Absol (Attacking Lead)

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/absol

I know Absol had a lead set that was taken down, but after trying an Absol lead out a little I'm convinced it deserves a set.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Psycho Cut / Pursuit / Taunt
item: Focus Sash
nature: Adamant
ability: Super Luck
evs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spe

Why this set deserves to be on site:
- immediate offensive power. Night Slash is backed by STAB, high crit rate + Super Luck, 130 base attack and +ve nature. Absol also has excellent coverage and can trap opposing leads, especially the pixies, if it has Pursuit
- has favourable matchups against several leads
- 25% chance to crit means you have (almost) a 25% chance of beating any lead. I've had several matches where Uxie ate a CH Night Slash and died outright, leaving me 6-5 up and Sash intact
- considerable mid-game use, when it is a Life Orb + 4 attacks Absol without LO

Absol vs. the top leads of July:
Bold for easy matchups
Green for moderate problems
Red for deadly

vs. Ambipom - This is a bad matchup. The best Absol can do is trade high-damage hits with Sucker Punch. Relevant calcs here: Absol Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Ambipom: 69.4% - 81.8%. Silk Scarf Ambipom U-turn vs. 0/0 Absol: 70.8% - 84.1%; LO Ambipom U-turn vs. 0/0 Absol: 92.3% - 109.2%. Ambipom beats Absol handily. The only reason I didn't colour it red is because Ambipom is generally very predictable. If Absol has a Registeel / Regirock / Steelix / Spiritomb etc backing it up then Ambipom is easily beaten. Furthermore, since teams that lead Ambipom generally don't have early entry hazards, Absol can come back in later in the match with Sash intact.
vs. Uxie / Mesprit - favourable matchup. Night Slash first. If they Trick, you end up with a Scarf Absol, which is a perfectly viable Pokemon. Mesprit is generally 2HKOed, but bulky Uxie can survive. It's a strong tribute to Uxie's bulk that it has a chance of surviving such a super effective attack. If Absol has Pursuit, it can trap both pixies as well - if the pixies paralyze Absol, they actually sign their own death warrants since Absol is guaranteed to be slower than them now and Pursuit will hit twice as hard on the U-turn.
vs. Omastar / Cloyster - I've come to conclude these two are the worst foes for Absol. The lead Cloyster set on the analysis page as well as suicide Omastar (252/0) are generally 2HKOed by Night Slash + Superpower, but Defensive Omastar and Cloyster easily survive multiple Night Slashes and put up multiple layers of hazards. The real problem is that Absol cannot tell what kind of Omastar / Cloyster it's facing until after turn 1, by which time it's too late to stop them from getting up two layers of hazards. If Absol has Taunt, it can also stop them from setting up, but it'll be really sad if they opt to attack.
vs. Spiritomb - if lead Spiritomb runs what Eo plans to put in the new Spiritomb analysis, it's not too bad. Absol can go for a crit with Night Slash or Sucker Punch twice (44.7% - 53%). It also survives HP Fighting with health to spare. If Absol attacks, the likely result is both Pokemon die. Alternatively Absol can switch out, since lead Spiritomb is similar to lead Ambipom - no early hazards.
vs. Electrode - (very) favourable matchup; if the other team is anything like a conventional rain team then Absol will be immensely valuable. Night Slash as it puts up rain, then Sucker Punch the Explosion. Sash intact. Kabutops and Omastar are KOed by Superpower on the Sash turn, while every other rain sweeper bar Qwilfish with Aqua Jet (rare, since to the best of my knowledge AJ + Swords Dance is illegal on the same set) dies from Night Slash + Sucker Punch. Because Sucker Punch does ~70% to most rain sweepers, you can even play around Life Orb until Absol can revenge safely. Hallelujah!
vs. Hippostas - Night Slash. If you're running sun or rain or some kind of weather yourself you can Pursuit to remove it permanently, but Hippostas is actually quite bulky on the physical side so I wouldn't suggest it.
vs. Qwilfish - Night Slash, then either Sucker Punch the Explosion or predict they'll Spike again and Night Slash. I'm leaning towards Night Slash here because I've found that most Qwilfish are perfectly happy to die in return for 2 layers of Spikes. On the plus side, Absol still has Sash intact. Can also Taunt, but Qwilfish is generally faster and will get up one layer at least.
vs. Alakazam - Focus Sash + Sucker Punch makes Absol one of the better checks to Alakazam (even more so if it has Pursuit).
vs. Snover - Night Slash fails to OHKO (sad), but Superpower puts it away. If you're running your own weather and have Pursuit, you can try Night Slash + Pursuit, which guarantees a kill on Snover while not being too bad if Snover switches out on turn 1 / Protects.

