Absol, The Disaster Pokémon. It senses coming disasters and appears before people only to warn them of impending danger. It appears when it senses an impending natural disaster. As a result, it was mistaken as a doom bringer. Rumored to sense disasters with its horn, it became a target. It fled deep into the mountains. Its life span is over a hundred years.
Overview
Absol is another unfortunate case of a Pokemon that is overall outdone by its Mega evolution. While it's true that Life Orb Absol has more physical power than Mega Absol, Mega Absol still has plenty of power on the physical side while also offering more special power (not to mention a lack of Life Orb recoil), a ton more speed, and a far better ability than any of Absol's . Normal Absol just has way too many shortcomings to be a good choice in standard environments. It has a lot of power, sure, and Dark STAB is pretty cool due to the fairly recent buff it received in XY. However, Absol's lack of good speed, bulk, or a game changing ability leave it overall outclassed by a ton of other offensive Pokemon. If you're going to use Absol, go ahead and go for Mega Absol.
Positives
+XY has been pretty good to Dark-types with the removal of Steel's resistance to their STABs. Absol also gets the newly buffed Knock Off through transfer, which is cool.
+Sucker Punch helps make up for Absol's low speed. In fact, Absol's Sucker Punch is one of the strongest priority moves in the game.
+To be honest, Absol's entire movepool is pretty good. It has a nice collection of physical, special, and status moves to call its own.
+Base 130 Attack is really solid, and 75 Special Attack is at least enough to put a dent in Skarmory or something with the right coverage move.
Negatives
-65 / 60 / 60 bulk is bad. Absol takes heavy damage even from some moves it resists.
-Base 75 Speed is pretty darn slow. It makes Absol really reliant on either Sucker Punch or a Choice Scarf to beat faster opponents.
-None of Absol's abilities are really spectacular. It's too frail to abuse Pressure, Super Luck is unreliable, and Justified is somewhat situational (and it's not like Absol tanks Dark-type moves easily anyway).
-Play Rough, an amazing coverage move alongside Absol's Dark STAB, is illegal with Knock Off, one of the best moves in the game. With any luck, it'll get Knock Off as a tutor move again in the next games.
Abilities
Pressure: When this Pokemon is hit by a move, the move's PP is reduced by 2 instead of 1. Absol hardly has the bulk to really abuse this ability.
Super Luck: Raises the critical hit ratio of moves 1 stage. Essentially, critical hits will happen 1/8 of the time instead of 1/16. Still pretty unreliable, and the critical hit nerf doesn't really help.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Justified: Attack is raised by one stage when this Pokemon is hit by a Dark-type move. If you can switch into the ever popular Knock Off (or other Dark-type moves like Crunch), you get a free attack boost. Pretty nice if you're trying to Mega evolve since Knock Off's power will be weakened against you.
Movesets
I'm a 'Sol Man
-Knock Off
-Superpower
-Pursuit
-Sucker Punch / Stone Edge / Zen Headbutt / Iron Tail
Item Attached: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified / Super Luck
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
The one thing that Absol can do that Mega Absol can't is hold items. You've basically got two choices here (pun intended): go for raw power with a Choice Band or use the Choice Scarf out outrun a huge number of offensive Pokemon and revenge kill them. With a Choice Band, Absol's Sucker Punch becomes one of the strongest priority moves in the game, falling just short of Talonflame's Choice Band Brave Bird. It should be no surprise that Absol's Knock Off and Superpower are also very powerful as well, and they offer pretty impressive neutral coverage on their own. You can also use a Choice Scarf, which allows Absol to hit 409 Speed with a Jolly nature, outrunning even some of the fastest speed demons like Mega Manectric and Modest Mega Alakazam / Aerodactyl. Pursuit can be useful on both sets for trapping a wide number of Psychic- and Ghost-types, removing them from the game altogether. The move choice in the last slot often depends on which item you're running. For instance, Sucker Punch is mainly there for the Choice Band set to pick off weakened sweepers, while the Choice Scarf version doesn't really need the priority to revenge kill things. In that case, Stone Edge offers extra coverage against a few sweepers such as Gyarados, Dragonite, and slower, bulkier versions of Mega Charizard X, which lets Scarf Absol deal with them more efficiently. You can also go for Zen Headbutt to threaten annoying Fighting-types (looking at you, Keldeo) and occasionally flinch an opponent to death if you're lucky. Iron Tail also pummels the fairies that resist Absol's Knock Off and Superpower, but beware that the accuracy is less than ideal, especially considering you'll be trapped into the move. Adamant is a good nature for a Band Absol since the extra power is great and you already have Sucker Punch to pick off faster opponents, but Scarf Absol really wants a Jolly nature to actually outspeed as many unboosted opponents as possible. Justified is kind of a cool ability since you can get a free Attack boost if you are hit by a Dark-type move, but you can't tank too many of those hits with Absol's low bulk. Super Luck can also be used to net critical hits twice as often, but it's still pretty inconsistent.
