Hey look, Twitter! 🔷 twitter.com/MahDryBread

As a tribute to your first challenge, can you beat Pokemon fire red with only a rattata? Should be much harder with the intimidate attack drops and the reduced crit chance. Would be a lot of fun to see

The real question isn't about what fossil you took, but what fighting Pokemon did you take from the dojo?

You know what’s really mind-blowing about all Dark moves being special prior to Gen 4? All damaging Dark moves prior to Gen 4 (Bite, Faint Attack, Crunch, Pursuit, Thief, Knock Off and Beat Up) are now physical moves, and in Gen 4 the only special Dark move was Dark Pulse

I think this might end up being one of his easiest run. Absol has amazing attack, decent special attack, and decent speed as well as having a large access to coverage moves with TMs (water pulse, ice beam, thunderbolt, shadow ball, aerial ace, and flamethrower as well as rockslide from a move tutor) as well as swords dance through level up and calm mind through TM. The rock gym might be difficult as you only have normal moves till level 21 when you learn bite but after that I don’t think there will be that much trouble.

4:28 I love it when you make fun of how Ghost types sometimes make no sense.

On our way through, I took the helix fossil. I knew if I didn’t say what I took you’d all ask. Actually now that I think about it everyone ask anyway. Comments are good for the KZfaq algorithm.

Absol is actually pretty amazing with Shadow Ball. I'm surprised you put yourself through the grind of getting Thunderbold + Icebeam with Absols weak Sp.Atk instead of just going with Swords Dance, Return and Shadowball. But hey, wasn't much of a challenge either way I guess^^ PS: If you say "Sword Dance" one more time I think I'm going to lose my mind, it just sounds so wrong :D

"Geodude wouldn't let me Leer him because he was spamming Defense Curl." If only Absol learned a move that let him prevent the enemy from using non-attacking moves. You know, like Taunt. If only that move was in the bottom left moveslot of your attacks during the fight.

As soon as I saw this I remembered my own Absol, Black, who I used in my Ruby playthrough. He saved the day against Steven's Metagross by dodging two Meteor Mashes and getting off a Perish Song!

Back when I was younger playing through Hoenn for the first time I always made a point to get an Absol on every play through, this was before I knew much of anything about stats so I guess the design and the fact it was so late just made me feel like I had to do it. I still hold a special place in my heart and on my teams for absol

Absol is my second favourite dark type after Yveltal. SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS RUN.

Loving the “Absolute” Ricky Starke reference. That guy is going to be a big star. Almost as big as you Big League MDB.

New Challenge! Hive Challenge: 1. You can only have Combee and a single Vespiquen. 2. You start with a female combee 3. You can only catch other male combee to add to the hive Good luck.

I know multiple people have asked this before but we really need to see *Pokémon Fire Red with only 1 growlithe* (I feel like fire red is alot more fun than gen 1 Kanto for speed runs atleast) Growlithe has decent stats but a shallow movepool in gen 3. Not to mention that Kanto is a region not very friendly to fire types.

On the 39th week of asking for Pokémon Sapphire with only one Absol, Absol makes its first appearance! This is a monumental occasion.

Even weirder with Dark type move, all of the damaging ones in Gen 2 and 3 became physical in Gen 4.

I feel like with Absol's high attack and sword's dance, you'd have had an easier time against the ghosts with Shadow Ball instead of bolt/beam. Plus, Shadow Ball gets good neutral coverage against rock types.

I just did this challenge in Emerald last week! You're one of the main inspirations for me giving these a go, keep up the great work!

Yes! I've been requesting an Absol run for a long time! I'm so excited for this one! Absol is my favorite Pokémon and also my favorite to do single Pokémon challenge runs with. This is gonna be great!

I'm surprised you didn't go for Shadow Ball for extra physical coverage, more to handle the Rock-types that resist Return with less Swords Dances than for Agatha's ghosts.

4:40 I have explained before about moves and elemental energies in general, and why Flying can hit Ghosts but Normal can't. With Ghost and Dark, Ghost moves traditionally were about possessing physical objects and moving them around, where as Dark moves would convert fear and shadow into it's attacks.

The nickname is “Absolute” Ricky Starks, currently in AEW with team taz, current FTW (team taz) champion, pretty much has everything you could want in a wrestler.

Future sight is a really solid move for solo pokemon runs just for the fact that you can throw it out against a setup pokemon like Drakes Shelgon and then have a free shot against a stronger pokemon down the line.

I just want to see what Madness would ensue if MDB selected the dome fossil instead of the Helix Fossil

Absol is my FAVOURITE pokemon so this run has me super excited to watch as soon as it comes out

Super Luck is a fantastic ability. Absol also learns a lot of high crit moves. Give it the scope lens, and you have a real beast on your hands. I know it doesn't exist her in this game, but it makes Absol so much fun to use in the gen3 remakes, especially with mega evolution.