Absol vs. some other leads. I picked them mostly off the top of my head, so the list is rather biased towards those that threaten Absol.

vs. Moltres - Not too bad. Sucker Punch first. If it shows Life Orb recoil, Night Slash because there's a good chance it'll Roost. If it uses something like Overheat, Pursuit if you have it, otherwise Night Slash (it's switching out, and even if it doesn't you'll have a -4 Moltres to set up on). If it U-turns then, well, get up Stealth Rock and it won't be able to switch in again. That said, if you have something like a Milotic on your team then there's no time like now to bring it in, preserving the Sash for later ...
vs. Lopunny - Superpower it and let it trade you whatever. It's by no means fun to be tricked a Flame Orb, but you're still 6-5 up and Lopunny doesn't get to pass any boosts.
vs. Mismagius - All the Mismagius's I've seen WoW first. This means you have a 25% chance of outright beating them (the WoW miss chance). Even if WoW hits, Night Slash puts Mismagius at about 25% health. Then things start to diverge. There was one game where Mismagius used Destiny Bond next and took both of us out. There was another where Absol survived Thunderbolt and Night Slash finished Mismagius off. Finally there was one where my opponent switched out, when both Absol and Mismagius are mostly death fodder, being too weak to do anything else.
vs. Scyther - Generally Choice Banded, Scyther is going to U-turn. Similar case to Moltres here. I think if you have a 100% Bug-attack counter like Steelix or Moltres, now's a good time to switch it in and preserve the Sash for later. Otherwise you can bash Scyther's head in with Sucker Punch, dealing 76.9% - 90.7% at least, and pray for a crit.
vs. Venusaur - Sleep sucks. Personally I'd prefer to switch Absol out since having an intact sash is so powerful, but other players might prefer to stay in and Psycho Cut. If Sleep Powder misses, 0/0 Venusaur takes 53.8% - 63.8% from Psycho Cut.
vs. Hariyama - This guy sucks even worse than Venusaur. It's sturdy enough to not die to Psycho Cut + Sucker Punch, in fact it even has a chance of surviving two Psycho Cuts, it might Fake Out and it has its own priority. Screw Hariyama. God.
vs. Primeape - Night Slash first because, like Scyther, Primeape is going to U-turn so you might as well use your strongest attack. If it stays in to Close Combat then Night Slash + Sucker Punch vs. -1 Primeape actually results in a KO (Night Slash alone does well over 50%).
vs. Kabutops - Night Slash and Superpower. A bit tough though, it can kill Absol by attacking twice. It does need to be faster however, and if it does attack then no Stealth Rock.
vs. Rhyperior - Nobody leads with Rhyperior, but unless Absol has Taunt it can't do anything to Rhyperior, not even with a critical hit Night Slash. Even with Taunt eating one of Rhyperior's big EQs is not fun. On the bright side, you can switch out and the worst it can do is Stealth Rock, negating the Sash next time you switch in.
vs. Steelix - Worse version of Rhyperior, basically. Nobody except for some PO players lead with Steelix, but if you meet one, best you can do is Taunt.

Additional comments
- Psycho Cut kills Heracross, who otherwise resists the whole moveset. Another purpose is that since Absol has the strongest priority attack in the game, many players attempt to kill it with their own priority. Many common users of priority, including Hitmontop, Blaziken, Nidoking and Toxicroak are all hit super-effectively by Psycho Cut. Psycho Cut hits Weezing super-effectively as well, although physically defensive Weezing still laughs at Absol
- Pursuit can be used to trap opposing leads, especially the pixies and Alakazam, as well as any Pokemon trying to switch out of Sucker Punch
- Taunt can stop hazards going up; it also stops some common Absol switch-ins like Donphan and Registeel from causing too much damage. The main problem is that Absol is 75 base speed
- Protect counters Ambipom and can scout Choice Scarf leads like Venusaur and Moltres, but has no other use otherwise
- Magic Coat counters status from the likes of Jynx, Spiritomb and Uxie / Mesprit. If it works like rumours say it will in Gen 5, it'll become more viable, but until then it's quite low on the priority list

