Delzethin
Character Concept Creator
#359 - Absol
to warn them of what the future holds. In the past, though, they were blamed for
the disasters they forewarned, seen as bringers of doom instead of guardians."
"Absol are rare and elusive, dwelling mainly in inhospitable mountains and jungles.
Many only venture into human lands when an impending disaster must be warned of."
Many only venture into human lands when an impending disaster must be warned of."
Absol is a Dark-type Pokémon that first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and has had presence in every new region since. Though the species does not evolve through normal means, it gained a Mega Evolution in Pokémon X and Y. Absol has remained a fan favorite, through a combination of design, backstory (Despite being an entire species!), usefulness in the games (and having its niche competitively as well), and from completely subverting the traits associated with most other Dark types.
And why there isn't been any talk of a Smash inclusion, especially with the Smash Ballot in full swing, is beyond me.
For a lot of characters, that's one hell of a gauntlet to get through...but for Absol? Check, check, and check. As previously mentioned, Absol is a fan favorite from what happens to be Nintendo's second biggest franchise, whose debut generation has the spotlight thanks to Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Pokémon characters in general tend to have high moveset potential since they're from an RPG series with a heavy focus on elemental powers, but Absol happens to have the single largest movepool of any non-legendary in the entire series!
Even that, though, pales in comparison to how completely unique Absol could be. A quadrupedal build would be only the second we've had in Smash, and with a more serious tone that'd be a contrast to the Looney Tunes-esque Duck Hunt duo. We've seen darkness-based attacks from Ganondorf and (sort of) Mewtwo before, and Greninja is part Dark despite leaning more on his Water affinity, but where Ganon is the King of Evil, Mewtwo is morally ambiguous, and Greninja is...ninja-y, Absol would be a wielder of darkness that is also outright altruistic. And with a power of foresight that takes a different form than Shulk's visions, Absol could be a true "oracle"-style character, foreseeing disastrous events that later come to pass in battle!
If any of this interests you...read onward.
Smash characters work best when they're true to their source games, no? So to figure out what role Absol would fit into, let's take a look at what they're like in the Pokémon games.
Most of the time, Absol is, basically, a glass cannon. With a monstrous Attack stat that can match even the strongest mons, Absol would be a powerhouse in Smash, scoring knockouts as early some of the strongest characters in the game! But with middling speed and poor defenses, Absol's mobility and weight would be below average, balancing out the ability to dish out early kills with subpar survivability and limited ability to approach or press an advantage.
But wait! Most of the attacks associated with Absol, and the ones trainers commonly have them run, are on the weaker-but-accurate side! This could mean that several of Absol's moves in Smash could actually be fairly fast! With strong and surprisingly quick attacks, Absol is starting to sound like a less combo heavy but much less gimpable Doc!
And here's where the oracle powers come in. You know how with most Pokémon characters we've had in Smash, their neutral special is either their signature move or one heavily associated with them? Absol doesn't have a signature move to work with, or a specific attack they're associated with. What are they most known for, though? Their ability to sense disasters before they happen! By using that ability in Smash, one or more of Absol's B moves could revolve around foreseeing some phenomenon that then happens a few seconds later! By foreseeing all kinds of natural disasters, Absol would gain the ability to set delayed, super-telegraphed, yet very powerful traps!
And while Absol's Special Attack isn't much to write home about, neither is Charizard's physical Attack, and yet almost every one of his moves in Smash are physical. Smash takes creative liberties sometimes, and it'd certainly work here!
What playstyle does this leave us with? A wholly unique zoner whose ability to essentially create stage hazards while still being dangerous up close makes it so opponents can never truly get comfortable--appropriately enough, just like the Pressure ability that Absol can have in the Pokémon games! By playing smart in neutral and using their abilities to limit where an opponent can safely be, players could overcome Absol's subpar mobility to gain the advantage, build damage quickly, and finish them off with one of a plethora of kill moves! With a moveset like this, Absol would even have a niche as an anti-metagame character, able to keep campier opponents from settling in while also having fast enough attacks to fend off rushdown specialists!
...At the cost of being handcuffed by characters who can stay at arm's length and take advantage of Absol's lack of midrange tools. Ironically enough, Shulk could be a very dangerous matchup.
