Paul's Honchkrow

Paul's Honchkrow (Japanese: シンジのドンカラス Shinji's Dongkarasu) is a owned by Paul.

History
Murkrow debuted in Top-Down Training!, in which Paul used it in a against Cynthia's Garchomp. It launched a, which Garchomp easily dodged. It proved far too much of a lightweight to tackle Garchomp, as a collision between and Garchomp's  knocked it out in one blow. Whilst it recovered with, , and , Paul revealed that it was during his journey through Kanto, Johto and Hoenn.

It made brief appearances in Glory Blaze, where it used and Sky Attack to try to force Chimchar's  to activate, and Riding the Winds of Change, where it chased away a horde of.

It evolved off-screen between Riding the Winds of Change! and Lost Leader Strategy!. It battled against Maylene in a flashback, easily defeating with Sky Attack, and then clashing with her  and overpowering it.

It appeared again in Aiding the Enemy!, where it battled. It charged up a Sky Attack, but the charge up time allowed Turtwig to hit with. Turtwig managed to dodge Sky Attack and, but Honchkrow managed to reverse its angle and struck with another Night Slash. It also hit consecutive s. Just then, Turtwig evolved into, but Paul and Honchkrow were undeterred and continued their onslaught of Aerial Ace, which Grotle was unable to dodge due to its drastically increased mass and reduced speed. Honchkrow powered up and struck with a Sky Attack, Grotle stumbling and allowing Honchkrow to strike. A final was enough to finish off Grotle, severely damaging Grotle's self-esteem. It appeared again in Pursuing a Lofty Goal!, where Paul entered it in the Squallville PokéRinger competition. It was immediately put up against the reigning champion, Provo and his. However, Paul and Honchkrow immediately proved to be deadly opponents as Honchkrow outflew Dragonite at every turn and dodged its powerful and. It managed to get the ring before Dragonite, but dropped it when Dragonite's landed a hit. Both Pokémon raced for the ring, Honchkrow got it first and raced for the goal. As Dragonite prepared another Dragon Rush, Paul had Honchkrow ride the wind and land a Sky Attack, which knocked out Dragonite thanks to Honchkrow's Ability. With a knockout, Paul won the round easily. It was also shown defeating a and Steveland's  to reach the final.

In the final round it battled Ash's Staravia, who managed to beat it to the ring. However, Honchkrow attacked with Sky Attack and crashed against Staravia's, which caused an explosion which damaged Staravia more than Honchkrow, but Staravia managed to hold onto the ring and recovered. Honchkrow managed to cause Staravia to drop the ring with a Dark Pulse, but Staravia recovered. Riding the wind, Honchkrow struck with Aerial Ace and took possession of the ring, but lost it again when Staravia used Quick Attack to steal it straight out of Honchkrow's beak. Honchkrow struck with a Sky Attack and then, anticipating that Ash would counter with Quick Attack, Paul ordered Honchkrow to dodge and flatten Staravia with a Night Slash. As Honchkrow prepared a Sky Attack to finish Staravia, he evolved into and reclaimed the ring. Honchkrow managed to knock the ring out of Staraptor's beak, and stalled Staraptor by using Night Slash. However, Honchkrow took a beating from Staraptor's newly learned, and then, the two clashed with Sky Attack and Brave Bird once more. Staraptor managed to recover quicker this time and chased Honchkrow to the ring. Just as Honchkrow was about to close its beak on the ring, Staraptor swatted the ring onto the goal with his wing, meaning that Honchkrow came second. On the ground, Paul lay the blame for the loss on Honchkrow, saying that its response time was too slow.

It was used to battle Ash in Pedal to the Mettle!, where it fought again. Everyone knew that Ash putting Grotle up against Honchkrow to avenge its loss was a mistake, but Ash persisted. Shielded by 's, it managed to block the hit from. Honchkrow used Haze to blind Grotle, and then hits with another Night Slash. When Grotle used, Honchkrow used the delay to charge its Sky Attack, which crashed against. Honchkrow proved far more powerful and knocked Grotle out again.

It appeared again in Battling a Thaw in Relations! at Reggie's house, along with Torterra, and Weavile; they were all unhappy to find out Paul had lost.

Personality and characteristics
Honchkrow is considered to be the backbone of Paul's team since it has rarely ever failed him, except in Top-Down Training! as Murkrow where it lost in battle to Cynthia's Garchomp, and finally in Pursuing a Lofty Goal! where it lost the PokéRinger contest to Ash's Staraptor. It was also shown in this episode to be a bit sensitive, taking Paul's scolding to heart. It still, however, shows the ruthlessness typical of its species and Paul's common attitude.

Trivia

 * As Murkrow was featured in the opening Together for 37 weeks before its actual debut, there was a common misconception that Murkrow was received in a trade with the boy that Paul gave his Azumarill to in A Gruff Act to Follow!. In fact, Murkrow was caught normally at some point during Paul's journey through Kanto, Johto and Hoenn.
 * Two of evolved while battling Honchkrow:  and.

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