Overview
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Pros:
- Massive 150 Atk stat and great 115 SpA and Speed stats.
- Strong priority in Sucker Punch
- Great movepool
- Magic Bounce bounces back any hazards or statuses thrown at M-Absol, making it a great switch in to a move like Thunder Wave or Stealth Rock.
- Shuts down Froslass, and forces lead Azelf to use Explosion prematurely in order to have an effect on the battle.
- Can’t run Knock Off in conjunction with Play Rough.
- Weak to common priority, like Mach Punch.
- Subpar base 70 speed the turn of mega evolving.
- Really frail, with 65/60/60 defenses.
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Superpower
ability: Justified
item: Absolite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly/Adamant
Moves
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- Swords Dance is to set up for a sweep, doubling Absol's massive attack.
- Sucker Punch is definitely vital to any Absol worth its salt, as it's a strong priority STAB attack.
- Knock Off is a great, reliable STAB move for Absol, but is incompatable with Play Rough, so Night Slash can be substituted in.
- Superpower works as coverage, hitting Dark and Steel types better than Dark STAB.
Set Details
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- 252 Spe allows Absol to outspeed many non-scarfed threats in the tier, while 252 Atk give Absol that extra firepower to sweep, and 4 SpD gives Download users an unwelcome Attack boost.
- Absolite is vital, as regular Absol is not viable in UU.
- Jolly nature is to outspeed faster pokemon, such as Mienshao and Froslass, who can switch in and OHKO, or you could use Adamant nature for even more firepower, because with 329 Speed, Absol is already very fast, and can Sucker Punch anything faster.
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- While a SD boosted M-Absol is hard to stop, priority is quite threatening, so it is recommended that M-Absol be a mid-game to late-game sweeper, after its teammates have disposed of any priority-inclined opponents, or a wallbreaker, taking advantage of it's wet paper-esque defenses to cause massive damage, die, and give a free switch into your sweeper or something to finish the threat off.
- To assist in M-Absol's domination, hazards are very helpful and are recommended.
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- Hazard setters are great partners to Absol, particularly Forretress, who can set up on most walls that cause trouble for Absol (Florges, Aromatisse, M-Aggron, etc.).
- Nidoking/queen are excellent offensive partners to Absol, as they are weak to Psychic, which Absol destroys, while the Nidos beat back Steel and Fairy types that wall M-Absol with Ground and Poison moves, respectively, while resisting Fighting and Bug types.
- A bulky Volt Switch/U-Turn user, such as defensive Rotom-H, can get hit by the opponent's move and immediately switch safely into Absol, or spread burns around here and there.
Other Options
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- Potential for mixed set, with a good 115 SpA stat.
- Zen Headbutt is a good move to use because of the coverage it provides and its compatibility with Knock Off, but normally isn't used because Play Rough gives Absol perfect coverage, and Knock Off isn't always used for this reason.
- Iron Tail can be used against Florges and Aromatisse, but relying 75% accuracy is a tad risky.
- Baton Pass can be used to pass the SD boosts near the end of Absol's life, and takes advantage of Magic Bounce to not be roared out. Absol can also take Espeon's place on a prodominately Baton Pass team, having the same useful ability and better offenses is a plus, but does not have Stored Power unfortunately.
- Will-o-Wisp adds a surprise factor to Absol, as it's an uncommon move that can cripple opposing physical attackers, but seeing how Absol has a serious case of 4MSS, Will-o-Wisp just isn't worth a coveted moveslot.
- With Pokemon XY came a new addition to Absol's movepool, Play Rough. However, because Absol is forced to give up Knock Off, only available in BW2, for the new egg move, it's not really worth using. A shame really.
A Super Luck-Scope Lens set of regular Absol is somewhat viable if you don't want to use up a mega spot.Nope.
Checks & Counters
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- Florges and Aromatisse can survive Absol's assault and retaliate with supereffective Fairy STAB, but Iron Tail can put them in their place.
- Bulky Steel types, such as Cobalion and Escavalier, give Absol a hard time, as well as defensive Ground types, such as Rhyperior and Hippowdon.
- Some generally bulky pokemon, such as defensive Arcanine and M-Blastoise, can take a hit and OHKO back.
- Scarf users that resist Sucker Punch, like Heracross and Hydreigon, can live a +2 Sucker Punch and retaliate.
- Mew, and any other pokemon with Syncronize, can actually burn Absol if it gets burned, so that's something to watch out for when using Will-o-Wisp.
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