Teammates and Counters
- Hariyama and bulky Cloyster / Omastar, mainly. Spiritomb is also problematic
- rare, but Sleep-inducing leads (Drifblim, Jynx, Venusaur) force Absol to switch out
- anything that deals with Absol's counters make good teammates. Most notable is Ambipom, so having an Ambipom counter is strongly advised
- Absol isn't a good partner to Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock, because it generally can't stop Stealth Rock from going up. In the same vein, a spinner might be a good idea
- good luck charms so you crit more with Super Luck!!1!one

-----------------Copyediting begins here---------------------

[SET]
name: Attacking Lead
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Pursuit / Taunt / Psycho Cut
item: Focus Sash
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Absol's combination of an outstanding Attack stat, high critical hit rate, superb coverage, access to a priority move (albeit the unreliable Sucker Punch), and trapping abilities allow it to function as an effective offensive lead. It takes some daring and knowledge of the metagame for Absol to flourish, but if used well, the rewards can be excellent. Absol also boasts the most powerful priority attack in the game, allowing it to function decently in the mid-game as well.</p>

<p>Night Slash is a given. Backed by base 130 Attack, a boosting nature, STAB, and a 25% chance to score a critical hit, it is Absol's best general attack. Superpower gives Absol nearly unresisted coverage when paired with Night Slash, as well as hitting several common leads for super effective damage. Sucker Punch, despite its unreliability, allows Absol to threaten faster Pokemon and perform some revenge killing duties. The final slot is up to personal preference. Pursuit can trap opposing Pokemon attempting to switch out of a predicted Sucker Punch and immediately threaten some common leads, such as Alakazam and the pixies. Taunt is another option, stopping slower leads from setting up, as well as forcing them to attack and run right into Sucker Punch. However, Absol's base 75 Speed means it is less effective at stopping setup compared to faster Taunters such as Alakazam and Ambipom. The final option in the last slot is Psycho Cut. Many Pokemon will attempt to bypass Absol's Sucker Punch with their own, faster, priority moves. Several common UU priority users such as Nidoking, Blaziken, and Toxicroak are hit super effectively by Psycho Cut. It is also Absol's best attack against Weezing, although physically defensive variants will still remain relatively unscathed.</p>

<p>A Jolly nature is not recommended because Absol has priority to bypass its low Speed. Nonetheless, it is wise to invest in Speed because of the chance that your opponent might Trick a Choice Scarf onto Absol. With maximum investment, Absol makes good use of a Choice Scarf, outspeeding almost the entire unboosted metagame. However, one must be very careful of locking Absol into Sucker Punch.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Much of Absol's value as a lead stems from its ability to put the opponent under pressure. However, the same unpredictability that makes the opponent uncomfortable also makes Absol's best move unclear at times. Therefore, if you choose Absol as a lead, you must be prepared to take calculated risks. Some knowledge of the metagame is very helpful as well. For example, if your opponent leads with Moltres and it shows Life Orb recoil, it probably has Roost. On the other hand, if it doesn't show Life Orb recoil, it is probably Choice Scarfed. This kind of knowledge will greatly aid your choice between Pursuit, Night Slash, and Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Like every lead, there are other leads that give Absol trouble. Ambipom and Hariyama are particularly troublesome as they are capable of breaking Absol's Focus Sash with Fake Out and KOing it the next turn. Sleep-inducing Pokemon such as Venusaur and Jynx cause problems as well, while bulky leads such as Rhyperior and Cloyster can easily set up if Absol doesn't have Taunt. Having Pokemon that can deal with all these problems is recommended. Individually, Ambipom is walled by Steel- and Rock-types such as Steelix and Regirock, while Hariyama has trouble with Slowbro and Weezing. Both Ambipom and Hariyama also cannot get past Spiritomb, which can switch in for free on Fake Out. To deal with sleep, a RestTalker is ideal, but any bulky Pokemon will suffice. Finally, because Absol cannot reliably stop other leads from putting up entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is useful. Hitmontop is a great choice, with access to Foresight to guarantee a successful Rapid Spin and Close Combat to hit bulky Spikes users, namely Cloyster and Omastar, super effectively. However, it is worth noting that suicide Cloyster and Omastar leads can be knocked out by a Night Slash followed by a Superpower.</p>

I actually did face a Lead Absol before, dunno if it was you.

Bu it couldn't really touch my Uxie, while i set up my Screens, he helplessly kept Pursuiting me thinking i would switch, he even tried Night Slashing but it couldn't even 2HKO me with that. (Night Slash from Adamant Absol max attack vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Uxie behind Reflect: 28.8% - 34.5%)

And i don't think Pursuit's power gets doubled if the foe used U-Turn, only if it switched. Correct me if i'm wrong cause i don't really know.

