Murkrow is an avian Pokémon with black feathers. Its crooked, yellow beak and the three, feathery tufts on its head resemble a witch's nose and hat respectively. The feathery crest is smaller on the female than on the male. It has semi-circular, red eyes with white sclerae and pupils and a spiky collar of feathers around its neck. The shaggy feathers on its tail resemble the end of a broom, and there is a thin, red band at the base of the tail. Its yellow feet have four toes, three facing forward and one backward.
Murkrow has a fondness for anything sparkly, and it will go as far as fighting with other Pokémon, such as Meowth or Gabite, in order to gain their stashes. Whenever it is chased, it loses the attacker by leading it down dark mountain trails, and sometimes it does this to travelers as a mean spirited prank. Its thieving and nocturnal nature has led it to become representative of misfortune. It is possible to train a Murkrow to repeat words, as seen under Team Rocket's ownership. Murkrow usually live in flocks amongst forests and swamps.
A Murkrow appeared in Hocus Pokémon, under the ownership of Lily. It helps Lily with her spells and was mostly seen sitting on her shoulder.
Multiple Murkrow appeared in Like a Meowth to a Flame, where they attacked Ash and his friends as they were searching for a restaurant, for unknown reasons. Pikachu tried to scare the Murkrow away with Thunderbolt, but they kept on coming back. Tyson's Meowth got rid of the Murkrow by using Fury Swipes on them.
A Murkrow appeared in PK20, where it stole a large diamond ring piece that Pikachu and Meowth's groups were after. The jewel was eventually retrieved after Murkrow accidentally dropped it.
Multiple Murkrow appeared in Mimikyu Unmasked!, when three of them kept stealing Jessie's Malasadas and later stole Mimikyu's rag. Several other Murkrow later appeared to attack Jessie and Mimikyu.
A Murkrow appeared in Show Me the Metal!, where it attempted to steal a nut from one of the Meltan, which had fallen on top of one of the buildings at the Pokémon School, before Rowlet retrieved it and gave it back to the Meltan.
A Murkrow appeared in Got Meltan?, where it stole the Meltan that befriended Rowlet. Though Rowlet got Meltan back, the Murkrow was revealed to still have Meltan's nut.
Murkrow was feared and loathed as the alleged bearer of ill fortune. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters. It will even try to steal rings from women.
Murkrow were feared as the alleged bearers of ill fortune. It shows strong interest in anything that sparkles. It will even try to steal rings from women.
Murkrow was feared and loathed as the alleged bearer of ill fortune. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters. It will even try to steal rings from women.
Murkrow can be seen as a parallel to Misdreavus. Both of them are Generation II Pokémon whose only evolutionary event utilizes a Dusk Stone into their evolved forms. Murkrow is exclusive to Pokémon FireRed, Diamond, and Black while Misdreavus is exclusive to LeafGreen, Pearl, and White. Additionally, both appear to be based on witches.
Murkrow is the only Pokémon that evolves with a Dusk Stone that is not a Ghost-type.
Murkrow comes before Misdreavus in the Johto Pokédex, but Murkrow's evolution, Honchkrow, comes after Misdreavus's evolution, Mismagius, in the Sinnoh part of the National Pokédex.
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Murkrow is programmed to be able to learn Punishment through breeding, but no other Pokémon in the Flying Group can pass down Punishment as an Egg Move in those games. Vullaby and Mandibuzz are the only Flying Egg Group Pokémon that can learn Punishment, but they cannot pass down the move due to being female-only species.
Origin
Murkrow is based on a crow, more specifically the carrion crow. Its crest resembles that of the black hawk-eagle. Its crest can also be taken to resemble a pointed hat, and its tail the bristles of a broom, giving it a resemblance to a witch in flight. In regards to its Generation IV evolution, it can also be taken to resemble a gang member under a head Honchkrow. Its ability to mimic voices is referencing crows' and ravens' ability to imitate other sounds.
Name origin
Murkrow is a combination of murky or murder (a group of crows) and crow.
Yamikarasu is a combination of 闇 yami (darkness) and 烏 karasu (crow).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.