Other Options
Play Rough, Night Slash, Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Taunt, Perish Song, Swords Dance, Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Psycho Cut, Megahorn, Razor Claw / Scope Lens
Play Rough is a fantastic coverage move, but it's illegal with an even more amazing move: Knock Off. If you're going to run Play Rough, you'll need to run Night Slash alongside it to have a more reliable alternative to Sucker Punch.
Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, and Ice Beam are all cool special coverage moves, and Absol has just enough Special Attack to make them work. However, if you're going for a mixed set, you might as well run Mega Absol.
Taunt prevents opponent from using any sort of status move, but it's not like Absol is taking their damage moves very well. Besides, you can get a similar effect out of simply Mega evolving and gaining Magic Bounce.
Perish Song can force the opponent to either switch out, costing them momentum and possibly even stat boosts, or lose their Pokemon. It's a lot more reliable on something with more bulk, though.
Swords Dance sets are overall done better by Mega Absol due to its far greater speed. Even Bisharp pulls this off a lot better due to its better bulk, typing, and ability, but it's still an option.
Will-O-Wisp cripples pretty much any physical attacker not immune to it, but it probably won't save Absol from being KOed due to Absol's pitiful defenses. Likewise, Thunder Wave also cripples opposing sweepers, but there are much better Pokemon to provide Thunder Wave support.
Psycho Cut is slightly more accurate than Zen Headbutt, and it gets a critical hit 50% of the time alongside Super Luck. Zen Headbutt's extra 10 BP is a bit more consistent, however, and the flinch chance is arguably even more useful.
Megahorn is a pretty powerful coverage move, but you already hit Psychic and Dark Pokemon hard enough with Absol's STABs / coverage moves, and some of the most common Grass-types are neutral to Bug-type attacks anyway.
Razor Claw / Scope Lens can be used alongside Super Luck to make moves like Night Slash, Psycho Cut, and Stone Edge get a critical hit 100% of the time! It'd be a lot better if critical hits still did 2x damage, though. As it is, some of Absol's best moves like Knock Off, Sucker Punch, and Superpower don't enjoy the 100% critical hit rate, so it's a lot more unreliable if you're using those moves.
Double & Triple Battle Options
The Disaster Pokemon could not be a more fitting title for Absol. This poor thing has base 75 speed, comparable defenses to Butterfree and close to useless abilities outside of heavy gimmicks? There must be something redeeming about it, I mean, it looks way too cool to be a bad Pokemon.
-ABSOLutely Beautiful-
-Sucker Punch
- Taunt/Magic Coat
- Play Rough/Assurance
- Detect
Item Attached: Focus Sash
Ability: Super Luck / Justified
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed/ 4HP
Adamant Nature
Absol has a beautiful movepool and the only thing holding it back from being a supportive Pokemon with offensive presence like Aerodactyl, is its poor speed. Because of this, Thunder Wave/Will O Wisp, Rock Slide of even Me First usually won't hit their respective targets before said target has already fired of their move. This set attempts to deal with those problems while still retaining what makes Absol, Absol.
Sucker Punch is a must, it's Absol's strongest STAB and will deter frailer opponents from targeting Absol with attack moves. Taunt and Magic Coat more or less do the same thing in punishing the opponents for using status moves, but Taunt lasts for a few turns and combos with Sucker Punch very well while Magic Coat is for Smeargle or Pranksters who at best Absol will speed tie, so instead of Taunting them let's throw their move right back at their face. Most support Pokemon have trouble dealing with the moves they, themselves, dish out. Play Rough is a nice coverage move, but Assurance isn't a bad idea either, it just needs a little help from a partner to be devastating. Detect over protect? Why? Mainly because there are Pokemon who will use Imprison to stop Protect going off, but Detect remains unaffected. It's also good to conserve a pokemon who can't take many hits.
