Murkrow Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Brave Bird is Murkrow's hardest hitting STAB move and packs quite the punch, but you should use it carefully, as the heavy recoil is nasty. Sucker Punch is a powerful STAB priority move, bypassing Murkrow's mediocre Speed and letting it pick off weakened foes. Heat Wave allows Murkrow to break through Mawile and Pawniard, although Hidden Power Grass can be an option to lure Golem. Lastly, Pursuit lets Murkrow trap Pokemon it forces out such as Grumpig and Roselia while Thunder Wave can be used slow down offensive threats in an emergency. Set Details A spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe maximizes the power of Murkrow's attacks, and enhances its Speed, allowing it to outspeed a few threats such as Mr. Mime, while a Naive nature further boosts Murkrow's Speed without hindering its Special Attack or Attack. Note that Murkrow can switch into Stealth Rock four times with this set. Life Orb allows Murkrow to get some crucial KOs, such as a guaranteed OHKO on Roselia with Brave Bird after Stealth Rock damage. Prankster should be used with Thunder Wave, in order to gain priority to stop set up sweepers, otherwise if Murkrow is not running a status move, Super Luck is preferred. Usage Tips Murkrow is a wallbreaker; it has coverage to hit common walls very hard and can outspeed a few offensive threats such as Monferno and Arbok. However, if you bring it in on a foe that it doesn't scare out or KO, it can get knocked out very easily. As Murkrow really lacks the bulk to switch in, it's best either to bring it in freely after a teammate is KOed or to Volt Switch or U-turn into it. Great options to fill this role are Probopass and Pelipper, although Pelipper shares many of Murkrow's weaknesses. Weaken the opposing team with entry hazards and constant pressure, and clean up afterwards with Sucker Punch. If Thunder Wave is chosen, note that you can sacrifice Murkrow if it means stopping a sweep with Thunder Wave. Team Options As you want to give Murkrow the most uses of its Life Orb, a Defog or Rapid Spin user is a good idea. Lumineon and Vibrava are good options, providing support while taking on some of Murkrow's weaknesses. Stunfisk and Probopass are useful teammates, as they check Electric- and Ice-types, respectively, and are able to set up Stealth Rock. Another good entry hazard setter is Roselia, which can set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes and absorb status with Natural Cure. Despite these bulkier Pokemon being suggested, a team leaning towards offense will keep up pressure and force switches with your entry hazards up, as well as give you more options for teammates. Last but not least, Volt Switch and U-turn users are important to get momentum and a free switch. Probopass and Pelipper can provide a slow Volt Switch and U-turn, respectively, and other Pokemon such as Zebstrika or Ninjask can also fill the role of a Volt Switch or U-turn user, despite not being slow.

Blessed with Prankster, access to Roost, and a decent Special Attack, Murkrow can find success as a Calm Mind user. With Eviolite, Murkrow can last longer on the field and find more opportunities to set up. This set is great for dealing with Psychic-types, such as Gardevoir, but it cannot switch into some of their attacks, as it is still a bit frail. Calm Mind is the center point of this set, raising Dark Pulse's power and making Murkrow more specially defensive. Roost allows Murkrow to heal itself in a pinch, and it gets boosted priority thanks to Prankster. Feather Dance allows Murkrow to deal with the majority of physical attackers in the tier, most notably Sawk, by crippling them. Calm Mind and Feather Dance combine very well to grant Murkrow more chances to force switches and set up. However, Substitute can be used to avoid status conditions that can cripple Murkrow. 248 HP EVs allow Murkrow to switch into Stealth Rock four times at full HP. 252 Defense EVs and a Bold nature balance out Murkrow's defenses with Calm Mind. Prankster is key to in this set, as it gives Murkrow a boost in priority when using non-attacking moves, which form the majority here. There are not many alternative move selections for this set; the only notable one would be Hidden Power Flying, which allows Murkrow to deal with Fighting-types. However, Dark Pulse offers more power. If Murkrow isn't using Substitute, status conditions can really hinder its sweeping capabilities. Clerics such as Lickilicky, Musharna, and Vileplume are good partners, as they can tank attacks that Murkrow cannot take. Musharna in particular can also deal with Fighting-types that Murkrow cannot really harm. Sawk is a good ally, as it can deal with Steel-, Rock-, and opposing Dark-types Murkrow can't scratch. Sawk also has nice synergy with Musharna, which can work well in Murkrow's favor. While Jynx cannot switch into Dark Pulse, it can quickly dispose of Murkrow if it hasn't begun setting up Calm Mind; Metang and Choice Scarf Charizard can defeat Jynx. Pokemon that can phaze Murkrow, such as Serperior and Eelektross, can prevent it from setting up successfully. Dragonair is a good counter to Eelektross, and Sap Sipper Miltank and Swellow fare well against Serperior. Miltank also can offer Heal Bell support to Murkrow. Toxic Spikes support is appreciated, as it can weaken the adversary, making it much easier for Murkrow to handle. Garbodor and Scolipede are good partners in that department.

