Eclipse
Like a chimp with a machine gun
QC: Hootie / Raseri / Kiyo
GP: frenzyplant / lotiasite
[OVERVIEW]
Absol sports a strong offensive typing that, in combination with its great Attack stat, allows it to threaten numerous Pokemon such as Meloetta, Slowbro, Sigilyph, and Xatu. Its access to Swords Dance lets it perform as a strong late-game cleaner, and it can also perform well as an early-game wallbreaker due to its strong coverage options such as Superpower for Steelix and Rhydon, Iron Tail for Whimsicott and Aromatisse, and Play Rough for Virizion and Hitmonlee. Sucker Punch allows Absol to threaten faster attackers such as Sceptile, Mismagius, and Rotom-C despite its middling Speed stat. However, due to Absol's poor bulk, it struggles to find switch in opportunities and wears itself down easily, especially if running Life Orb. Due to Absol's reliance on Sucker Punch against faster attackers, threats such as Virizion and Drapion, which outspeed Absol and resist its Dark-type STAB moves, can easily threaten it out. Absol also faces competition from other Dark-type attackers in the tier such as Sneasel and Drapion, which have higher Speed stats and better typings that give them great secondary STAB moves, although Absol does have a notable niche over these two in its access to Swords Dance and Sucker Punch along with its higher Attack stat.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Iron Tail
item: Life Orb / Darkinium Z
ability: Justified
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance allows Absol to boost its Attack to great levels so that it can threaten defensive Pokemon such as Steelix and Rhydon with Superpower or offensive threats such as Sceptile and Sigilyph with Sucker Punch. Knock Off is Absol's strongest Dark-type STAB move and can be used early-game to inflict great damage and potentially scout for Z-Crystals while removing a foe's item. Sucker Punch lets Absol handle threats that normally outspeed it such as Mismagius, Rotom-C, and Meloetta as well as frail offensive threats such as Houndoom, which has a strong chance to be OHKOed by a +2 Life Orb-boosted Sucker Punch; this move is a valuable tool that lets Absol clean up weakened teams late-game. Iron Tail allows Absol to super effectively hit the Fairy-types that can take Absol's STAB moves with ease, such as Whimsicott and Aromatisse; it also hits Rock-type threats such as Rhydon. Superpower may be used instead of Iron Tail to let Absol hit physically defensive threats such as Steelix and Rhydon in one slot, as both are OHKOed by Superpower from +2 Life Orb Absol. Superpower also hits threats that resist Absol's Dark-type STAB moves, such as Hitmonlee and Emboar, and it is able to OHKO Alolan Sandslash even through Aurora Veil. Keep in mind, however, that Rhydon and Steelix already do not appreciate taking Knock Off from boosted Absol.
Set Details
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Maximum Attack and Speed EVs maximize Absol's offensive potential. An Adamant nature is the best option so that Absol can hit as hard as possible while still outspeeding threats such as maximum Speed Scrafty and Malamar as well as neutral-natured Barbaracle and Samurott. A Jolly nature may be used to outspeed neutral-natured Medicham, Skuntank, and Braviary at the cost of some power. Life Orb is the primary item for this set because it allows Absol to break past many defensive threats such as Rhydon and Steelix with +2 Superpower. Darkinium Z may be used instead in conjunction with Sucker Punch to give Absol a strong one-time Dark-type attack that helps it break past threats that normally take Absol's attacks with ease, such as Golbat. Absol's abilities do not help it much, although Justified is chosen so that Absol can obtain an Attack boost in the event that it is hit by a Dark-type move such as Knock Off from the likes of Sneasel.
Usage Tips
========
Due to Absol's frailty, it finds difficulty coming into the match directly; while it can be brought in on passive threats such as Uxie or foes whose STAB moves Absol resists such as Mismagius, great care should be taken when scouting for status moves or coverage options that can cripple Absol or remove it from the match entirely. When used early-game, Absol can use Knock Off freely to remove items from the opponent's side of the field while punching holes into the opposition; Knock Off also scouts for potential Z-Move users such as Virizion. Swords Dance can be used early-game to allow Absol to break the opponent's team; Absol can find opportunities to set up on an opponent's predicted switch into a threat that normally checks Absol such as Steelix or Rhydon, which does not appreciate taking a +2 Superpower. Swords Dance also lets Absol clean weakened teams and faster foes with Sucker Punch, provided that its faster checks such as Virizion have been put into range of +2 Sucker Punch.