So because of that, i really think Taunt should be considered to prevent the foe from doing anything. (Not just slashed)

Before I test, a few things:

Firstly, I'd like to ask whistle what the original lead set he removed was and why.

secondly:

vs. Ambipom - if Absol has Counter, use it;

Click to expand...

Ambipom uses Fake Out
Absol Flinches
Ambipom uses Return / U-turn
Absol faints.

When can it use counter....?

Also:

vs. Omastar / Cloyster - Night Slash first, then Superpower.

Click to expand...

Night Slash vs defensive Omastar: 23.8% - 28.2%
Superpower vs defensive Omastar: 54.7% - 64.5%
-1 Superpower vs defensive Omastar: 36% - 43%

I mean, you're likely not going to KO anyway, but a -1 Superpower does more than Nightslash.

Taunt seems like the best for that last moveslot, in my opinion. I'd rather stop Omastar from setting up then trap stupid Alakazam that try to escape. Come to think of it, you actually overlook the possibility that Alakazam has a 50% to beat Absol either way. It counters your first attack, then can Encore your Sucker Punch if it predicts. If it predicts wrong, you'd be stuck in Pursuit (it would be better to Night Slash) and be in a bad situation when their RP Aggron / SD Kabutops / SD Blaziken / (sub/rp)erior etc comes in and destroys your face.

@Arikado - it wasn't me, but I see your point.

The problem with Uxie is that it's incredibly versatile, and it can worm its way out of the worst of matchups, e.g. Alakazam can Taunt Uxie out of whatever it's trying to do, but Uxie can always U-turn on the Taunt ... in fact a lead that can deal with every possible Uxie set is hard to find. Compared to others Absol has it easy. If Absol is faster, Night Slash + Night Slash (behind Reflect) + Pursuit kills 252/0 Uxie (although it'd be strange to see 252/0 Uxie that isn't faster than Absol). Absol can't stop screens from going up, but it can stop Uxie from putting them up again. Against an Uxie that's faster than Absol ... Absol loses. Too bad. But then again even if Absol had Taunt, it can't stop Reflect from going up, and then Uxie U-turning safely (since no Pursuit). Same applies to Alakazam. While Absol can't guarantee a kill on Alakazam, it has a comparatively easier time compared to other leads like Qwilfish and threatens Alakazam to boot.

Pursuit's power is doubled if a faster Pokemon uses U-turn, but not a slower one. That's why I have the Thunder Wave comment vs. Uxie / Mesprit - a bulky Uxie can potentially live a Night Slash and then a base power 40 Pursuit. You might have to Night Slash twice.

I'm not sold on Taunt in general, primarily because Absol is base 75 speed. A fast Uxie can still set up SR, while Qwilfish gets at least one layer. I'm of opinion that if your main aim is to stop entry hazards from getting up, Alakazam and Ambipom spring to mind as plain superior.

As for Counter, true enough - so much for basing part of my original post based on what I remember of the old set! It seems Counter was on the old set to deal with Uxie / Mesprit's U-turn, something I think is better done with Pursuit. I'll remove it.

@Heysup - I suggested Night Slash first primarily because it keeps the threat in reserve. If you have to Superpower twice against Omastar then you'll be at -2 attack, which is not good at all ... if Night Slash followed by Superpower can do it, it would definitely be better (KO or not depends on Omastar's EVs). Night Slash can also lull the opponent into a sense of security; if Absol Superpowers first, then you can't use your other attacks as well on the second turn. Your opponent knows you have Superpower and you're meaning to use it to KO Omastar (or Cloyster) and can switch in a Fighting resist vs. the -1 Absol. If two Superpowers could reliably kill Omastar then it would be more significant, but since it can't, I think Night Slash first is better (besides, you might get a crit).

EDIT: Yeah Absol is base 75 speed - my bad.

Maybe Protect can be slashed somewhere too, cause to me, this lead Absol will always lose to Fake Out Ambipom. [Whilst with Protect, it can shut down Ambipom with Protect + Sucker Punch]

And actually Absol's base speed is 75, but i see your point, a slow Taunter isn't always preferred.

Although I'm theorymonning here, I think Choice Scarf has just as much merit as Focus Sash, and perhaps more, since tbh this set doesn't seem to really beat any common leads too cleanly. Sucker Punch would be replaced with Pursuit, and in the last slot would be Psycho Cut or even Taunt if you are content to block entry hazards then try to prevent them the rest of the game with momentum, although Taunt on a Scarf user obviously borders on absurd.