Here's a pokemon challenge idea for ya... Can you beat pokemon Fire Red with only ineffective moves? (Bonus if it is a single pokemon run)

After all the suffering you do for our entertainment, You deserve an easy fun run. Keep up the awesome work

Absol is a real powerhouse, especially with that hook on its head

Thanks for all the content you have put up over the years. Your catalog has got me through a broken hip from a car accident a few months ago. Absolute legend.

I’m glad you enjoyed this run! Absol is my favorite Pokémon and I always have fun using it when I can

Absol is such a good pokemon. It is definitely one of my favorite additions to Gen III, which has a great roster of new beasts, because it’s kinda rare, it has an interesting concept and a great design. It was one of the first pokemon I wanted in my team back in 2003, it was one of the first pokemon I built competitively in Gen IV and also one of my favorite mega evolution in Gen VI. All that to say I’m quite pleased by this choice. Absol’s statistics are as disappointing as the pokemon looks great. It is basically what we call a glass cannon, but somehow only on one side of the spectrum, with a huge 130 base atk, while it only boasts a meager 75 special attack. The glass part is obvious as its bulk is absolutely mediocre, with 60 in both defense and 65 in HP. It can’t even count on its speed to at least revenge kill something because 75 is definitely not light speed. It also carries a bad offensive type, especially on a physical pokemon like itself and its ability isn’t worth anything in a solo run. Having said that, Absol is a better pokemon than most of what we used so far. You can easily tell why the pokemon was held back. Its movepool would make it a killing machine. It has absolutely everything a pokemon would want. Great boosting moves like Calm Mind, Curse and Swords Dance. Utility with Baton Pass, Toxic, Substitute, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail or Taunt. It even has recovery with Rest. And of course, an amazing coverage, with the usual strong special attacks (Ice Beam, Tbolt, Flame thrower) and physical stuff (Return, Shadow Ball). Sadly, for some reason, the Dark Type was a special based type in Gen III, despite using mostly contact moves like Crunch or Bite. Seeing Absol’s attack, you might think a Swords Dance based moveset would be the best option but I definitely believe more in a Calm Mind strategy with physical coverage. Most of the threats in the game are either special attackers or crumble quite easily under special attacks. Giving it a physical move to have a little bit more coverage would be the best imo. Calm Mind, Tbolt, Ice Beam, Aerial Ace. I managed to brute force through Brock with a Razor Wind, Taunt and Leer combo at level 18. I just needed a bit of luck to avoid rock tomb but that was enough, without a critical hit needed. Taunt was actually quite useful for the start of the run, mostly because it’s a way to avoid sand attack and other smokescreen. What I love about Gen I is how open the game is after one point. With a pokemon like Absol, which has a very diverse moveset, you can basically plan your routing and moveset to have no problems. On top of that, Absol is pretty nice and evolves at a fast pace. For most of my run, I used a physical moveset (SD, Return and Aerial Ace) with Bite as the special option. I then decided to go for Water pulse to get through Blaine and Giovanni (not that I needed to, SD once should have been a way to compensate for the intimidate drops). I decided to get Thunderbolt for Loreleil, which was only used for Cloyster and removed Return to give Absol Ice Beam, for the Onixes. Shadow Ball was added for Agatha’s team and I finished the run by adding Calm Mind I over complicated things, pushing through with physical attacks might be the best choice, but this worked anyway, without grinding (level 74).

Easily one of my favorite Pokémon ever it’s a shame there’s not more merchandise about it I’d love to get my hands on a few plushy’s

I like how any time you say "absolutely" for something in this run, it's basically a pun

I started following for the Pokemon Challenges, but have stayed for the variety of amazing content. I had not been following wrestling for nearly 20 years, and hearing your passion for it in other videos has really made me want to watch again.

It'll be ABSOLutely fun to watch

I suggest a Red/Blue run with only Magmar. If you look at its move list you’ll understand why. If you want throw in no Tms for added challenge I’m pretty sure magmar would have one of the highest base stat totals for a mon in a single run that you’ve done so far.

Got to the comment screen cap and just wanted to say thanks for posting these as regularly as you do. I really look forward to your videos, and after a super shit day, it's nice to see a new video from you. Especially this one because Absol is my favourite. I hope 2022 is kind to you, MDB

One of my favorites Pokémon! Glad you did this run! Absol is definitely more of a glass cannon can hit pretty hard but has awful defenses it got a lot better with its mega it was a shame it was removed.

