Catch shiny Murkrow during Pokémon Go’s Spotlight Hour

October 26’s spotlight hour will increase your odds of catching Murkrow’s shiny variant

Danielle Rose

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October 26th’s Spotlight hour in Pokémon Go features the Darkness Pokémon Murkrow. This means the spawn rate of the Gen II Pokémon will be increased between 6 and 7pm local time, and this will be the best time to try and catch a shiny Murkrow variant.

Can Murkrow be shiny?

Shiny Murkrow has actually been available in Pokémon Go since March 31st, 2018, so you might already have one or two. If you don’t have one, the hour of increased spawning does mean you will have a better chance than ever of catching Murkrow’s purple shiny variant — Purkrow, if you will.

Murkrow’s evolution requirements

Murkrow’s evolution is the Big Boss Pokémon Honchkrow. In traditional Pokémon lore, Honchkrow evolves from Murkrow when exposed to a Dusk Stone. Since Dusk Stones aren’t available in Pokémon Go, you’ll instead need to ensure you have a Sinnoh stone available for every Murkrow you wish to evolve. Each evolution will also require 100 Murkrow candies, but you’ll be able to gather plenty of these during Spotlight Hour, especially if you utilise Pinap berries.

Best Honchcrow moveset

Snarl is the best Fast Move for Honchkrow, with Peck coming in a close second. You’re best off with Snarl and either Sky Attack or Brave Bird as Charged moves, making the most of both the Dark and Flying-type traits of Honchkrow.

These movesets will be great for both Attack and Defence, with the combination of Snarl and Brave Bird the best overall.

Other Spotlight Hour bonuses — October 26th, 2021

Double XP

For every Pokémon you evolve during Spotlight hour, Murkrow or not, you will receive twice the amount of XP. Therefore, if there are any Pokémon you’ve been holding on to that you need to evolve, there’s no better time to do it than during Spotlight Hour this week.

Both new Pokémon Phantump and Pumpkaboo can be evolved for free by trading. As such, you could also take this opportunity to trade these spooky new Pokémon like-for-like and earn bonus XP for doing so.

Mega Candy bonus

Every Spotlight Hour, if you have a Mega Evolution as your buddy that matches the type of the featured Pokémon, you’ll receive one extra candy for every Murkrow catch. We’d only recommend doing this if you have plenty of Mega Candy and desperately need extra Murkrow Candy, as Mega Evolution is a costly process. If you’re still interested, the Mega Evolutions that will result in a bonus are Gyarados, Absol, Houndoom (Dark type), and Pidgeot and Charizard Y (Flying type).