Furthermore, with Choice Scarf you can...

• Superpower Ambipom after it Fakes Out.
• OHKO Kabutops (like 16/17 of the time) before it can do anything (but Aqua Jet) if it stays in.
• Get a faster Night Slash on the pixies.
• Trap and OHKO Alakazam no ifs ands or buts.
• Hinder Qwilfish with whatever the last moveslot is.
• Actually be relevant later in the game.

For those who've been around long enough this set was popular for the brief period that Aerodactyl dropped into old UU and Froslass was common, which was late '08 IIRC. Not that it's relevant, but just for teh lulz.

late '08 was great, how dare you. Though ones relevance does tend to lend itself to then, right Diesel?

The problem I have with this set as an attacking lead is that it has 3 dark moves (okay, other than slashes) and one fighting move that hinders it after one use. This guy is begging to be assfucked into a theorymon "success" realm. Why not give him some more coverage or utility?

Also I do really agree with diesel, though a choice band might be worth consideration. Mind you, Diesel, the scarf does precisely fuck all against venusaur leads who are pretty common still.

Late '08 WAS great, haha. And any Absol without Magic Coat is forced to switch vs. Scarf Venusaur, which fortunately isn't too popular due to its value in other roles.

I tried out Absol as a lead a bit more and I think that although it doesn't have an easy matchup against the likes of Alakazam, Omastar and Cloyster, those Pokemon don't have an easy matchup against Absol either, so it's not a bad thing for Absol at all. The real leads which Absol loses to are Ambipom (without Protect), Spiritomb and Qwilfish (who can get 2 layers if it wants to). However Absol has considerable use mid-game. It can conceivably trap psychic types, as well as ghosts blocking Rapid Spin. It can also threaten to Sucker Punch, which although not very reliable is still better than nothing.

Protect against Ambipom avoids the Fake Out, then Sucker Punch will trade big hits with Ambipom's U-turn. It can also scout out choiced Pokemon, both in the lead position and later. I think it's worthy of a mention (thanks Arikado). Psycho Cut kills Hariyama and Primeape and other Fighters as well as hitting Venusaur and Qwilfish super-effectively; I think it deserves a mention as well. Magic Coat is the least useful. The pixies are already threatened by Absol; however it can be useful since many of the players I've played against switch Registeel into Absol, put up Stealth Rock (takes ~65% from the first Superpower), then Thunder Waves (still doesn't die from the second Superpower). Taunt is Taunt and would help against Registeel, but then I just played against an Omastar who was content to Surf twice, against which Taunt would've cost me Absol, so ...

I think the order of the attacks in all the slashes so far is how I would rank the moves.

@Diesel - Scarf Absol would be a completely different set, although I'll add that:

1. KO'ing Ambipom is fun :D
2. Lead Kabutops can be slower than Absol (the lead set on the analysis page is, anyway) and it can also carry a Focus Sash. Still you will outspeed and KO any Kabutops who stay in without a Focus Sash. I just don't like to open with Superpower because it makes it easy for things like Registeel / Rhyperior / Torterra to come in and set up.
3. Mesprit can be quite fast (max speed Mesprit in July was ~40%) while Uxie is generally quite slow (zero speed Uxie in July was ~60%). A fast Night Slash helps, viz. against the DS lead Arikado mentioned above ... still if you Night Slash and they live, they can switch out.
4. I'm not sure about trapping Alakazam. It can Counter Pursuit, live with its own Sash and kill you (since you have no Sash). If it stays in to attack you might die as well - Alakazam's 252 SpA Timid Signal Beam vs. 0/0 Absol = 94.5% - 111.4%, while Focus Blast KOs by a massive margin.
5. It can Night Slash Qwilfish twice, which gives Qwilfish one layer and kills it. That puts Qwilfish into the same category as Cloyster / Omastar, a clear improvement (unless Qwilfish switches out knowing you're Scarfed).
6. It could be just me, but my Absol keeps ending up paralyzed (by Registeel / a trapped pixie) or burned (by Rotom / Mismagius). Still it gets a good hit in against them. With the team I'm using Absol's been doing very well even past the lead battle, although I can see Scarf Absol getting Night Slash in before Rotom / Mismagius can burn.

I'm not sure about QC protocols here. Do I write a separate Choice Scarf set?

I suggested to bugmaniacbob in his Update that he write an AC paragraph under Choice Scarf about it being a lead, since the set is identical. Hopefully he will open to it.

Just a suggestion, but as regards the last slot, I would think you could tidy it up a wee bit.

