Organized crime specialists believe that the reason Johto never developed an organized crime syndicate on the level of Aqua, Magma, Galactic, or Plasma, but instead were victimized only by the expansion efforts of Kanto's Team Rocket, is that their pokemon had already filled that niche. And indeed Honchkrow have long been the most reviled of pests in the region, for while Houndoom can kill livestock, Honchkrow will gather together flocks to steal shiny coins from pokemarts and other places of business.
It is difficult to tell whether it was scared businessmen who first came up with the idea of leaving out coins for Honchkrow in order to avoid attacks, or whether the Honchkrow themselves gave the order. But it worked, insofar as the Honchkrow would accept the coins and move onto the next target. And so, much like human gangsters, they would grow their empires bit by bit in exchange for protection money, swoop down from the darkness at anyone who dared cross them, and use their cleverness and speed to defeat any electric-type bodyguard before it had a chance to fight back. But the term "protection money" remained an apt one, for Honchkrow are fiercely territorial and would chase away other flocks and any humans they considered a threat to their supply of shiny coins, until they were finally wiped out by a desperate and surprisingly powerful Team Rocket.
Yet Honchkrow evolve from the much more common Murkrow, and many Murkrow have evolved anew. Today, Honchkrow are more beloved than hated, for they have been defeated by inflation. The silver and golden coins which so taxed the merchants of old are no longer worth enough money to purchase a single potion, and shopkeepers today view the Honchkrow as bodyguards for hire on the cheap.