I don't know why so many people are hating on Absol just because it doesn't resemble your average Dark type.
A common misconception is that it is a "goat". Actually, it's a cat-type Poke'mon (bulbapedia). And another thing; Absol has an amazing attack and speed power as opposed to the Sp. Attack which is normal for Dark types, because it is a "Speedy Hitter"; not a "Special Sweeper". Granted it's move pool does open up the latter as a possibility if trained with the right EV's and Nature.
Even so, people tend to think that Absol sucks when it comes to its Attack/Speed combo. But Absol also has a naturally higher critical hit ratio and it also learns 3 other attacks that have their own high critical ratio. And these ratios STACK! So teach it Swords Dance then those 3 "slash" based attacks (can't remember the exact names) and own your enemies with 1-hit-KO's!
All said and done; Absol was meant as an Competative DPS (damage per second) Fighter but if done right can become a decent In-Game Fighter to face off against the Elite 4 as a Special Sweeper.
I honestly don't know why people keep hating on it so much and I've not yet come across a reason to dislike it for any reason!