Purely as an Anti-Lead, Pursuit doesn't really help against anything save Alakazam (Mesprit is almost always faster and can escape with U-turn) who almost always carries Focus Sash AND Signal Beam anyway, or else is dual screening, so has no reason to switch out. And Uxie takes essentially nothing from Pursuit if it stays in. Protect is only helpful against Ambipom, but that's pretty important so I guess it can stay. Taunt is probably the most useful option still there, to shut down Uxie/Omastar/Spiritomb/whatnot. Psycho Cut hits absolutely nothing (cannot OHKO any Qwilfish so completely redundant with Night Slash), and finally Magic Coat is only really helpful for Scarf Venusaur (against just about any other lead, Taunt is superior), and according to July statistics less than 10% if all Venusaur were scarfed (not to mention that I never saw a Scarf Venu lead regardless).

However, I would like to add another option to the list. Megahorn is slightly more powerful than Night Slash overall, which allows it to do some things that Night Slash cannot:

So I would put the last slot as Taunt / Protect / Megahorn or something, depending on what your team finds most useful. I really do think that one of Absol's big benefits as a lead is the ability to use Taunt, so that should probably be emphasised.

Oh, and:

Diesel said:

I suggested to bugmaniacbob in his Update that he write an AC paragraph under Choice Scarf about it being a lead, since the set is identical. Hopefully he will open to it.

Click to expand...

I added a paragraph in AC on Lead CS Absol, so I guess we can all focus on the set provided now.

Well with Pursuit + Sucker Punch Alakazam is at risk. Mesprit can be faster but Pursuit hits a faster U-turning Pokemon for double damage, so ... as for Megahorn, I might try it out someday but then I really don't play much (>_<) so any help with testing appreciated! Psycho Cut hits Hariyama and Primeape leads, but I agree they aren't very common, which is why it's so far down the list of slashes. I have actually seen one Scarf Venusaur lead, but yeah I agree those are very uncommon as well (which is why Magic Coat is even further down the list of slashes).

Here're some logs and a team that I used with an Absol lead. The team is not the best; it has in fact multiple weaknesses, but I've not fixed those weaknesses yet. My general idea from playing the team is that Absol does well, the rest of the team not so well.

Here's the team:


Most obvious fault is that I need a better method to put up Stealth Rock while not letting Clefable become mega setup bait to stuff like Mismagius. Venusaur is also a major threat to the team; Moltres checks it the first time round as long as Stealth Rock isn't up, but if Lum Berry is used or if SR is on the field then something is likely going to die. Healing Wish -> Focus Sash is really fun if it goes off, Absol can actually pull off a late-game sweep with that. Also fun is Moltres killing Milotic (lol, although without recovery my Moltres becomes really sad after that), as is Sunny Day removing hail / sand / rain.

These logs are taken from the last four games I played - i.e. I didn't select any logs in particular. Log 1 is vs. fellow forumer zoap, for which I used the advance knowledge that his Sceptile is probably the Subpuncher here on QC (cheating, I know). I've changed the name I used to this one (Banedon) for easier referencing.



I switched Clefable into Mismagius in the hope that he would fear Encore, attack, and I Healing Wish to Absol. A very high risk move, didn't pay off this time. Losing Sceptile wasn't very smart, especially since I had a Haze Milotic, so yeah.

Log 2 vs. zoap again (we had two matches in a row):



It wasn't a good match because of the crit hax, but then Absol did kill off Omastar again successfully. I'm guessing that zoap didn't switch in Mismagius or Spiritomb on Absol because of the Sash. CM RestTalk Spiritomb with only Dark Pulse can't hit Absol hard after all. Once again Absol was my makeshift answer to Mismagius, and once again it didn't work (but it did work in one of my previous matches!).

Log 3 against nandb, who was using a Sunny Day team:



Looks like my team has a major weakness to Sun sweepers; with Moltres down I really didn't have anything that could take on potential mixed sweepers like Tangrowth. The critical hit at the start really mattered this time, although I did get a low damage roll: Absol Night Slash vs. 252/252+ Mesprit = 48.4% - 57.7%. Not very fair I guess but then again it is high crit rate + Super Luck, so ... guess that was paid back by the full-paralysis on the Sucker Punch Sash turn. I tried to switch to Clefable and Healing Wish Absol back to full health, but it never happened.

Log 4 is against an offensive team.