Brave Bird is rather spammable with Murkrow's decent Speed tier. Sucker Punch is solid at picking off weakened fast threats like Purugly and Magmar. It can also hit Metang before a Custap Berry activates. Hidden Power Grass is able to remove common bulky Pokemon like Quagsire and Rhydon. Heat Wave hits Metang without relying on it attacking and does more damage to Tangela than Brave Bird. Given its lack of sustainability, Murkrow tends to fit best on offensive teams. Glalie is a good partner that can use Taunt to block Stealth Rock and provide Spikes to wear down Pokemon like Metang, which Murkrow struggles to break past immediately. Purugly works well with Murkrow, as it can weaken faster Pokemon like Choice Scarf Monferno with Fake Out. Purugly can also bring Murkrow in on foes like Misdreavus with a U-turn. Murkrow can remove Normal-resistant Pokemon like Relicanth and Rhydon in turn. Pokemon like Golduck and Gabite, which are annoyed by Grass-types like Bellossom and Tangela, appreciate Murkrow as well. Relicanth and Bellossom are able to beat foes that check Murkrow like Purugly and Electabuzz.

Murkrow's STAB Drill Peck is, undeniably, one of the best moves in a tier where Hitmonchan, Grass-types, and Bug-types abound. What's more, it's powerful enough to 2HKO 252 HP Piloswine and OHKO Raticate when boosted by a Choice Band, indicating its pure unadulterated power. Hidden Power Ground takes out the Rock- and Steel-types bold enough to try stepping into the path of Murkrow's Drill Peck, easily 2HKOing Sudowoodo, Lairon, Metang, and Graveler after a layer of Spikes. Hidden Power Ground is preferred to Hidden Power Fighting for its super effective hit on Poison-types, particularly Swalot, but Hidden Power Fighting offers a super effective hit on Normal-types and doesn't let the multitude of Ground-immune Pokemon switch in for free. Shadow Ball and Double-Edge are largely filler but can be used as safety moves when you're unsure of which way your opponent is going to go. Shadow Ball is particularly nice for its super effective hit on Chimecho and neutral hit on Rock-types. A Jolly nature is absolutely needed to not only get the Speed tie with other Murkrow and Pidgeot but also outspeed the base 90 Speed tier, which notably includes Venomoth and Vigoroth. Dropping down to Adamant gives Murkrow more power, but losing those Speed ties and getting outsped by positive-natured base 80s like Glalie is a death wish. Sharp Beak can be used to bluff a Choice Band while keeping high power on Drill Peck and gaining the ability to switch moves, although the drop in power on its other moves is super noticeable. There are only two notable move changes to consider on this set. The first is replacing Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Fighting with Hidden Power Grass and using a Naughty nature, as doing so gives Murkrow an easy way to blow past its biggest nemesis in Relicanth along with Graveler and Whiscash. Hidden Power Ground will be better most times, however, particularly against the likes of Mawile and the other Steel-types. The second is Pursuit, which can be used effectively in the last moveslot over Double-Edge when you know your opponent is going to switch, in particular being a nice tool for Chimecho; just be sure to change Murkrow's nature to Naughty when doing so. Pursuit is a terrible move to be locked into, though, so it's recommended to only use it with Sharp Beak. Spikes support is incredible with this set, as it pushes a ton of Pokemon into 2HKO range, particularly the Rock- and Steel-types weak to Hidden Power Ground, and the only Pokemon that can really tank attacks from Murkrow are grounded (Pelipper being about the only exception). Due to this, Glalie and Cacturne make exceptional offensive Spikes partners to use with Murkrow, and both have an easy time OHKOing the Rock-types that can withstand Murkrow's attacks. Murkrow is a great counter to the defensive Grass-types in the tier and a great check to the offensive ones, meaning Rock- and Water-types such as Sudowoodo and Seadra appreciate having Murkrow as an offensive teammate to eliminate them. Murkrow also generally has an easy time with Chimecho, if it avoids Hidden Power Electric anyway, meaning Hitmonchan likes having Murkrow as a teammate too. Loading on Choice Band users on your team is a good strategy when using Murkrow, as very little in the tier can take on that kind of onslaught, particularly if Murkrow is used with its partner in crime Pidgeot. Defensive Relicanth and Mawile are probably the best switch-ins to Murkrow, with the former only really fearing Hidden Power Grass and the latter weakening Murkrow with Intimidate. Due to this, Murkrow absolutely needs teammates that can reliably switch into these Pokemon and try to eliminate them. If your prediction is good, Diglett is an almost surefire way of trapping and getting rid of Mawile. Otherwise, a Grass-type like Tangela has a very easy time with Relicanth and other Rock-types, while Fire-types like Torkoal can switch into Mawile with impunity and force it out with Fire Blast. Plusle and Haunter have an easy time revenge killing Murkrow, so bringing something to absorb Electric attacks is a good idea; Grass- and Ground-types being good general partners to do so.