http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/absol
I know Absol had a lead set that was taken down, but after trying an Absol lead out a little I'm convinced it deserves a set.
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Psycho Cut / Pursuit / Taunt
item: Focus Sash
nature: Adamant
ability: Super Luck
evs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spe
Why this set deserves to be on site:
- immediate offensive power. Night Slash is backed by STAB, high crit rate + Super Luck, 130 base attack and +ve nature. Absol also has excellent coverage and can trap opposing leads, especially the pixies, if it has Pursuit
- has favourable matchups against several leads
- 25% chance to crit means you have (almost) a 25% chance of beating any lead. I've had several matches where Uxie ate a CH Night Slash and died outright, leaving me 6-5 up and Sash intact
- considerable mid-game use, when it is a Life Orb + 4 attacks Absol without LO
Absol vs. the top leads of July:
Bold for easy matchups
Green for moderate problems
Red for deadly
vs. Ambipom - This is a bad matchup. The best Absol can do is trade high-damage hits with Sucker Punch. Relevant calcs here: Absol Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Ambipom: 69.4% - 81.8%. Silk Scarf Ambipom U-turn vs. 0/0 Absol: 70.8% - 84.1%; LO Ambipom U-turn vs. 0/0 Absol: 92.3% - 109.2%. Ambipom beats Absol handily. The only reason I didn't colour it red is because Ambipom is generally very predictable. If Absol has a Registeel / Regirock / Steelix / Spiritomb etc backing it up then Ambipom is easily beaten. Furthermore, since teams that lead Ambipom generally don't have early entry hazards, Absol can come back in later in the match with Sash intact.
vs. Uxie / Mesprit - favourable matchup. Night Slash first. If they Trick, you end up with a Scarf Absol, which is a perfectly viable Pokemon. Mesprit is generally 2HKOed, but bulky Uxie can survive. It's a strong tribute to Uxie's bulk that it has a chance of surviving such a super effective attack. If Absol has Pursuit, it can trap both pixies as well - if the pixies paralyze Absol, they actually sign their own death warrants since Absol is guaranteed to be slower than them now and Pursuit will hit twice as hard on the U-turn.
vs. Omastar / Cloyster - I've come to conclude these two are the worst foes for Absol. The lead Cloyster set on the analysis page as well as suicide Omastar (252/0) are generally 2HKOed by Night Slash + Superpower, but Defensive Omastar and Cloyster easily survive multiple Night Slashes and put up multiple layers of hazards. The real problem is that Absol cannot tell what kind of Omastar / Cloyster it's facing until after turn 1, by which time it's too late to stop them from getting up two layers of hazards. If Absol has Taunt, it can also stop them from setting up, but it'll be really sad if they opt to attack.
vs. Spiritomb - if lead Spiritomb runs what Eo plans to put in the new Spiritomb analysis, it's not too bad. Absol can go for a crit with Night Slash or Sucker Punch twice (44.7% - 53%). It also survives HP Fighting with health to spare. If Absol attacks, the likely result is both Pokemon die. Alternatively Absol can switch out, since lead Spiritomb is similar to lead Ambipom - no early hazards.
vs. Electrode - (very) favourable matchup; if the other team is anything like a conventional rain team then Absol will be immensely valuable. Night Slash as it puts up rain, then Sucker Punch the Explosion. Sash intact. Kabutops and Omastar are KOed by Superpower on the Sash turn, while every other rain sweeper bar Qwilfish with Aqua Jet (rare, since to the best of my knowledge AJ + Swords Dance is illegal on the same set) dies from Night Slash + Sucker Punch. Because Sucker Punch does ~70% to most rain sweepers, you can even play around Life Orb until Absol can revenge safely. Hallelujah!
vs. Hippostas - Night Slash. If you're running sun or rain or some kind of weather yourself you can Pursuit to remove it permanently, but Hippostas is actually quite bulky on the physical side so I wouldn't suggest it.
vs. Qwilfish - Night Slash, then either Sucker Punch the Explosion or predict they'll Spike again and Night Slash. I'm leaning towards Night Slash here because I've found that most Qwilfish are perfectly happy to die in return for 2 layers of Spikes. On the plus side, Absol still has Sash intact. Can also Taunt, but Qwilfish is generally faster and will get up one layer at least.
vs. Alakazam - Focus Sash + Sucker Punch makes Absol one of the better checks to Alakazam (even more so if it has Pursuit).
vs. Snover - Night Slash fails to OHKO (sad), but Superpower puts it away. If you're running your own weather and have Pursuit, you can try Night Slash + Pursuit, which guarantees a kill on Snover while not being too bad if Snover switches out on turn 1 / Protects.
