Ok so, I've been kinda thinking about it, and Im pretty sure absol lacking Superpower is a dumb idea. Being unable to deal with Tyranitar and Terrakion, being walled by Keldeo / Bisharp if lacking fire blast or tbolt, etc is really lame, lol. I dont think Pursuit is slashworthy, two special moves is immediately more appealing to me.
Onto the special move discussion. I'm using recent 1760 stats for this analysis as I think they are a pretty fair reflection of XY OU, though not perfect, all the mons im listing here are relevant.
| 7 | Garchomp | 15.02619% | 551693 | 11.618% | 423544 | 11.285% |
| 8 | Keldeo | 14.63515% | 186434 | 3.926% | 145749 | 3.883% |
| 9 | Scizor | 13.60336% | 571924 | 12.044% | 451770 | 12.037% |
| 10 | Azumarill | 13.43373% | 476015 | 10.024% | 382728 | 10.198% |
| 11 | Landorus-Therian | 13.22961% | 244170 | 5.142% | 212567 | 5.664% |
| 13 | Skarmory | 12.22726% | 341637 | 7.195% | 292910 | 7.805% |
| 19 | Ferrothorn | 10.54446% | 529648 | 11.154% | 462153 | 12.314% |
| 20 | Dragonite | 9.94543% | 520349 | 10.958% | 390916 | 10.416% |
| 23 | Mawile | 9.00775% | 264396 | 5.568% | 205309 | 5.470% |
| 25 | Gyarados | 6.63586% | 315099 | 6.636% | 250466 | 6.674% |
| 27 | Landorus | 7.92067% | 114177 | 2.404% | 88747 | 2.365% |
| 31 | Gliscor | 7.44789% | 501975 | 10.571% | 392315 | 10.453% |
| 32 | Mandibuzz | 7.34176% | 246720 | 5.196% | 198064 | 5.277% |
| 53 | Hippowdon | 3.16388% | 82344 | 1.734% | 71862 | 1.915% |
So I hope this this data is aesthetically pleasing. Essentially this is the compilation of relevant targets for each move, color coded and then with some formatting to highlight what each move can do. The colours should be obvious, but the formatting not so.
So, essentially a BOLD target is something that Absol previously could not 2HKO which it now CAN thanks to its coverage move. Of course the value of each 2HKO is not totally plain, but it helps in visualization.
Ice Beam - Ice Beam is clearly quite useful, and the visualization here doesnt perfectly reflect what it does. Not only does it make Absol harder to wall for defensive staples LandoT and Gliscor but it outright OHKOs them so they cant evne check. Past that, it gets the 2HKO on Dragonite THROUGH multiscale, so you can beat it if it switches in and SR isnt up. Even though Garchomp is KO'd by Knock Off -> Sucker Punch, and Lando 2HKO'D by double Knock Off, getting that OHKO makes life a lot easier for Absol. Mandi and Hippo are there, but theyre italicized as it doesnt even get the 2HKO on either after SR, so its really only there to deal with weakened ones, though admittedly, MAndi and Hippo cant do all that much back and will lose. Ice Beam has 7 total targets, which have an average lower usage than the other 2 moves, 3 of which it needs Ice Beam to beat though only against phys def hippo, and 4 of which it needs Ice Beam if it lacks T-bolt. Certainly a solid move.
Fire Blast - Being walled by Mega Scizor and Skarmory is bad, really bad, lol. Being unable to deal with Mawile or Ferrothorn on short notice is also really bad! However, T-bolt can take care of Skarm in a better manner thanks to Accuracy. Fire Blast has high value targets, but only 4 total, though 1 of which can be dealt with pretty well with another move. Its target value is higher than Ice Beam overall, however its about on par with Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt - Immediately appealing is the fact that Absol can get past Azumarill, which it can not do anything to other htan knock its item off without this move. Azumarill is a dominant power, and getting that 2HKO on max HP azu helps. Keldeo is also pretty great, as it can quite comfortably live 2 Superpowers. Getting the 2HKO on skarm with 100% accy is nice too. Gyarados is a strange character as Superpower is better vs. one already evolved, however an unevolved Gyarados can be straight up OHKO'D by tbolt, while thanks to intimidate Gyarados can switch into Knock Off and easily eat them up, and easily eat up superpower by just not evolving. Without Tbolt Absol really cant do much to Gyarados if it remains unevolved. Finally Mandibuzz is beaten with T-bolt, like Ice beam. So, Thunderbollt has 5 total targets, 3 of which Thunderbolt demands, 4 of which if fire blast is not used.
So, in conclusion, factually, all three have 3 exclusive targets* that wall Absol if it fails to take this move. With the order of importance, based on meta knowledge and usage stats Thunderbolt > Fire blast > Ice Beam. In number of targets Ice Beam > Thunderbolt > Fire Blast. Factoring the OHKOs that Ice Beam gets, i'd say general utility is Ice Beam > Thunderbolt = Fire Blast. Based on this I'd like to see Thunderbolt in moves or a slash.
*must be phys def hippo