Absol (Analysis) [QC: 0/3]

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/359.shtml

[OVERVIEW]
-bad ass mother fucker.
-awesome base 130 attack
-access to STAB Sucker Punch/Pursuit
-frail/slow =(
-low base power moves
-super luck

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Night Slash/Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs : 252 Att / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 29 HP

[SET COMMENTS]

-awesome attack boosted even farther
-fighting/dark has awesome coverage in UU
-sucker punch mitigates its low speed
-strong attack forces switches on slower walls
-zen headbutt can be used over night slash for hitmontop, but isn't necessary as superpower hits it hard anyways
-super luck can cause some very useful critical hits
-adamant because he's slow anyways
-life orb is preferred for maximum power but lum berry lets it set up in the face of wow
-ivs decrease Life Orb recoil

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
-entry hazards make a sweep significantly easier by wearing down the bulkier walls
-can use a razor claw to give night slash a 33% chance to critical hit
-can use psycho cut > zen headbutt for increased accuracy/crit rate
-since absol is so damn slow, he is checked by anything faster that resists dark, such as heracross or houndoom
-anything faster that uses substitute beats absol
-HITMONTOP IS ITS WORST ENEMY
-bulky Pokemon such as Donphan also threaten Absol, not being OHKOed by +2 Sucker Punch
-azelf is a good partner as it can easily take out the fighting types that hurt absol, and is ridiculously fast
-has baton pass, meaning it can baton pass swords dance before it's about to die

[SET]

name: Choice Band
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Night Slash / Zen Headbutt
move 4: Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Att / 4 Spd / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

-strong right off the back
-sucker punch mitigates its low speed
-superpower gives it good coverage, hitting things like registeel super effectively
-night slash is reliable STAB
-zen headbutt hits heracross/hitmontop/etc.
-pursuit puts slower things in checkmate position
-still frail as hell though

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
-works best as wall breaker
-has other moves that can give it different coverage, like stone edge or shadow claw, but the ones listed are primarily the best, though +2 megahorn can OHKO tangrowth
-without zen headbutt, heracross completely walls
-can use psycho cut > zen headbutt for increased accuracy/crit rate
-fighting types are still its biggest weakness, along with anything faster
-can't break through physical walls like donphan or zapdos without stone edge
-azelf is a good partner as it can easily take out the fighting types that hurt absol, and is ridiculously fast

[SET]

name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Zen Headbutt
move 4: Pursuit
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Att / 4 Spd / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

-373 speed with scarf
-really good revenge killer; able to take out nasty plot azelf and other threats with its speed
-night slash is its most reliable stab
-superpower is the hardest hitting move on this set and rounds off the coverage
-zen headbutt allows it to take on fighting pokemon that wall this set, along with weezing and other things
-can use psycho cut > zen headbutt for increased accuracy/flinch rate
-pursuit puts wounded walls in a checkmate position
-no sucker punch cause absol's already fast now
-adamant lets it hit as hard as it can

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

-stone edge and other moves can be used instead for coverage, but the ones listed are generally the most useful
-really weak when compared to the other sets, so it gets walled by physically defensive pokemon significantly easier
-can use psycho cut > zen headbutt for increased accuracy/crit rate
-azelf is still a really good partner!

[OTHER OPTIONS]

-a lot of coverage moves! megahorn / stone edge / shadow claw?
-since absol is pretty strong already, a Life Orb 4 attacker set that consists of Sucker Punch / Night Slash / Superpower / Zen Headbutt or other coverage move could work
-can use substitute instead on a set in order to ease prediction and give Absol a safety blanket. Sucker Punch can beat those trying to break the sub.
-access to a myriad of support options such as taunt or thunder wave, but is generally too frail to utilize them
-has baton pass, meaning it can baton pass swords dance before it's about to die

[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]

-HITMONTOP
-faster pokemon that resist dark such as heracross
-pokemon using substitute as it avoids sucker punch
-rhyperior can live an unboosted superpower and finish it off
-devoted physical walls such as donphan can wreck it
-spiritomb/weezing/tangrowth/donphan/haze milotic/etc
-HITMONTOP

what are you using speed for? just stick it all into HP (or most of it at least); maybe 84 (or 92) spe to get suicune/rotom H but after that speed is pretty stupid.

if you really want you can use more speed to get mew before it wisps you I guess. I think that would be 204 speed. however, that's only relevant if you're running night slash.

Speed is relatively important on Absol. It lets it outspeed the Rotoms, Milotic, Deoxys-D before it cripples you, min speed Mew, Suicune, min speed Mismagius before it WoWs you, most Celebi, Miltank before it paralyzes you, min speed Shaymin, defensive Arcanine with minimal speed investment, Qwilfish, defensive Roserade, speedy Magneton, Sigilyph with minimum speed before it Psycho Shifts you, etc.

I don't think mismagius ever runs min.

in any case, all of those are outsped by 204.

edit: uhhhh... they have 236 speed. 204 is 237.

Min speed base 100 pokemon have 239 speed.

You have the Choice Band listed in the Scarf set.

Whoops. Thanks!

Why don't you just combine Scarf and Band since they are nearly identical, just slash the two items. Also mention Jolly nature.

Because Scarf and Band do different things entirely and serve different purposes on your team.

And Adamant > Jolly in all cases except for Scarf. I don't even think it deserves a mention.

Yeah, in Absol's case, the Band and Scarf sets play much differently from each other. Not all are like this, but the difference in Adamant and Jolly is a big thing here.

Anyways, for the Swords Dance and Choice Band sets, at least mention Psycho Cut as an alternative to Zen Headbutt. A miss from the 90% accuracy of ZH would suck. Plus, PC adds to Super Luck for even more Crits.

Also give Substitute a mention in OO. With Sucker Punch to catch those trying to break it, you won't have to worry about Hitmontop coming in for a revenge kill.

Changes implemented. Nice ideas.

This mon is the very definition of outclassed. There is literally no reason to use Absol over Bisharp, which has better defenses, better typing, dual STAB, a better movepool, and can't be Intimidated by Hitmontop or Arcanine, which is a big deal. Absol has... 5 Attack and 5 Speed? Not even a fair fight.

(for more info read this post by Lee)

QC REJECTED (1/3)

Absol is outclassed by Bisharp and I mean badly.
Lee does a good job summarizing why Bisharp outclasses Absol and is right on the money.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3018507&postcount=17

Lee said:

Absol's slight Atk and Spe advantages are worthless in comparison to Kiri's impressive bulk (65/100/70 isn't all that much worse than Scizor's 70/100/80) and as any SDAbsol user will tell you getting that SD is nigh on impossible unless your opponent is using Slaking. That's not the case for Kiri and his 9 resistances and 2 immunities including a SR resistance. The lack of a powerful Fighting attack is a shame but to be fair, Brick Break and Ankle Sweep have their advantages over Superpower especially on a Pokemon with decent physical defense. STAB Iron Head is okay too as far as filler moves go...it allows him to hit hard without using a secondary Dark attack like Absol is forced to do.

And lets not forget he resists Quick Attack, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, Extremespeed, Fake Out and Sucker Punch so priority isn't as much of an issue as it is for Absol and Competitive Spirit means he can't be beaten by Intimidate shuffling. This guy outclasses Absol tenfold tbh.

Not OU material but he has the potential to be used there and should be really potent in UU.

Click to expand...

Its dated, but the point still stand, there is no reason to use Absol when Bisharp is around.
To add insult to injury, Bisharp also lerns Psycho Cut. Its unfortunate but i'm going to have to reject Absol.

QC REJECTED (2/3)

OK

QC Rejected 3/3

sorry