This game was pretty one-sided. I think now that if Scarf Uxie / Mesprit is facing Absol, Tricking is the worst thing to do. In fact it might be better for Absol to Pursuit at once; leaving Uxie / Mesprit in on Absol is very dangerous after all, to say the least. Anyway I get lucky this game, successfully predicting Will-O-Wisp on Spiritomb and catching Azumarill with Sunny Day. Trisha probably overpredicted my Moltres at one point, causing Venusaur's death, although nothing on his team could take a sun-boosted Fire Blast at that point. The Leaf Storm crit on Kanghaskhan probably mattered, but with Hitmontop and Milotic at full health it likely didn't affect the outcome.

So like I said I get the feeling Absol does well and the rest of the team not so well - in the match I lost against nancb for example, Absol did get a kill as well as a Sucker Punch hit in ... that said, none of these matches was against a lead that Absol does badly against, so it doesn't mean too much (I REALLY need something that can switch into lead Ambipom [Intimidate Hitmontop doesn't count]).

Well I mean when you post logs (at least for QC), they're likely going to get analyzed quite thoroughly...but I really didn't need to. I mean every one of these matches you were either against a lead Absol beats. Suicide Omastar, Suicide Omastar, Mesprit, Uxie, Mesprit? Those are precisely the three leads this set reliably beats (though Uxie can just U-turn if it's smart).

I'm all for logs but I don't see these helping much.

EDIT:

I played it and it's actually pretty difficult to play around unless you have perfect prediction....which I do :D. Stamped.

Ok so after reading Heysup's post I went out to get more logs and guess who I ran into in the very first match?



I definitely could've done better this match, especially conserving Sceptile (Heysup ran big Ground weakness here). He wins the prediction war early in the game, getting Spiritomb in on Superpower and then successfully switching to Kabutops. I wanted to stop Kabutops from getting a Swords Dance in and stayed in, but of course Kabutops is faster and Absol gets finished off. Definitely not one of Absol's better matches.

We met twice on the ladder. In the return match I Night Slash twice, predicting a switch to Spiritomb, except Heysup outpredicts me again and gets up SR + one layer of Spikes. Night Slash finishes off Omastar on the third turn, and Heysup burns the Focus Sash with Torterra. I stay in to spam Night Slash and again get KO'ed by Kabutops's Aqua Jet. Tradeoff this match was Absol getting some ~50% damage on Torterra and Kabutops both as well as KO'ing Omastar, at the price of dying itself and Heysup getting SR + Spikes up.

After that I had 3 matches against a mono Fire team which led with Scarf Typhlosion. First game he loses Typhlosion to Night Slash + Sucker Punch. I switch Absol out of Blaziken, avoiding Vacuum Wave, and I never switch Absol in again (Milotic walls mono Fire so badly ...). In the second game he switches Typhlosion out of Sucker Punch. He goes to Torkoal to put up SR, against which I switch out - probably shouldn't have - and eventually sacrifice Absol later in the game to scout Typhlosion's move. In the third game I Night Slash + Pursuit while he stays in to Focus Blast twice - fortunately for me Focus Blast misses on the second attack, and Sucker Punch finishes Typhlosion off. Here's the log from the third game; I kept Absol in against Charizard because it's a Belly Drummer which I can't let set up.



The only other lead I encountered that I've not already covered in other logs (Mesprit, Uxie, Omastar and Typhlosion) is Swellow. This time he Protects turn 1 and almost dies on turn 2 from Sucker Punch as he U-turns to Arcanine. Once again I should've saved Absol instead of letting it die to Extremespeed. This game I get swept because he has a SD Absol after I sacrificed Hitmontop on the hunch that he didn't have entry hazards ... which DID turn out to be true, lol. Here's the log:



I'll play more games soon and try to get more matchups against other leads.

New thoughts:

1. Absol suffers badly against Ambipom. At the moment I don't suggest trying to beat it. Since teams that lead Ambipom don't tend to lay down fast entry hazards, Absol will have a chance to switch back in with Sash intact. So I'd recommend switching out to a resist. At present I think an Ambipom counter / resist is almost mandatory, or you'll be suffering Fake Outs all day.
2. Heracross is in the tier now, and he resists both Dark and Fighting. Accordingly I think Psycho Cut should move up. Absol generally KOs Heracross with Psycho Cut followed by Sucker Punch, if Heracross is foolish enough to switch into a 100% Absol or try to Swords Dance.
3. In my experience (on PO, since Shoddy is down) entry hazard leads have gotten more uncommon. Accordingly, Taunt goes down in priority. Uxie / Mesprit / Alakazam have gotten rarer as well, so accordingly Pursuit goes down in priority. The team I'm using now is running Psycho Cut in the last slot, although there have been times when I missed Pursuit.
4. Absol fares really well against the rogue leads. Like, on PO, I faced players who used random Plusle leads, Charizard leads, Pidgeot leads, etc. All of them are threatened by Night Slash -> second Night Slash or Sucker Punch. Granted, a good player should be able to beat anyone using Plusle leads easily, but it's still a nice advantage for Absol.
5. Sleep sucks. God.