Countering Absol
Absol isn't really much different from Mega Absol in the way it plays and the attacks it uses, so some of the same Pokemon that counter Mega Absol also counter Absol. Fighting-types are great answers since they can switch in and tank Knock Off and Sucker Punch pretty easily, and some of the bulkier ones such as Conkeldurr and Chesnaught don't even have to worry about Superpower all that much. As long as Absol isn't carrying Zen Headbutt or Play Rough, they make for great switch-ins. Terrakion and Keldeo are especially notable since they outspeed all but Choice Scarf Absol, and Choice Scarf variants of either Pokemon check all Absol variants due to their overwhelming speed and Fighting STAB moves. Fairy-types are also solid answers to Absol thanks to their resistance to the Dark + Fighting combination, only really fearing the occasional Iron Tail. Since regular Absol is less effective at running special moves than Mega Absol, Pokemon such as Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, and Gyarados are much more effective at switching in and taking Absol's hits since they don't have to worry so much about being KOed by an incoming special move. Other physical tanks such as defensive Mega Venusaur, Mega Scizor, and Hippowdon can fairly easily tank Absol's attacks, with the former two being able to easily shrug off Knock Off tanks to their Mega stones. If all else fails, pretty much anything that can outspeed Absol and take a Sucker Punch or tank a hit from the weaker Scarf variants will make a fine answer to it. Just keep hitting the thing; with those defenses, it won't take much to bring Absol down.
Overview
Mega Absol is a pretty cool Mega Pokemon. Game Freak did a pretty good job of upgrading Absol by patching up some of its weak points. Perhaps the single greatest thing holding Absol down as an offensive Pokemon was its middling speed stat, and Mega Absol took that little issue and threw it out the window with its shiny new base 115 Speed stat. They also gave it an impressive pair of offensive stats and Magic Bounce, one of the coolest abilities in the game. They even threw Absol another bone with the upgraded Knock Off, giving it a powerful and reliable STAB move that it never had before. With all this put together, Mega Absol is a pretty solid Pokemon that has just enough tools at its disposal to sweep or wallbreak a number of teams. The biggest problem is that Mega Absol is a decent Mega Pokemon in standard environments, but not necessarily a great one. There are just so many other Mega Pokemon that fulfill a wide variety of roles that even though you might really want to run Mega Absol on your team, there will often be another Mega Pokemon that would fit your team better and get better overall results. Mega Absol is still viable; you'll just have to build your team around it a bit.
Positives
+150 / 115 offensive stats are solid, giving Swords Dance sets a decent punch and making mixed sets perfectly usable as well.
+I have to emphasize just how good base 115 Speed is. With it, Mega Absol goes from being fairly slow to outspeeding some of the metagame's fastest unboosted threats.
+Magic Bounce is such a great ability. Stealth Rock? Return to sender. Will-O-Wisp? Nope. Thunder Wave? Get outta here. Roar? Sit yourself down! This ability helps Mega Absol switch in and set up against some defensive Pokemon much more easily and even helps make Sucker Punch more reliable.
+Buffed Knock Off gives Mega Absol a great alternative to Sucker Punch that it never had before. Not only is it nearly as strong as a STAB Earthquake on the initial hit, but it also removes an opponent's item, which can be very crippling in and of itself.
+Even the few Pokemon that are actually faster than Mega Absol have to worry about a powerful STAB Sucker Punch coming their way.
+Mega Absol has plenty of viable moves in its arsenal thanks to its wide movepool.
Negatives
-Unlike pretty much every other Mega Pokemon, Mega Absol has no increase in bulk over its normal form, so it isn't taking hits any better than the frail Absol.
-Having to start as regular Absol gives Mega Absol two big problems. First, it has to deal with the low speed stat for a turn, which can leave it open to some faster opponents. Second, it has to Mega evolve before it can actually switch in and bounce back moves like Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave.
-Mega Absol is just one of many viable Mega Pokemon and thus receives ample competition from the others. Mega Absol is just one of those Pokemon that you really have to build your team around.
-Knock Off is still currently transfer only
Abilities
Magic Bounce: Bounces back a large range of status category moves including those that change stats, inflict status condition, force switches, set entry hazards, etc. Mega Absol is one of only a couple of Pokemon to have this ability, and it's a great one at that. A wide variety of status moves not only become useless when Mega Absol hits the field; with Magic Bounce, Mega Absol uses the opponent's own status moves against them.
Movesets
Absolitely Amazing!
