November Blue
A universe where hot chips don't exist :(
[Overview]
<p>Absol—AKA the Herald of Disaster—is most famous for its horrifically powerful Sucker Punch. Though it often plays second fiddle to Honchkrow in RU, Absol is in no way inferior. Its base 130 Attack stat is among the highest in the tier, and access to Swords Dance, Sucker Punch, Pursuit, and a few useful coverage moves gives Absol a powerful, defining niche. Super Luck makes its attacks even more potent, and its two high critical hit ratio moves—Night Slash and Psycho Cut—complement the ability perfectly. Absol's Speed is a little too low for sweeping, but Sucker Punch patches up this weakness fairly well. Overall, Absol is a frightening sweeper that can be very tricky to handle, and can tear through unprepared teams in the blink of an eye.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Night Slash / Psycho Cut
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to set up and cause as much destruction as possible. Sucker Punch handles faster threats that attempt to stop Absol, and Superpower crushes the Steel- and Dark-types that resist Absol's STAB moves. The choice for the last slot depends on how well you can use Sucker Punch; Night Slash is a reliable backup STAB move that packs devastating power and doesn't require prediction to use well, but lacks priority. Its high critical hit ratio combined with Super Luck elevates Night Slash to a 1/8 chance of scoring a critical hit. Alternatively, Psycho Cut can be used for the Fighting-types that resist Absol's STAB moves, such as Primeape and Hitmonchan. While +2 Absol is powerful, this variant does not need to set up to pose a threat; a Life Orb-boosted Night Slash from 394 Attack really packs a punch, and there's always the chance that it could score a critical hit.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is standard for a sweeper, and the Adamant nature is used for maximum power. Jolly is unnecessary because Absol doesn't outpace anything important with the extra Speed. Life Orb's power boost is excellent, but Lum Berry can be used to protect Absol from stray status moves, such as Thunder Wave from Slowking or Psycho Shift from Flame Orb Sigilyph. With Life Orb, Absol has a much better chance of OHKOing Pokemon such as Rotom-C and Cofagrigus with Stealth Rock support. Megahorn can be used in the last slot, as it is the best option for taking out Tangrowth; Megahorn nets a clean OHKO with Life Orb and a Swords Dance boost.</p>
<p>This Absol variant can struggle with Fighting-types, so teammates such as Slowking, Tangrowth, and Sigilyph can be used to deal with them. Absol is quite good at getting rid of Psychic-types, and Fighting-type teammates of your own can take advantage of this. Toxic Spikes are Absol's worst nightmare, so a grounded Poison-type such as Qwilfish or Drapion can be used to absorb them.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Swords Dance
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Superpower
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set might look similar to the Swords Dance set, but it plays quite differently. Substitute has amazing utility on this set, as it can block status and patch up Absol's Speed issues by protecting it from faster Pokemon. When behind a Substitute, Absol can use Sucker Punch without penalty, and the priority also allows it to keep an intact Substitute against faster opponents. Foes will have to attack Absol to break its Substitute and harm it, which, combined with the threat of a Sucker Punch, makes Absol quite hard to play around. If the foe chooses to refrain from attacking, Absol gets a free turn to use Swords Dance. This set requires prediction to use to the fullest, as you must be able to predict your opponent's actions and use the correct move based on what they do. In the hands of a skilled player, this set is extremely hard to deal with, and has very few safe checks. Superpower hits the Pokemon that resist Dark-type moves, such as Hitmonchan and Magneton. The Attack drops from Superpower would normally be a problem for a boosting attacker, but with all of the free turns Absol gets it has plenty of chances to use Swords Dance again.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Leftovers is really useful for this Absol variant, and will steadily restore the HP Absol loses when it uses Substitute. Life Orb is great if you want more power, but the combination of Life Ob recoil and Substitute will drain Absol's HP severely; if you opt for Life Orb, Rapid Spin and Wish support will be needed. An Adamant nature provides maximum power, and is preferred because Absol doesn't outspeed anything significant with Jolly. Night Slash is an option over Sucker Punch; by refraining from using attacking moves, some Pokemon can wall Absol by causing Sucker Punch to fail. Night Slash is a powerful alternative that has a high critical hit ratio, but Absol sorely misses the priority.</p>
<p>Toxic Spikes absolutely ruin this set, so a grounded Poison-type, such as Qwilfish or Roselia, should be used. Fighting-types can cause problems for this Absol variant, so it's a good idea to pack teammates that can deal with them, such as Slowking, Spiritomb, and Cofagrigus. Galvantula, Scolipede, and Moltres can switch in on Superpower and threaten Absol with their powerful attacks, so teammates such as Swellow and Rock Blast Cinccino can be used to deal with these threats.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Psycho Cut
