I'm back once again to drop one of my favorite teams I've made this generation. When RU got hit with the Home drops, I was lost in terms of what to try because I had not been following Scarlet & Violet that much until recently, so I still wasn't sure what most of the new available Pokémon did. Talking to EviGaro, she mentioned how fun Choice Specs Basculegion was, so I decided to try that as a starting point.
Building Process
I wanted to make a fun Volt Turn core in order to make it easier to get Basculegion in, so I immediately thought of Pawmot. Pawmot is a Pokémon I got to try a lot while learning UU weeks prior to the shifts, so I was confident in its ability to force specific switches like Mudsdale or Palossand, and force kills with Basculegion, as well as get Volt Switches vs other walls like Forretress or Tsareena.
Then I wanted a hazard core. I really wanted to try out Tyranitar, but I also saw the potential Typhlosion-Hisui had at the time, and I really did not want to risk my Tyranitar vs a Focus Blast from it, as I wasn't sure what it'd be running. I went with Diancie because it worked as a sturdier check to it, while also checking other threats that Tyranitar could cover as well, such as Kilowattrel & Armarouge. As my removal, I went with Forretress because it's able to handle Bisharp for Diancie, and still have Volt Switch in order to get Basculegion in. Forretress is known for letting Typhlosion-Hisui in for free, so I felt confident in the Diancie + Forretress core.
I still needed a good backbone for the team, especially because we had strong hitters like Meloetta and Barraskewda that could just run through the Pokémon I had so far. I decided to slap a Wo-Chien because it's unkillable. I didn't really use it that much when I was playing UU, but I was happy whenever the opposing team didn't have one, so I figured it'd help the team feel more cohesive defensively.
As I am using Leftovers Wo-Chien & Diancie, I felt like I needed a grounded poison. I had Choice Scarf Pawmot planned originally, but I decided to go for an even faster speed control in Choice Scarf Grafaiai. It's able to get some surprise KOs vs Electrode-Hisui or Kilowattrel, and I had Low Kick in case Dragon Dance Tyranitar got out of hand. It also has U-turn, which just fit right with the team. I then made Pawmot Heavy-Duty Boots with Volt Absorb, as I had no Volt Switch immunity.
The team felt fantastic. I got to the top of the ladder multiple times with it pretty easily, and it did well in tournament games. Then I kind of stopped using it, as I was trying to explore new cores and ideas. Some time later, I saw Star use this team in his slam series vs SoulWind, but he did some changes to the team like giving Grafaiai Switcheroo. I didn't think much of it until the most recent shifts, where we lost Tyranitar. That's when I went back to the team, did some changes, and started playing with it again. The team once again felt amazing, to the point where I felt like posting a RMT for it.
The Team
Diancie @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Diamond Storm
- Body Press
- Moonblast
Starting with the rocker. Diancie quickly turned into one of my favorite Pokémon to use in the tier. The complete coverage it has, plus the great typing at bulk just makes it an ideal tank. Diamond Storm works well with Body Press, as you boost your defense, making you harder to KO, and making it easy to snowball into kills with boosted Body Press. Moonblast as my last coverage because the team isn't that great into fighting types, mainly Slither Wing. The EV spread is me just being addicted to outspeeding stuff. The spread I use hits 149 speed, which puts you right above stuff like Blissey, opposing Diancie & Hariyama, this last one you can get off a strong Body Press before it tries to KO. You can run no speed to maximize Special Defense for Armarouge, making the matchup vs it a bit easier. I decided to try Dragon tera, as you keep your resistance vs Fire, but you also gain resistance vs Grass & Water. I really didn't like using Water Tera on it, as you become weak to Kilowattrel's STAB.
Wo-Chien @ Leftovers
Ability: Tablets of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 172 SpD / 24 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Foul Play
Honestly, I didn't really go that into detail for the Wo-Chien spread. I knew I wanted to use full special defense on it because Tablets of Ruin just makes it decently fat on the physical side. I still gave it a couple of EVs for Defense, in order to better tank Bisharp's Iron Head at +4. One of the most common interactions I had was Bisharp getting to +4, and barely failing to KO Wo-Chien while it got revenge killed by Foul Play. I'm running Leech Seed + Protect, as Wo-Chien really needs the extra recovery on this team. I see a lot of people run Taunt over Protect on Leech Seed sets, which is great as well, just doesn't seem to be the right fit in this specific case. The speed EVs are just to make sure you are always faster than very specific but annoying Pokémon, such as Vaporeon, opposing Wo-Chien, Arboliva, or regular Decidueye (this last one is, so you don't take U-turn damage before you get a strong hit in). Wo-Chien is usually seen running either Poison or Ghost Tera. I kind of prefer Ghost on this team, as it gives me an additional spin blocker, while not giving me any added weakness to Psychic types. It's especially useful vs certain Slither Wing variants that run Earthquake.