Fun fact: Literally all of the dark moves you could get before gen 4 became physical in gen 4 despite the dark type being special

I hope he names it Umbreon, cause that's hilarious. Final moveset might be something like Swords Dance, Shadow Ball, Facade, Return for all out attack or Aerial Ace for coverage. Razor Wind and Slash might be okay early on but all Dark type attacks are special prior to Gen IV so Bite, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower don't even get to use Absols best and only remarkable stat. If it gets really rough, Absol actually learns double team by level up. I do think MDB can win. Taking hits could be an issue because Absol's quite frail, having it's worst attributes in HP and Defense. Not that I want him to struggle, but maybe Elite 4 Bruno will show up for the challenge this time.

Comment for the KZfaq algorithm! And I can't wait for the christmas run, it's so nice that you're doing it for us!! Happy holidays, dude!! :]]

Absol is hands down my favourite mon, glad to see it getting some love.

Hey Mah-Dry! Would you consider doing a run with Spheal in gen 3? I love ice types, but they are so bad defensively, so it would probably be pretty tough. Love the challenge runs! Keep up the great work!

Bro Rock Slide would take down all your problems. Your set for E4 was pretty bad Thunderbolt was pretty redundant since you were using Ice Beam. So remember the Rock Slide Move Tutor at Rock Tunnel, I say this because it is not the first time I've seen you miss it and that move would change it a lot (especially against Agatha)

I finally started my first ever solo run of an old game, Clefairy only run of emerald, thanks to watching your videos. It's already been really tough, going immediately against the rock and fighting gyms back to back, but I'm really looking forward to it thanks for the amazing content and I hope to see more in the future!

Pokemon Platinum with a team of only one Swinub. Swinub gets hit super-effectively by most major fights, has low base stats but great move coverage

I say ghost was physical in gen 3 because though ghosts are special beings, their hauntings are more physical. They move physical objects around. They cause physical scratches. Even possession they physically have to inhabit a vessel.

An interesting idea for a challenge would be gen 5 with only deerling. It’s about as strong as a first form starter.

I personally would have gone with Aerial Ace, Faint Attack, Flamethrower and Facade, but you made it work.

7:00 Rival Fival, my favorite rival, and no match for an absol. Absal? I almost had a rhyme going. Wonderful to see as always, looking forward to this "christmas special" of yours, MDB!

I say this with absolutely zero ill will: these pokemon challenge videos have become very stale, and I've felt this way for quite a while. Obviously, you can only do so much. I both understand and sympathize that there is only so much one can do. But just repeating the "can I beat ______ with just ______" is done. You NEED to spice things up MDB. Truly, I've been an avid subscriber and watcher for a long time. But I am so incredibly jaded with these videos lately. OBVIOUSLY you can beat Fire Red with only Absol. Please consider uploading less often, with more challenging videos. To reiterate, both your speal and the reasoning behind it are understandable. And again, I've been subbed for a long time now. But I haven't watched one of your videos in quite a while. It just is not interesting anymore. Both your grind and commitment are amazing. But lately, I've just been so bored of it all. That's just my 2 cents. I, of course, wish you and your channel nothing but the best. But I truly cannot stay subscribed much longer. And I know I am just one of many disposable viewers. I am not claiming to be anything else. But I implore you to try something new. I know this comment will either receive no attention, or negative attention. But I hope it echoes some sort of community sentiment. Regardless, MDB, good luck friend.

I've been subscribed to you for years, way before you started doing pokemon challenges, and it baffles me how you don't have at least a million subscribers by now.

Great video MDB, it's Swords* Dance btw :) you did say that once though for Blaine!

Absol is one of my favorite pokemon! So glad to finally see it here

This stuff is great content! I’ve been watching since the first one

Bite + STAB makes it 90 power - same as ice beam/tbolt. Unless you really need boltbeam's coverage, keeping bite, sd, and return is enough to hit pretty much anything (bite being special means it hits the weaker defensive side of most rock types), and tbolt would let you hit bulky waters. Fun run to watch, keep up the good work, and have a Merry Christmas!

Great video, good job as always, keep it up!

I look forward to these Challenges so much. They make my week

I'm hyped. I frickin grew up on white 2.

I've not been one requesting this but I have been silently wishing for it. And immediately clicked when I finally saw it pop up on my suggested vids. Absol was my favorite mon all the way up until gen 7.

Listened to this while shiny hunting turtwig. Haven’t found him yet but I can’t wait for the Christmas special. Happy holidays my dude.

As i was with cartoons and cereal on sunday morning as a child, i am with your pokemon videos and coffee as an adult. Thank you!

