Overview
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With its Mega Evoulution, Absol can be quite the formidable Pokemon. It has great attacking stats and a high Speed. Magic Bounce is one of the best Abilities in the game, letting Mega Absol bounce back hazards and be immune to status moves like Will-o-Wisp. It also has a great offensive typing, as few things resist Dark, and STAB Knock Off is quite good, along with very strong priority in Sucker Punch. Although it is unreliable, Magic Bounce mitigates this issue to some extent. Besides its STABs, Mega Absol has a huge movepool that can surprise would-be counters, and Swords Dance can facilitate a sweep. However, Mega Absol is limited by its incredible frailty. Other than on Pokemon like Chansey and Deoxys-D, it is very difficult to switch in or set up. Its moves also have somewhat low Base Power, making it difficult to sweep even at +2. Finally, Absol’s switch-in opportunities are even more limited before it Mega Evolves. Despite these flaws, if it does get in safely, Absol is sure to do a lot of damage.

All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Pursuit / Knock Off
move 3: Play Rough / Superpower
move 4: Fire Blast
ability: Justified
item: Absolite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Naive

Moves
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Sucker Punch is mandatory on Mega Absol as a powerful STAB priority move that also makes Mega Evolving much easier. In the second slot, a more reliable Dark-type move is needed so that Mega Absol can use its STAB when it’s not attacked. Knock Off is a great move, but unfortunately incompatible with Play Rough. If you are using Play Rough, Pursuit is the best option as Mega Absol can force out Psychic- and Ghost-types with its Sucker Punch. Night Slash can also be used as a compromise, still having a decent, consistent Base Power but not the utility of Pursuit. Play Rough gets great coverage with Dark-type moves, only resisted by Klefki and Mawile, so it is a great option. However, if you want Knock Off, Superpower can still hit many Dark-resists fairly hard. In the final slot, Fire Blast lets Mega Absol break through Steel-types like Skarmory, Mega Mawile, and Mega Scizor that would otherwise take its attacks well. Ice Beam can be used instead here to lure in Landorus-T and KO it, as well as get an OHKO on Pokemon like Garchomp.

Set Details
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A Naive nature is used in order to keep Mega Absol’s mixed attacking stats high. Hasty could be used if you’d rather switch into special moves like Shadow Ball better. Justified is the only Ability that can be helpful at all since Absol will almost always immediately Mega Evolve. An alternate EV spread that moves 28 EVs from Speed to Special Attack can be used to still outspeed everything up to Thundurus, but it’s such a small change that it’s usually better to ensure a Speed tie against opposing Mega Absol. Otherwise, a normal EV spread with maximum Attack and Speed investment works best. An Attack-boosting nature like Lonely or Naughty is usable, but the Speed is usually far too important.

Usage Tips
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Mega Absol makes a decent revenge killer with Sucker Punch. If it carries Pursuit, it can trap Pokemon like Latias well, while it can wallbreak with Knock Off. Mega Absol struggles to switch into anything, as almost any neutral STAB move will 2HKO at worst, so it needs to come in on moves that are affected by Magic Bounce, after a slow U-turn or Volt Switch, after something else is KO’d, or on a double switch. To this effect, it’s also important to Mega Evolve quickly so that it can actually discourage status moves and hazards. This set is primarily a wallbreaker, and it should be used as such.

Team Options
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Aegislash is a nice partner in crime as a wallbreaker, and the two have decent synergy although Absol’s bulk can only do so much, even with resisted hits. Keldeo, Thundurus, and Landorus all enjoy Absol’s ability to remove Latios and Latias with Pursuit very much. As with any offensive Pokemon, hazards are very appreciated. This can come from Deoxys-D, Heatran, Landorus, or Landorus-T. Slow U-turns or Volt Switches are also nice to let Mega Absol get in unscathed. Scizor and Rotom-W are fairly good users.

Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Play Rough / Knock Off
move 4: Night Slash / Baton Pass
ability: Justified
item: Absolite
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
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Absol can take an approach geared towards sweeping with Swords Dance. This move allows it to boost its Attack stat to more threatening levels and make up for the lack of boosting item. Sucker Punch is mandatory as a powerful priority move that can stop Pokemon like Adamant Talonflame and Scarf Excadrill from revenge killing you. Play Rough gets great coverage with Sucker Punch, only resisted by Klefki and Mawile, but Knock Off is a really useful move that can also be used. If using Play Rough, then Night Slash is necessary in the final slot as a reliable STAB attack. If using Knock Off, the best option is Baton Pass to allow a teammate to possibly sweep. Dark has good neutral coverage by itself, and almost no one will try to phaze it out. A few other moves like Zen Headbutt, Megahorn, Iron Tail, Stone Edge, and Superpower have uses, but Absol does not have the room for them.

Set Details
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As this set is purely physical, a Jolly nature is best. Maximum Attack and Speed are used because Absol cannot take any strong attacks no matter what. An Adamant nature is usable, but the ability to outspeed Talonflame’s Brave Bird with Sucker Punch is very good and should not be relinquished lightly. Justified is the only Ability with any chance of being useful, so it is preferred.

Usage Tips
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As a sweeper, Mega Absol generally wants to switch in on something that it can force out like Latios, Chansey, Deoxys-D, or Gengar and set up on the switch. It should not try to set up on attacks because of its frailty. It’s also important to Mega Evolve quickly in order to be able to switch into status moves. Magic Bounce functions a lot like a Lum Berry except it isn’t consumed and is useful against other moves as well. Absol should switch in early to Mega Evolve, but should then be saved for a late-game sweep. It’s also important to note that even though it’s resisted, Mandibuzz’s Foul Play can OHKO +2 Mega Absol.

Team Options
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There are many walls that can take on Mega Absol such as Landorus-T, Mandibuzz, Skarmory with Brave Bird, Clefable, and Sylveon. To the purpose of removing these, Pokemon like Conkeldurr, Thundurus, Specs Keldeo, and Banded Azumarill are effective. Hazard support from Deoxys-D is also quite nice. Even if Mega Absol can’t completely sweep, something like Talonflame or Scarf Terrakion can clean up afterwards.

Other Options
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Absol has a huge special movepool, with access to Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Dark Pulse, and Fire Blast. A Calm Mind set could take advantage of this and Mega Absol’s decent Special Attack stat, but it’s not strong enough and Absol does not have the bulk to set up. It also misses out on the priority of Sucker Punch. Curse could be used similarly on the physical side, but Swords Dance is just better. Will-o-Wisp and Thunder Wave are nice support moves but Absol has neither the time nor the bulk to use them. Toxic can be used a bit more effectively to cripple Pokemon that normally wall it. Absol also gets access to Wish for some reason, but recovery is futile when most hits KO you, and the Wishes passed would be quite small. Taunt makes Sucker Punch guaranteed to work. Mean Look can trap something to set up on it, but this only works on a very small list of Pokemon that will usually switch out immediately anyway. If you do use Mean Look, Perish Song is an intriguing option, but there are better Perish trappers that can actually take a hit. Substitute eases prediction and forces them to attack you while letting you set up.

Checks & Counters
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**Faster Pokemon that resist Sucker Punch**: Pokemon like Choice Scarf Terrakion and Scarf Keldeo can’t switch into Play Rough, but easily revenge kill.

**Fairy-types**: Unless it runs Iron Tail, Absol can’t hit Fairy-types very hard, while they can KO back. Sylveon, Azumarill, and Clefable all do very well.

**Physically bulky walls**: Mega Venusaur, Landorus-T, Skarmory, Mandibuzz and Physically Defensive Gyarados can all switch into Absol pretty easily and threaten it out due to weak moves. However, moves like Zen Headbutt, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, and Thunderbolt can catch them.

**Bulky offensive Pokemon**: Pokemon like Dragonite, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Pinsir, or anything else with enough bulk to take one attack can easily check it while healthy.

**Fighting-types**: Conkeldurr, Breloom, and Infernape can all KO with Mach Punch.