-Swords Dance
-Knock Off
-Superpower
-Sucker Punch
Item Attached: Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce (Justified on Absol)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Mega Absol is already a pretty threatening offensive Pokemon with its great speed and high Attack stat. After a Swords Dance boost, Mega Absol becomes perfectly capable of outright sweeping teams. One of the greatest tools at Mega Absol's disposal is its strong STAB Knock Off. Nothing really wants to be on the receiving end of this move; even if you survive, you're going to lose your item. When combined with Superpower, Mega Absol is capable of hitting most Pokemon outside of Fairy-types for neutral damage. Specifically, it slams Pokemon like Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Mega Gyarados, who would otherwise be able to easily tank a Knock Off or Sucker Punch. Speaking of which, Sucker Punch makes Mega Absol even more of a problem for offensive teams. Even if you have something that can outspeed Mega Absol, you now have to deal with a +2 STAB-boosted Sucker Punch that could KO before you have a chance to hit back. Defensive teams also hate the fact that Magic Bounce prevents them from stopping Mega Absol from sweeping with status moves, which in turn gives Mega Absol even more opportunities to set up and wreak havoc. Justified is a decent ability to have before you Mega evolve. Thanks to the fact that it's holding the Absolite, Absol will take reduced damage from incoming Knock Offs and will get a free Attack boost as a result. This probably won't happen most of the time, but it can be useful from time to time. With maximum Speed and a Jolly nature, Mega Absol will be able to outspeed a ton of unboosted opponents, even some faster ones like Terrakion and Latios. This makes Mega Absol a dangerous opponent, especially if your faster Pokemon are KOed by a +2 Sucker Punch.
The Master Blaster of Disaster
-Sucker Punch
-Knock Off
-Superpower
-Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Pursuit
Item Attached: Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce (Justified on Absol)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature / Jolly Nature
When you've got a great pair of offensive stats, you might as well make the best of them! It should be no surprise that mixed Mega Absol is a very solid set that can do pretty impressive amounts of damage to a wide range of Pokemon. While the Swords Dance set is more concerned with setting up and sweeping, this set is all about getting in and outright attacking opponents. Even without a boost, Sucker Punch is still powerful enough to pick off some faster opponents and prevent them from easily revenge killing Mega Absol, and Knock Off easily OHKOs fast and frail Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Latios, Latias, Gengar, and Espeon. The combination of Knock Off and Superpower is again chosen for its solid overall neutral coverage. It's also a pretty good combination for wallbreaking. For instance, Chansey is demolished by the combination of Knock Off and Superpower. The last moveslot is there for a little extra utility, depending on what your team needs. Fire Blast gives Mega Absol a great weapon for opponents such as Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor, who could tank its other attacks pretty easily. It also slams Ferrothorn for solid damage without worrying about the stat drops of Superpower or damage from Iron Barbs. Ice Beam, on the other hand, beats down threats like Landorus-T and Gliscor. You can even give up one of Mega Absol's other moves (such as Sucker Punch) in order to run both special moves for more solid overall coverage. Alternatively, Pursuit is a pretty interesting option, especially since Mega Absol can outspeed and threaten a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types such as the Lati twins and Gengar. Just keep in mind that this will make Mega Absol fully physically offensive, so you can go with a Jolly nature and throw the leftover 4 EVs into HP or something instead of Special Attack.
Other Options
Play Rough, Night Slash, Stone Edge, Megahorn, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Taunt, Zen Headbutt, Iron Tail, Baton Pass, Calm Mind Once again, the combination of Play Rough and Night Slash is viable over Knock Off and Superpower, as long as you're comfortable giving up the raw awesomeness of Knock Off. Stone Edge and Megahorn are two other strong physical coverage moves that Mega Absol has access to, but they don't offer much coverage against threats that Mega Absol couldn't handle otherwise. Mixed Mega Absol can use Thunderbolt to hit a few things like Azumarill and Keldeo, who would otherwise be able to tank its Dark STAB moves fairly easily. It also pulverizes Gyarados. Mega Absol can toss around burns and paralysis with Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, respectively, but they're hard to find room for on it sets. Taunt shuts down opposing status moves, but Magic Bounce already does a good job of dissuading the use of status moves as it is. Zen Headbutt hits Fighting-types that resist Mega Absol's Dark STAB moves really hard, so you might be able to find room for it. Iron Tail hits the Fairy-types that resist the Fighting + Dark combination, but the accuracy is a real letdown. Baton Pass is a cool option that can be used on the Swords Dance set to pass boosts to a teammate when the going gets tough. Mega Absol can also work like Espeon on Baton Pass chains thanks to Magic Bounce blocking moves like Taunt, Roar, and Whirlwind. With a solid Special Attack stat and special movepool, Calm Mind isn't completely out of the question. However, the inability to hold a boosting item is a bit disappointing, and Mega Absol isn't exactly the most frightening special attacker out there.