Absol vs. some other leads. I picked them mostly off the top of my head, so the list is rather biased towards those that threaten Absol.
vs. Moltres - Not too bad. Sucker Punch first. If it shows Life Orb recoil, Night Slash because there's a good chance it'll Roost. If it uses something like Overheat, Pursuit if you have it, otherwise Night Slash (it's switching out, and even if it doesn't you'll have a -4 Moltres to set up on). If it U-turns then, well, get up Stealth Rock and it won't be able to switch in again. That said, if you have something like a Milotic on your team then there's no time like now to bring it in, preserving the Sash for later ...
vs. Lopunny - Superpower it and let it trade you whatever. It's by no means fun to be tricked a Flame Orb, but you're still 6-5 up and Lopunny doesn't get to pass any boosts.
vs. Mismagius - All the Mismagius's I've seen WoW first. This means you have a 25% chance of outright beating them (the WoW miss chance). Even if WoW hits, Night Slash puts Mismagius at about 25% health. Then things start to diverge. There was one game where Mismagius used Destiny Bond next and took both of us out. There was another where Absol survived Thunderbolt and Night Slash finished Mismagius off. Finally there was one where my opponent switched out, when both Absol and Mismagius are mostly death fodder, being too weak to do anything else.
vs. Scyther - Generally Choice Banded, Scyther is going to U-turn. Similar case to Moltres here. I think if you have a 100% Bug-attack counter like Steelix or Moltres, now's a good time to switch it in and preserve the Sash for later. Otherwise you can bash Scyther's head in with Sucker Punch, dealing 76.9% - 90.7% at least, and pray for a crit.
vs. Venusaur - Sleep sucks. Personally I'd prefer to switch Absol out since having an intact sash is so powerful, but other players might prefer to stay in and Psycho Cut. If Sleep Powder misses, 0/0 Venusaur takes 53.8% - 63.8% from Psycho Cut.
vs. Hariyama - This guy sucks even worse than Venusaur. It's sturdy enough to not die to Psycho Cut + Sucker Punch, in fact it even has a chance of surviving two Psycho Cuts, it might Fake Out and it has its own priority. Screw Hariyama. God.
vs. Primeape - Night Slash first because, like Scyther, Primeape is going to U-turn so you might as well use your strongest attack. If it stays in to Close Combat then Night Slash + Sucker Punch vs. -1 Primeape actually results in a KO (Night Slash alone does well over 50%).
vs. Kabutops - Night Slash and Superpower. A bit tough though, it can kill Absol by attacking twice. It does need to be faster however, and if it does attack then no Stealth Rock.
vs. Rhyperior - Nobody leads with Rhyperior, but unless Absol has Taunt it can't do anything to Rhyperior, not even with a critical hit Night Slash. Even with Taunt eating one of Rhyperior's big EQs is not fun. On the bright side, you can switch out and the worst it can do is Stealth Rock, negating the Sash next time you switch in.
vs. Steelix - Worse version of Rhyperior, basically. Nobody except for some PO players lead with Steelix, but if you meet one, best you can do is Taunt.