Team Options
========
Since the best checks to Absol are faster Fighting- and Fairy-types such as Virizion, Hitmonlee, and Whimsicott, partners that can help weaken these threats pair well with Absol. Sigilyph appreciates Absol weakening bulky offensive threats that it has difficulty dealing with, such as Drapion, Slowbro, and Slowking; in return, Sigilyph can wear down threats to Absol such as Steelix with Heat Wave while also handling Fighting-types such as Hitmonlee and Virizion. Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Rhydon allow Absol to weaken opposing Pokemon further; Garbodor is notable, since it handles Fighting-type threats to Absol such as Virizion as well as Fairy-type threats such as Whimsicott and Granbull if Absol lacks Iron Tail. Accelgor can set up Spikes for Absol and break past checks to it such as Steelix and Rhydon with Focus Blast; in return, Absol can use Iron Tail to break past Fairy-type attackers. Due to Absol's lacking Speed stat, partners that can handle faster attackers and Choice Scarf users such as Houndoom, Hitmonlee, and Sceptile make for great partners; Sneasel can handle Sceptile and Virizion, while Choice Scarf users like Drapion and Hitmonlee help against faster threats like Whimsicott in the case of Drapion or Sneasel, which threatens Absol with a strong Icicle Crash, in the case of Hitmonlee.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Absol has many options that it can use on an all-out attacker set. It can run Pursuit to trap Psychic- and Ghost-type threats that it normally forces out such as Sigilyph and Mismagius, which can either take them out of the match or weaken them to the point where they cannot find switch in opportunities later on. Play Rough lets Absol hit threats that resist its Dark-type STAB moves such as Virizion and Machamp harder than Superpower while also avoiding Superpower's stat drops. Fire Blast may be used with a Naive nature to weaken Steelix, which is otherwise a strong check to Absol, although Swords Dance-boosted Superpower is also able to take out Steelix. Psycho Cut may be used in order to hit Fighting-types and Poison-types such as Virizion, Garbodor, and Toxicroak in one slot, although it is fairly weak otherwise. Substitute may be used either in conjunction with Swords Dance to find more setup opportunities or with three attacks to maximize Absol's wallbreaking potential; this, however, comes at the cost of a valuable coverage option or Swords Dance, which means it must forgo its late-game cleaning potential.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Many Fighting-types in the tier such as Hitmonlee and Virizion naturally outspeed Absol and resist its STAB moves, so they can threaten it out; other Fighting-types such as Emboar and Toxicroak can threaten Absol out with their own super effective STAB moves.
**Fairy-types**: Whimsicott is one of the strongest offensive answers to Absol, as it resists Absol's Dark-type STAB moves and can threaten it with a STAB-boosted Moonblast, although it must out for Iron Tail, which can OHKO it. Aromatisse and Granbull also handle Absol easily, although they must also watch out for Iron Tail.
**Physically Bulky Threats**: Despite their inability to take Absol's boosted attacks, Rhydon, Steelix, Golbat, and Seismitoad find themselves able to check Absol if they come in against it safely. Rhydon and Steelix can set up entry hazards, while Golbat can heal up against Absol or wear it down with Brave Bird.
**Faster Attackers**: Revenge killers that resist Sucker Punch such as Sneasel, Drapion, Virizion, Hitmonlee, and Houndoom have great difficulty switching into Absol's attacks, but they are able to force it out and not worry too much about anything other than a +2 Sucker Punch if sufficiently weakened.
**Colbur Berry Users**: Due to the prevalence of Knock Off in the tier, Colbur Berry users such as Jellicent and Slowbro can lure in Absol due to its Knock Off and cripple it for the rest of the match with Will-O-Wisp, Scald, or Thunder Wave.
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