Having second thoughts? Allow us to help answer your concerns as best we can.
Another Pokémon character? We already got Mewtwo. They won't add another one.
I've seen this brought up pretty often with a lot of characters. There's this prevailing idea that we'll only get one DLC character per franchise. It's treated as absolute truth by much of the fanbase, to the point where bringing up any character from a series that has a clear frontrunner leads to said character getting shot down.
Here's the thing, though...we have no reason to believe it's true. We've seen nothing saying there can't be multiple DLC characters from the same series, and if the support was there, why not? If Sakurai's word on how he wants to make as many fans happy as he can is anything to go by, getting two or more Pokémon characters wouldn't mean characters from other series would start being ruled out.
So don't worry. Mewtwo, Absol, and your favorite characters can all make it. No "slots" are being "stolen" here.
Absol, though? Not with so many other Pokémon characters already being voted for.
You're right on there being a lot of 'mons getting support. Sceptile is one of the fans' favorite Grass starters, would bring plant-based powers to a roster that has nothing of that kind since Ivysaur left, and would come from a generation that hasn't had a playable character in Smash yet. Squirtle and Ivysaur, cut along with character transformations, still have a steady fanbase and could be relatively easy to port from Brawl. Even Pichu has seen arguments that he'd be easy to implement by using his Melee code and Pikachu as a point of reference.
Here's the thing, though: that's what the situation is like right now. Any major events before the Smash Ballot closes--E3, Nintendo Directs, et cetera--could influence things. For all we know, by October, Absol could be a frontrunner in the way King K. Rool, Wolf, and Isaac currently are. All it'd take is spreading word far enough and in the right way...although something like, say, being confirmed for Pokkén would certainly help.
In fact, Absol has all the right characteristics to catalyze a campaign. All it'd take is enough of a push to get going. And even better, those same characteristics could win the developers over as well!
Which brings us to the next question...
Why would the powers that be care enough about Absol for there to even be a chance?
Do you remember the magazine interview after Robin was revealed? Sakurai anticipated there'd be backlash over Robin making it and not Chrom. In the interview, he explained that when his staff had the chance to play through Fire Emblem Awakening, they discussed Chrom and Robin both. Chrom was turned down pretty fast; found to have a fighting style too reminiscent of Marth and Ike to stand out. Meanwhile, Robin could do things no other character currently did, could represent Fire Emblem as a whole in ways the swordsmen so far weren't able to, and his/her moveset, as Sakurai said, "practically wrote itself". In a battle between Chrom's recognition and Robin's potential, the potential won out.
Now look at all the newcomers to Smash 4. While they're extremely varied, all of them bring new and interesting things to the games (except for the bonus clones, but they started as alts, anyway). Based on them and on what Sakurai has said, a character's potential is one of the biggest factors looked for in a newcomer.
Absol's moveset potential is rivaled only by its series' gods. There is so much there that the chance of the dev team turning Absol down if the support was there is lower than it might initially seem.
But what about getting the rights, though? What about Nintendo? Game Freak? Intermediary group The Pokémon Company? Would they be okay with it?
Actually, they seem pretty fond of Absol as well. After its debut in Gen 3, Absol has found a way into every main region created since. Said presence in the games also includes being the signature 'mon of Sidney of the Hoenn Elite Four, a part of Unova Elite Four member Grimsley's Challenge Mode team, and a centerpiece of the rival character's party in Pokémon X and Y, eventually becoming their signature Mega! Absol has also found its way into nearly every spinoff game! With a pedigree like that, it certainly seems like they'd be okay with letting Absol have the spotlight in Smash as well.
If signs point toward Absol being the kind of character the developers would move forward with and one supported by its source company, all it'd take is the right level of fan support. Nothing's for sure, though--we can't foresee what'll happen ourselves, now can we?
That said, Absol also has the ability to gain a greater chance. As a fan favorite character who has a unique thematic niche, abilities no one else can match, some of the highest moveset potential of any candidate, and signs that'd point toward getting the go-ahead from both the Smash team and its patron company if the stars aligned, if a support base could build, this crazy idea of Absol in Smash could become a reality.
So what do you say? Are you up for changing the future?
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