item: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This Absol variant forgoes Swords Dance and Sucker Punch to pose an immediate threat as a powerful Choice item user. Though its base 75 Speed is a little lower than that of Choice item mainstays such as Braviary and Medicham, Absol makes up for it with soul-crushing power, coverage, and useful tricks such as Super Luck + Night Slash. Wearing a Choice Scarf, Absol reaches 373 Speed with an Adamant nature, and 409 with Jolly. Adamant Absol is faster than every Pokemon in the base 120 Speed tier and lower, which includes foes such as Sceptile and Archeops. 409 Speed outruns the entire unboosted metagame bar Timid Accelgor. You should use a Jolly nature if you wish to outspeed Aerodactyl and other possible threats, such as Adamant Choice Scarf Braviary and Rock Polish Aggron. Otherwise, Adamant is more than fast enough, and gives Absol a notable power boost. Absol needs an Adamant nature to ensure a 2HKO on Claydol and Uxie with Night Slash, have a chance to OHKO Klinklang with Superpower, and 2HKO Qwilfish with Psycho Cut (without Intimidate). Pursuit is an amazing move on Choice Absol sets; it has the same Base Power as Sucker Punch against a switching opponent, and any foe that tries to flee from Absol is as good as dead. Note that Pursuit is not just a nifty move for tagging Ghost- and Psychic-types; any foe that would be KOed by Sucker Punch will be KOed by Pursuit, which makes it a powerful weapon against many Pokemon.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Stealth Rock support is amazing for Choice Absol, especially the Choice Scarf variant, as the extra damage is sometimes just enough to guarantee a KO. Fighting-types can cause trouble, so Pokemon that can deal with them, such as Spiritomb, Slowking, and Cofagrigus, are excellent teammates. Thanks to Pursuit, Absol excels at exterminating Ghost- and Psychic-types, so Fighting-types of your own, such as Gallade and Hitmonchan, can do their jobs without these foes breathing down their necks. Faster Pokemon such as Primeape and Klinklang can threaten Absol, so it's a good idea to pack teammates that can deal with them, such as Kadabra and Manectric. The Choice Band set's Pursuit has explosive potential, so teammates that can force switches, such as Wynaut and other Encore users, can team up with Absol to take down the opponent's Pokemon one by one.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Absol can successfully run various combinations of its main moves. The best example not listed is an all-out attacker using Sucker Punch, Superpower, Psycho Cut, and Night Slash. An Adamant nature and Life Orb are recommended, but Expert Belt can also be used. This set works well as a revenge killer with Sucker Punch, and can use its other moves to take out slower foes such as Magneton and Claydol. Fire Blast and Ice Beam can be used to circumvent Absol's usual checks; with just a Life Orb, Fire Blast 2HKOes Steelix and Ice Beam 2HKOes Gligar and Tangrowth. Absol also has access to Baton Pass, and can run a dedicated passer set. Using Swords Dance, Substitute, Baton Pass, and Sucker Punch, Absol can bluff the Substitute + Swords Dance set and pass a Substitute and +2 Attack boost to a teammate. Physical attackers such as Sharpedo, Klinklang, and Hitmonlee make excellent use of Absol's payload, and can potentially sweep your opponent's entire team.</p>
<p>Absol's movepool is jam-packed full of attacks, and it has a plethora of options available. Unfortunately, its Special Attack stat is too low to make use of a special set, but it has a few other physical moves that are worth a look. Megahorn gives Tangrowth the what-for, and can OHKO the ball of vines with a Swords Dance boost and Expert Belt, guaranteed—that's an easy 2HKO for any other set. Quick Attack can have some niche use to finish off faster foes that try to evade Sucker Punch, but is really only useful on the Swords Dance set as a replacement for Night Slash. Knock Off is quite a useful move, as it can rid foes of their precious hold items. However, it is useless as an attacking move, and has somewhat situational use; you might find Knock Off to be dead weight in situations where a coverage move would be more helpful. As for Absol's support options, Taunt and Will-O-Wisp can have their uses. Taunt is great for shutting down foes that attempt to inflict status upon Absol or set up entry hazards; Pokemon such as Steelix, Cofagrigus, Qwilfish, and Tangrowth will all get a nasty shock if they think they can walk all over the Herald of Disaster. Taunt also forces the opponent to attack, which makes using Sucker Punch much easier. Finally, Will-O-Wisp is a great move for a free moveslot, and can catch physical attackers that attempt to force Absol out.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Tricking a Choice item onto Absol is one of the most effective ways to disarm it. Without the freedom to switch moves, Absol can no longer use Substitute or Swords Dance, and Sucker Punching becomes impossible. Tangrowth and Steelix both have enough physical bulk to tank Absol's attacks, and can easily break its Substitutes. Steelix can Roar Absol away, erasing any boosts it may have accumulated, and Tangrowth can put it to sleep with Sleep Powder, but cannot get past Substitute variants. Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Gurdurr can all threaten Absol with a powerful Mach Punch, but must switch in carefully; Adamant Life Orb Absol can almost OHKO Hitmonchan with Superpower and 2HKO Gurdurr with Psycho Cut. Cofagrigus is bulky enough to survive a Life Orb-boosted Night Slash and can inflict a burn with Will-O-Wisp, which can spell the end for Absol. Entry hazards can hinder Absol, as the damage from entry hazards, Life Orb, and Substitute can stack up quickly. Entei is a great check, as its Choice Band-boosted ExtremeSpeed OHKOes Absol and outprioritizes Sucker Punch. Absol's main attack, for all intents and purposes, is Sucker Punch; as this move is activated by damaging attacks, foes can disrupt Absol by refraining from using attacks, or even worse, using Substitute. If the foe happens to resist Superpower, Absol is in a lot of trouble. Galvantula, Scolipede, and Moltres are all good examples of foes that can abuse this strategy. SubDisable Haunter can lock Absol down and render it vulnerable to faster foes. Faster Pokemon in general can give Absol trouble, especially if they resist Dark-type moves; Hitmonlee, Klinklang, and Primeape are all good examples. Taunt users can prevent Absol from using Substitute or Swords Dance, which makes it much easier to deal with. Toxic Spikes can hamper Absol, especially Substitute variants, and Qwilfish can set them up easily thanks to its Intimidate ability.</p>