once more managed to hand that Pokemon its grass, er, ass. That battle was all about showing how inferior Ash was to Paul, so it winning was no surprise. It actually didn't get to compete in the League despite being one of Paul's "main Pokemon" unfortunately.