Double & Triple Battle Options
Mega Absol still has Butterfree esque defenses and a predictable and slightly useless ability, but it did get the one thing Absol needed most, speed. Base 115 speed SHOULD have been regular Absol's speed in the first place, so that in Mega Evolving we go from a great pokemon to an amazing pokemon, rather than an ok Pokemon to a great Pokemon. Because it's assumed that Mega Absol is your Mega for the battle, it has to be doing more than just statusing the opponent with fast Will-o-Wisps and Thunder Waves, with base 150 attack and base 115 special attack, Absol's main priority shifts from fragile supportive offensive Pokemon to fragile heavy hitter.
R-1/A FLYING DOG
- Detect
- Assurance/Night Slash/Sucker Punch
- Superpower/Play Rough/Megahorn
- Superpower/Play Rough/Megahorn/Rock Slide
Item Attached: Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce (Justified on Absol)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Adamant / Jolly Nature
The EV spread maximizes Absols apparent strengths, as its defenses haven't changed through evolving, unfortunately, the best way to go is a boring 252/252/4 spread.
Because it is so frail, a well placed Detect can go a long way in making sure your Mega Absol pulls its Mega Weight.
The first move is your Dark STAB of choice, Assurance doubles in power if the target already took damage that turn, making it the strongest, Night Slash is a little more consistent, but no outstanding damage output short of a critical hit, and Sucker Punch is way risky because more likely than not, the opponent is expecting it and will play around it. Absol is already way fast too, it won't be able to Sucker Punch a Brave Bird from Talonflame becuase it's always faster. THe next slot is for hitting Tyranitar hard alongside bonus coverage. The last slot is again, for coverage, but Rock Slide has a nice flinch rate to compliment Absol's new found speed.
Absol has all the right moves, just its base stats need a reworking for it to make use of them alongside a complete overhaul on what abilities it has. Frisk, Anticipation, Forwarn would suit regular Absol while giving Mega Absol something like Tough Claws or Adaptability would only bolster its effectiveness and put it on the board for at least a "semi viable" Mega Pokemon outside of Singles. One can only dream though.
Countering Mega Absol
Unlike regular Absol, Mega Absol's much higher speed, ability to bounce back status moves, and mixed capabilities make it a bit harder to keep in check. Fighting-types are still some of the better answers out there. Not only can they tank Mega Absol's Dark STAB moves pretty easily, but they can hit back hard with their own Fighting-type attacks, and some even have strong Mach Punches to slam Mega Absol before it can hit them with a coverage moves. Unlike with regular Absol, faster Fighting-types such as Keldeo and Terrakion need a Choice Scarf to actually outspeed Mega Absol and KO, but they do make good checks since Sucker Punch isn't too effective against either. Fairy-types are once again solid answers due to their Dark and Fighting resistances and super effective Fairy STAB moves. Some physical tanks such as Landorus-T, Mega Mawile, Gliscor, and Mega Scizor can still switch into some Mega Absol sets, but you'll always have to deal with the threat of a special coverage moves. Even Gyarados and Azumarill fear the occasional Thunderbolt. However, Mega Venusaur and Hippowdon are two tanks that aren't all that afraid of Mega Absol's special coverage, although Hippowdon will need a bit of Special Defense investment to comfortably tank mixed Mega Absol's Ice Beam. As is the case with Absol, any Pokemon that can outspeed and KO Mega Absol while tanking a Sucker Punch make great checks. However, besides the aforementioned Scarf Keldeo and Terrakion, there aren't a ton of Pokemon that can do this thanks to Mega Absol's solid power and great speed. Even Greninja with its Dark resistance takes a ton of damage from a Swords Dance-boosted Sucker Punch. Just keep in mind that you can't try to cripple Mega Absol with status moves thanks to Magic Bounce, but thanks to its low bulk, it won't survive many attacks.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Route 120
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Rider Delan in Realgam Tower Colosseum (Colosseum)
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Routes 213 (Diamond/Pearl)
Mt. Coronet (Platinum)
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Slowpoke Well, Union Cave, Mt. Mortar, Dark Cave, Whirl Islands, Mt. Silver, Ice Path, The Cliff Cave, Diglett's Cave, Mt. Moon, Cerulean Cave, Rock Tunnel, Seafoam Islands, Victory Road, Tohjo Falls
Black/White:
Route 13, Giant Chasm
Black 2/White 2:
Route 13, 14
X/Y:
Route 8
Friend Safari
Animé Appearences