Updating original post with new thoughts.

After several more games I think Psycho Cut deserves a place over Pursuit. The pixies are threatened by Absol already, and are likely to switch out. Hence Absol can't kill them Night Slash + Pursuit. Psycho Cut on the other hand deals with the variety of Fighting Pokemon in the tier, most important of which is of course Heracross but it also hits Toxicroak, Hitmontop, Blaziken, etc. I've actually found these Pokemon switch into Absol quite a bit since they have priority attacks. One of Absol's main counters, Weezing, is also vulnerable to Psycho Cut (but physically defensive Weezing still takes only ~32% damage ...). What does QC think?

I've also come to conclude that Absol cannot beat Ambipom. Even if it has Protect, it can take the Fake Out but it won't kill Ambipom with Sucker Punch. Instead it will be facing a counter after Ambipom U-turns. Not worth it, especially since Protect has little use outside of "countering" Ambipom. Finally Absol has excellent mid-game use, especially if its Sash is still intact. It has after all exactly the same moves as LO + 4 attacks Absol. There are a few Pokemon that can take hits from Absol all day, such as Donphan, but not too many.

Updated original post with new thoughts, and looking for stamps :)

Bump ...

Absol has the unfortunate distinction of losing horribly to bulky Cloyster / Omastar without Taunt - they get up as many layers of hazards as they want, and Absol will be at -1 or even -2 attack when they finally die. I've also seen Steelix and Rhyperior leads somewhat regularly, both of which can tank Superpower to kingdom come. Against all these Pokemon Taunt would help. I think Psycho Cut, Pursuit and Taunt are far better than Protect and Magic Coat, but very sadly there's something you want that you have to give up :( Guess that's something for the rest of the team to compensate for.

Bump and looking for opinions :)

I probably won't be able to test this lead, but I do see one problem: too many slashes in the fourth slot. In my opinion, I think it should be reduced to Psycho Cut/Taunt. Protect isn't that useful, and Pursuit is really for the pixies (and you can Sucker Punch the U-Turns). As for Magic Coat, I do see the advantages of it, but it's usually on Mesprit and Uxie, which you can defeat pretty handily. Others might have different opinions on what to keep, and I admit that my choices could be bad ones. Regardless, reducing the slashes in the fourth slot is a must for this set.

I concur, removing Protect and Magic Coat (but keeping Pursuit, because I've used it before and found it effective - still that was in the metagame before Heracross dropped; need opinions here).

I honestly think Pursuit should stay as Alakazam and Mismagius are still common leads, and one-shotting them from the get-go is too good to pass up. It's also useful for Uxie and Mesprit as they think they're cocky enough to U-turn out of you.

Fully updated first post. I've found it a little hard to get quality 4th gen UU matches. Everyone seems to be playing 5th gen, so ...

Anyway I'm seriously considering dropping Superpower for Taunt, while keeping Psycho Cut in the last slot. I've yet to try it, but man I hate losing to bulky Cloyster and Omastar. Need more QC!

I was the one who rejected this awhile ago (probably because of Counter's ineffectiveness). For the last slot, I would slash Psycho Cut last, reason being that there are far better ways of dealing with the Pokemon that it hits than with Absol.

Otherwise, QC Approved 2/2.

To be honest I was on the verge of rejecting my own set since the post-Heracross metagame has been very unkind to Absol, to say the least ... with Heracross in the tier I'm pretty confident Absol would drop to NU. Here's hoping that Heracross gets voted BL!

Anyway I think this is ready for GP checks =)

Very good. Mostly capitalization and abbreviation errors.

Thanks for the proofread :)

Two things though - Absol does have the most powerful priority attack in the game, thanks to 130 base Attack and STAB BP 80. It is stronger than Normal Arceus's Extremespeed or Deoxys-A's Extremespeed. Also, regarding this comma:

...priority (albeit the unreliable Sucker Punch), and trapping abilities...

Click to expand...

My understanding is that it's incorrect to have it, e.g: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/290847/faith-tru