Additional comments
- Psycho Cut kills Heracross, who otherwise resists the whole moveset. Another purpose is that since Absol has the strongest priority attack in the game, many players attempt to kill it with their own priority. Many common users of priority, including Hitmontop, Blaziken, Nidoking and Toxicroak are all hit super-effectively by Psycho Cut. Psycho Cut hits Weezing super-effectively as well, although physically defensive Weezing still laughs at Absol
- Pursuit can be used to trap opposing leads, especially the pixies and Alakazam, as well as any Pokemon trying to switch out of Sucker Punch
- Taunt can stop hazards going up; it also stops some common Absol switch-ins like Donphan and Registeel from causing too much damage. The main problem is that Absol is 75 base speed
- Protect counters Ambipom and can scout Choice Scarf leads like Venusaur and Moltres, but has no other use otherwise
- Magic Coat counters status from the likes of Jynx, Spiritomb and Uxie / Mesprit. If it works like rumours say it will in Gen 5, it'll become more viable, but until then it's quite low on the priority list
Teammates and Counters
- Hariyama and bulky Cloyster / Omastar, mainly. Spiritomb is also problematic
- rare, but Sleep-inducing leads (Drifblim, Jynx, Venusaur) force Absol to switch out
- anything that deals with Absol's counters make good teammates. Most notable is Ambipom, so having an Ambipom counter is strongly advised
- Absol isn't a good partner to Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock, because it generally can't stop Stealth Rock from going up. In the same vein, a spinner might be a good idea
- good luck charms so you crit more with Super Luck!!1!one
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[SET]
name: Attacking Lead
move 1: Night Slash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Pursuit / Taunt / Psycho Cut
item: Focus Sash
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Absol's combination of an outstanding Attack stat, high critical hit rate, superb coverage, access to a priority move (albeit the unreliable Sucker Punch), and trapping abilities allow it to function as an effective offensive lead. It takes some daring and knowledge of the metagame for Absol to flourish, but if used well, the rewards can be excellent. Absol also boasts the most powerful priority attack in the game, allowing it to function decently in the mid-game as well.</p>
<p>Night Slash is a given. Backed by base 130 Attack, a boosting nature, STAB, and a 25% chance to score a critical hit, it is Absol's best general attack. Superpower gives Absol nearly unresisted coverage when paired with Night Slash, as well as hitting several common leads for super effective damage. Sucker Punch, despite its unreliability, allows Absol to threaten faster Pokemon and perform some revenge killing duties. The final slot is up to personal preference. Pursuit can trap opposing Pokemon attempting to switch out of a predicted Sucker Punch and immediately threaten some common leads, such as Alakazam and the pixies. Taunt is another option, stopping slower leads from setting up, as well as forcing them to attack and run right into Sucker Punch. However, Absol's base 75 Speed means it is less effective at stopping setup compared to faster Taunters such as Alakazam and Ambipom. The final option in the last slot is Psycho Cut. Many Pokemon will attempt to bypass Absol's Sucker Punch with their own, faster, priority moves. Several common UU priority users such as Nidoking, Blaziken, and Toxicroak are hit super effectively by Psycho Cut. It is also Absol's best attack against Weezing, although physically defensive variants will still remain relatively unscathed.</p>
<p>A Jolly nature is not recommended because Absol has priority to bypass its low Speed. Nonetheless, it is wise to invest in Speed because of the chance that your opponent might Trick a Choice Scarf onto Absol. With maximum investment, Absol makes good use of a Choice Scarf, outspeeding almost the entire unboosted metagame. However, one must be very careful of locking Absol into Sucker Punch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Much of Absol's value as a lead stems from its ability to put the opponent under pressure. However, the same unpredictability that makes the opponent uncomfortable also makes Absol's best move unclear at times. Therefore, if you choose Absol as a lead, you must be prepared to take calculated risks. Some knowledge of the metagame is very helpful as well. For example, if your opponent leads with Moltres and it shows Life Orb recoil, it probably has Roost. On the other hand, if it doesn't show Life Orb recoil, it is probably Choice Scarfed. This kind of knowledge will greatly aid your choice between Pursuit, Night Slash, and Sucker Punch.</p>
<p>Like every lead, there are other leads that give Absol trouble. Ambipom and Hariyama are particularly troublesome as they are capable of breaking Absol's Focus Sash with Fake Out and KOing it the next turn. Sleep-inducing Pokemon such as Venusaur and Jynx cause problems as well, while bulky leads such as Rhyperior and Cloyster can easily set up if Absol doesn't have Taunt. Having Pokemon that can deal with all these problems is recommended. Individually, Ambipom is walled by Steel- and Rock-types such as Steelix and Regirock, while Hariyama has trouble with Slowbro and Weezing. Both Ambipom and Hariyama also cannot get past Spiritomb, which can switch in for free on Fake Out. To deal with sleep, a RestTalker is ideal, but any bulky Pokemon will suffice. Finally, because Absol cannot reliably stop other leads from putting up entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is useful. Hitmontop is a great choice, with access to Foresight to guarantee a successful Rapid Spin and Close Combat to hit bulky Spikes users, namely Cloyster and Omastar, super effectively. However, it is worth noting that suicide Cloyster and Omastar leads can be knocked out by a Night Slash followed by a Superpower.</p>