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Body Press
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin
The designated Steel type of the team, although many will argue it's barely a Steel type at all. I already mentioned the synergy Forretress had with Diancie. I am not lying when I say that out of all the available moves on this team, Spikes is the one I click the most. I know a lot of people don't like using Forretress, but the utility it has is so good. It's able to get Spikes up relatively easy, and also Rapid Spin them away. I also like that you can click Volt Switch as the spin blockers switch in to stop you, mainly Typhlosion-Hisui, from removing the hazards, changing the momentum of the game if you are able to get in your breaker. The EV spread is just a sad 252/252 type of spread, but I did have a focus in mind. I wasn't really sure how broken either Mimikyu or Bisharp would be, so I kept going back and forth between Body Press and Heavy Slam, but the needed physical bulk didn't change, so I just kept it max. I'm using Body Press mainly lately, because it's able to get good hits in vs Wo-Chien, and you can still chip at something like Rotom-Heat. Heavy Slam is a good alternative to run; you can hit Mimikyu and the set-up sweeper variants of Diancie. The tera is pretty much the same as Wo-Chien, just an emergency option to keep your spikes up vs opposing Forretress.
Basculegion (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Surf
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Aqua Jet
When I first saw Basculegion, I didn't really think much of it. It has a really high Attack stat with Adaptability, but it didn't have any good Ghost STAB, meaning you'd have a hard time getting past bulky waters and grasses like Slowbro, Vaporeon, Decidueye-Hisui, or Tsareena. EviGaro showed me a team she had with her own Specs Basculegion, and suddenly I saw the Pokémon in a different light. At first, the appeal of it was that nobody was prepared for it, so it was really easy to pick KOs with Specs Shadow Ball. I feel like the player base is fully aware of this set, but it's still excellent at dealing damage. Most of the time, people have to gauge what to send vs it, as the combination of Surf (I don't use Hydro because it can miss), Shadow Ball & Ice Beam is really solid at getting past its more common answers. A Timid nature lets me outspeed some breakers like Toxtricity & Armarouge, I don't think I need the Modest damage boost, and outspeeding the previously mentioned Pokémon feels more important. I am using Aqua Jet last because it's still a solid tool for revenge killing certain sweepers like Tera Ground Oricorio. I'm using Water Tera to maximize Surf & Aqua Jet damage when needed.
Pawmot (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Double Shock
- Revival Blessing
- Volt Switch
In the original team, I had Ice Punch on Pawmot because I thought Noivern would be more relevant to KO. I ended up swapping it for Revival Blessing when I was adapting it to the current meta, as I rarely ever clicked Ice Punch, and being able to bring back one of Basculegion or Wo-Chien in a pinch was fantastic (this move is really broken). This is a very straightforward slot. Strong STABs, momentum move for Basculegion, and Revival Blessing. As I mentioned earlier, I opted for Volt Absorb as I don't really have a Volt Switch immunity, but recently Kilowattrel has been the most used Electric type, making the ability a bit less useful as you take a lot from Hurricane. Nevertheless, it's still useful in case you face a Choice locked Pawmot on the opposing side.
Grafaiai (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- U-turn
- Switcheroo
The final member of the team. I really wanted to keep my speed control, but I also didn't want to start losing to chip from Toxic Spikes from Dragalge or even random Forretress that carry it. This also gave me a good offensive answer to stuff like Mimikyu or Oricorio. As I mentioned earlier, I removed Low Kick for Switcheroo. With Tyranitar gone, it really doesn't make much sense to keep it, and when I saw Star use it, it really felt like an answer that fixed a lot of the careful and awkward positioning needed with this team. The moves are pretty straightforward, but it's worth mentioning that Poison Touch U-turn is insanely fun to use. You get free chip vs all the fat answers like Mudsdale, making it easier to get past them. Dark Tera is used to make your Knock Off a little bit stronger, while removing the weakness to Psychic type attacks.
Replays
Here are a couple of tournament replays with the team. I didn't get to use it that much but these are decent enough showcases:
- vs dunoks - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-1921253846-bmtse3jwt9nca0x8pxb4baelg62wqecpw
- vs Carmin - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ru-708819
Threatlist
I don't really have a solid fight resist, but Slither Wing stands out more because of the utility in Will-o-Wisp or the breaking potential on Choice Band sets. The best way to handle it is by trading your Diancie with it, or by using your Ghost Tera on Wo-Chien.
Really annoying threat when given a free turn. I mentioned earlier that you can opt to run Heavy Slam on Forretress, and Mimikyu doesn't feel threatening anymore. But when using Body Press Forretress, you have to be careful on how you position yourself. You can break Disguise with Forretress' Volt Switch, and try to revenge kill it, or trading with Diamond Storm Diancie, and trying to get some Defense boosts while at it.
Weakness Policy Armarouge is hard to handle when you don't know how to play around it. What I tend to do is (once again), trade my Diancie for damage on it, and try to revenge kill with Aqua Jet Basculegion, or use my Tera on Wo-Chien and try to finish it. 
This one is really hard to KO. The only members in the team that can hit it super effectively are Basculegion, Grafaiai & Diancie, but they all hate being hit by Knock Off, so trying to get any of them in vs it safely is very awkward. I'm probably missing some more, but these are the ones that are more present in the meta.
Importable
Shoutout the RU community for staying epic.
? It has better special attack, so it seems like the more obvious choice for a specs mon. Otherwise great team!