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Description
Absol (the Disaster Pokémon) is a rare Dark-type Pokémon found among mountainous terrain within the Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Galar regions as well as the Kanto and Johto regions on rare occasions. Though often considered to be nothing more than a plague to society, Absol are powerful beasts that are far kinder to the human race on a regular basis than some would like to think. Granted, it might not be best for the survival of a species to be the bringer of bad news, but when it comes to preparing for the worst disasters nature has to offer, few people would rather have any other warning sign than an Absol!

Unfortunately for trainers, Absol are fairly rare in the modern day because they have been practically hunted to the point of becoming endangered. This is because, as odd as it may seem, many humans see Absol as the bringers of disasters; the truth, of course, could not be farther from this assumption. As it turns out, Absol have the unique ability to sense slight but sudden changes in air currents and even tectonic activity through the horn on their head, which is in fact a special extrasensory organ that utilizes a combination of psychic and negative energy to detect these shifts. While Absol usually keep this information to themselves with a cold but calm disposition, in cases where the shift is dramatic enough that it will result in a major natural disaster, they will quickly run around with the swiftness of the wind and tell other Pokémon about the impending disaster. Absol are a bit too-kindhearted in this regard, however, as they will also warn humans; since they have no way of communicating with humans, though, all they can do is merely appear in front of one or even a group of people before dashing off to avoid the impending disaster. Needless to say, much is lost in translation and the warned humans are more often than not hit by the impending disaster. Instead of realizing that Absol were warning them, however, the superstitious nature of people in past centuries led to them to eventually conclude that Absol were in fact causing these disasters, hence their assignment as the Disaster Pokémon. This in turn led many humans to hunt these beasts in the wild, leading to a dramatic decline in population numbers that only recent laws, fueled by an increased interest in the species among the youth of their native regions, have been able to prevent from continuing. Despite the threat that humans pose to them, Absol have remained diligent about their purpose in the face of adversity and still take the time to appear to humans before impending disaster strikes an area, a noble mannerism that may explain why some believe them to have been the inspiration behind the Bai Ze of Chinese mythology.

Although their defenses, mobility speed and special abilities are not very high, Absol are extremely strong physical combatants and are able to fight back with exceptional force using the curved horn on their head with attacks like Slash, Night Slash and even Psycho Cut at close range. Moreover, they have access to a wide selection of otherwise uncommon moves among their type, particularly the Future Sight and Perish Song moves, as a direct offshoot of their disaster-prediction abilities. Hunting has generally restricted these beasts to mountainous environments that are too rough for most humans to traverse, but this only makes searching for them that much more worthwhile in consideration of their impressive physical abilities. Moreover, Absol have exceptional longevity among Pokémon and are able to live a minimum of 100 years and generally live an average of about 200-300 years; this more often than not means that they will outlive their trainer, so the likelihood of finding an Absol in the wild that has already been owned by another trainer is very high. This should not be seen as a detriment but a boon, however, as it means that most captured Absol will already have a lot of battle experience under their belt (perhaps even more than the trainer capturing them).

It is lastly noted that Absol is one of only 46 species of Pokémon known to be capable of undergoing Mega Evolution. When holding an Absolite, Mega Evolution changes Absol drastically (more so on the inside than outside) by heightening the flow of psychic energy in their bodies to an extreme degree. In this heightened state, the otherwise harsh effects of negative energy on their biology are lifted, allowing these beasts’ fur to bristle into a thick, flowing coat that accentuates their fur color and changing their horn structure into a more flowing, regal form, with the addition of a second, smaller horn on the other side of their head. In addition, they develop wing-like structures on their backs close to their necks, but they are not true wings and cannot allow these creatures to fly; however, they can be used to channel negative energy before Mega Absol beat them rapidly to create a distorted aura of energy that flies towards their opposition to terrify them, giving the beasts a psychological advantage in battle by intimidating and scaring off weaker opponents or outright killing them with pure shock if they are weak-hearted. Aside from these simple changes in appearance, Mega Absol are able to use make use of the psychic powers they already have as a direct form of defense and not just offense; this does nothing to change their type assignment, but it is enough to constantly bathe their bodies in invisible psychic energy, overriding their normal Ability and replacing it with the rare Magic Bounce Ability. Despite the noticeable increase in power that Mega Evolution provides these creatures, however, it is note that Absol generally hate changing into this form in battle due to their usually-passive nature, preferring to run away or solve conflicts without having to resort to fighting and can thus be a bit hard to direct in battle when in a Mega-Evolved state. In terms of stats, this bizarre change only moderately increases their base Attack stat (which is fairly high to begin with), but it critically raises their base Special Attack and Speed stats, enabling them to strike with extreme agility in battle and make better use of attacks like Future Sight. Mega Absol are not so different from their normal form as to really warrant any change in strategy, but given the unique effects of the Magic Bounce Ability, Mega Evolution grants these beasts a tactical edge in battle that can more than disrupt status-themed strategists in battle.

Though many might consider them to merely be a bringer of disaster, Absol are intelligent beasts that can easily prove their worth in battle without ever backing down. With tremendous physical strength that even a Machamp would be wary of and a slew of attacks and techniques designed to devastate the opposition and keep it from overcoming their offense, it can certainly be said that any trainer lucky enough to find one of these beasts will be glad they risked their life among mountainous terrain to find it. Just make sure to pay plenty of attention to it if it starts freaking out and tries to drag you somewhere, as therapy lessons can easily be arranged after you avoid whatever impending disaster is coming your way!

Professor Wormwood