Mega Absol Review

Absol is one of those Pokemon that [I]really[/I] deserved the mega evolution. It had the cool design, cool story, but it never really had the power to really shine in competitive. However, with its new mega form, it has a really amazing niche. With the increase in attack and speed, and the addition of magic bounce, Absol can fit amazingly on hyper offensive teams that don't have room for a dedicated taunt lead or a spinner. Absol has an amazing movepool, having access to gems like sucker punch, play rough, super power, megahorn, swords dance, as well as a large special movepool.

Sadly, Mega Absol continues to have the same problems as Gen 5 Absol. It is pretty frail, has competition with lots of other sucker-punching dark types, and has trouble getting into the battle safely. With the addition of Magic Bounce, it can find turns to set up or switch in safely into the match, but one bad prediction can cause you to lose your Absol due to its frailty. Also, the need to mega first in order for magic bounce to activate can be rather irritating. For Magic Bounce to be used to its full potential, you need to try to mega evolve early into the match.

[B]Disaster Is Coming[/B]
@ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance/Substitute
- Baton Pass/Flamethrower/Super Power

The focus of this set is to keep the offensive momentum going. Sucker Punch and Play Rough offer amazing coverage together, while Swords Dance allows Absol's attack to skyrocket. Substitute is a good option over swords dance to ease prediction with sucker punch and allow a safe switch-in when used with baton pass. Baton Pass is one of the main assets of this set because it allows Absol to support its team by keeping up the pressure on the opponent. If predicted correctly, you can use baton pass as the opponent switches out, allowing you to bring in the appropriate counter. Flamethrower and Super Power help to round out Absol's coverage by demolishing several steel types and help prevent a sucker punch mind game against weakened steel/fire/poison types.

[U][B]Other Options:[/B][/U]

-[B]Megahorn[/B] allows Absol to get past several bulky grass types such as Rotom-Mow, Tangrowth, Shaymin, and Abomasnow. The accuracy is shaky though, and Absol really should just rely on its teammates to get past these Pokemon

-[B]Will-o-Wisp[/B] is a weirdly amazing option for Absol. Absol may not have the [I]BEST[/I] bulk, but it does force lots of switches. Many people aren't aware that Absol gets Will-o-Wisp which gives it a nice surprise factor. WoW should really only be used when the opponent switches out into their physical fighting type hoping to tear apart Absol, as even burned, many physical attackers can take down Absol. Pokemon such as Krookodile, non-guts Heracross, Aggron, Chesnaught, Toxicroak, and Donphan are just some of the would-be switch-ins for Absol that would hate taking a surprise Will-o-Wisp.

-[B]Knock Off[/B] is an amazing move as well, and it also has more power than sucker punch if the opponent has an item. However, the extremely strong priority in sucker punch is why sucker punch is generally the better choice. Knock off is a good alternative because it can cripple several scarf Pokemon on a switch-in like Scarf Heracross, which allows Absol to choose the correct move in order to KO.

-[B]Ice Beam[/B] allows you to use Absol's very usable 115 Special Attack stat. It has amazing coverage, and nails ground types like Hippowdon, Donphan, Gligar, and Rhyperior harder than its other options.

-[B]Thunder Wave[/B] can be used to prevent a scarfed switch-in from ruining Absol's day. Thunder wave as they switch in, choose the correct move, and hopefully KO. It also allows you to handle Absol's counters a lot better, because many of them are faster/scarfed fighting types, those of which Absol can simply use Play Rough on.

-[B]Razor Claw[/B] is a decent alternative if you don't want to use the mega slot on Absol. With Super Luck, Razor Claw, and moves such as Night Slash, Stone Edge, Psycho Cut, and Shadow Claw, Absol can get 100% chance critical hits. This set is somewhat gimmicky because of the nerf to Critical Hits this generation, but it does allow Absol to bypass the opponent's defense boosts. It has competition with Dread Plate, Life Orb, and Focus Sash, and it also requires you to use poor coverage options.

[I][B]Watch Out For:[/B][/I]

-Mienshao; Commonly scarfed, Mienshao can often outspeed Absol and OHKO. Absol can only handle Mienshao with Sucker Punch if you whittle down its HP with its teammates. This is easier said than done if Mienshao has regenerator.

-Lucario; With its strong priority in ExtremeSpeed and Vacuum Wave, Lucario can scare Absol out while resisting Sucker Punch and tanking a Play Rough.

-Hippowdon; With its amazing bulk and recovery in Slack Off, Hippowdon can easily take repeated attacks from Absol while using Earthquake in return. Absol is stuck with the difficult decision of setting up with Swords Dance or switching out and allowing Hippowdon set up Stealth Rock.