As someone who has requested this run in multiple videos, I am happy that this has finally came to fruition!!! Absol is my ABSOLutely favorite Pokemon, have done my gen 3 solo runs with your rules. So I'm happy that you've gotten to experience the joy of using absol. Challenge suggestion: All Pokemon have Wonder Guard in a gen 4 run. So, this will be a bit more strategy, especially when you go up against Cynthia...

I agree with you on the ghost and dark moves situation. Would've made more sense if ghost was special and dark was physical. Look at the moves and Pokemon using those moves.

Hey, MahDryBread! I’ve been watching your Pokémon challenge videos for years now. I’ve got mad respect for your patience. I remember on one of your videos you asked if you should speed up your games for the challenges and I honestly believe you should. Youve gone so long playing the games taking so much time just for our entertainment and you’ve played them all genuinely, but in a way I believe you speeding up the games gives you more of an opportunity to take breaks that you deserve. It could cut hours of your work time which could be significantly better on your health! Take some breathers, stretch, take care of yourself! Youre a great, kind and selfless guy. :) i friggin love your stuff but as a fan of your work I wanna make sure youre doing well too! Time goes by so fast and these games can be super time consuming. And I personally don’t think speeding games are cheating because youre not using glitches or exploits as you state in your videos , just cutting the time of the games. And the old games are SLOW. I seriously dont know how you do it!

Gotta say I'm impressed with how little you actually pronounced it "Sword(s) Dance" even though the move was right in front of you for 90% of the run

Thank you so much for doing a run with my favorite pokémon ever!

Im looking forward to that Black 2 challenge!

0:03 'Long and grinding road' was right there man...

Great video! I would like to see you do a nuzlocke sometime. Also perhaps a variation on the eevee challenges where you can evolve the eevee (and maybe you could use multiple eevees as well). And something in heart gold/soul silver too - A shinies only run maybe?

You rock mdb thanks for the upload

Nice, finally one with 1 of my 3 favorite pokémon :D

The conclusion was nuts!

Fun Fact: Bite is the only move to change damage categories twice. Being Normal in Gen 1 meant it was Physical, then Dark in Gen 2 made it Special, and finally the split in Gen 4 made it Physical again

Cool to see the FTW Champion steamroll Kanto.

I've been waiting for this for so long. Absol is one of my favorites! ♥️

This video with closed captions on is a wild time.

Been watching for years and love this show! First comment though. Thank you for all that you do! God bless you, man! Since this was so "easy", I'm curious to see how Absol would fare against the secret final boss, Red. Heart Gold run? BTW, which fossil did you take?

I feel like getting shadow ball would've been better than thunderbolt since you only used thunderbolt on the water onix and it'd have saved you the trouble of the agatha fight

Mah dry bread more like A really swell guy, thanks for the content and your overall presence sir

A fire red hitmonchan run would be good, considering the element punches are special

Loved this one :) Might i also suggest a run with only Tackle as a move?

I've waited years for someone to beat a game with ONLY Absol! He is my most favorite Pokémon EVER!!!

Yay absol! One of my favorites (if for some reason you couldn't tell =p )! Thanks for this run, MDB! I still have my idea for a run, but it never seems to get any traction, so... if you wanna hear it, ask, I guess.

Loved this challenge! Absol is my second all time favorite Pokémon and was glad to see him used! ❤️

Haven't seen this yet but I am extremely excited to see my favorite pokemon in a run!

Love the reference in the nickname, Ricky Starks for future TNT Champion! I think it would be pretty interesting to see if you can beat Pokémon Black with only Sawk & Throh

Absol is one of my favs good video mate. 👍

I am happy to see my favorite pokemon being used for a challenge

Gee, it's almost like gen 1 wasn't balanced around a type that didint exist in it originally. All joking aside, the video was great. Glad you got an easier run for the holidays.

For some reason, every type that Eevee can evolve into (+ Dragon) is Special, while everything else is Physical.

Absol's a fun one, I will say. Requesting B2W2 with Only One Chinchou- _~hears ending_ *YOOOOOOOO!*

Speaking of complaining that ghost moves are physical... I have so many memories as a kid playing Pokemon Stadium 2, where the rental Alakazam knows shadow ball, and always being so surprised by how other mons would just shrug off a super effective shadow ball.. only when I was older did I realize it was because it was using his weaker attack stat which always made no sense

Yay! AN ABBY RUN! I adore this Pokemon after Pokemon Mystery Dungeon!

Absol is one of my favorites! Thanks for doing this run!

Oh cool! Black 2 is my favorite pokemon game so i hope you enjoyed it. Plus chirstmas team are fun

An awesome challenge. Thanks a bunch. :)

Saturday Mah Dry Bread hype, Absol is a great Pokémon that is for sure.