Other Metagames Unova Arisen (AAA Balance)

[flufi]

Hey! Welcome to my first full, legitimate RMT!
Lately, a lot of what I've been doing is searching for a metagame that I'd want to ladder in. I actually had quite a problem with this, as every time I settled for one and built a team, I seemed to lose interest. So, after weeks of deciding; I finally came to a classic OM, Almost Any Ability.
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Teambuilding Process
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I decided to start the team by building around an all-time favorite of mine, Volcarona.
Whether it's Specs, Quiver Dance, or any other set your mind may create, Volcarona is a completely dominant Pokemon overall, and has been since the release of Generation 5.
This psuedo-legendary gets impressive stats, an intriguing movepool (including great status moves such as Quiver Dance and Roost) and a decent ability to assist it in fulfilling it's niche of being the force not to be reckoned with in the meta.

What's better to pair along with one powerhouse, than another powerhouse? Landorus-T is a common, and threatening, Pokemon in nearly all of the metagames it can legally play in. Landorus sports adequate bulk, satisfying speed, and a fantastic Attack stat of 145. This, along with the fact that Landorus has access to a well-built movepool, makes Landorus a great option for almost any team, for hazard setting, pivoting, and/or dealing outright damage to the opponent. Landorus-T and Volcarona form a decent core, Volcarona covering Landorus's Ice weakness and Water weakness (from Desolate Land), and Landorus covering most Rock type attacks for Volcarona. Although, this two-way core does have a few obvious flaws.

After a bit of looking, I decided that a good third teammate to this core would be Rotom-Wash with Magic Bounce. This provides a backup switch-in (and check) to opposing Water types, and a Flying switch-in for Volcarona. Magic Bounce provides a way to keep hazards off the field in favor of keeping the team, especially Volcarona if it needs to come in early or mid-game, alive longer. If played correctly, Rotom can also bounce back and inflict status on opposing Pokemon.

Right away, after noticing I needed a switch-in for Grass types, my mind immediately pointed to a Water/Ground type. Why? The great thing about Water/Ground, is that it only has one weakness, which is Grass itself. Now, here's where Sap Sipper enters; An ability that makes the user completely immune to Grass type moves, leaving the team a very reliable Grass type switch-in, and a bulky Pokemon with no weaknesses.

There were only two more things I wanted that the team lacked; A reliable physical tank/wall, and hazard removal. Both of these qualities are found in Skarmory. This also added a Spikes user to pair along with rocks from Landorus. In addition, Skarmory supplies a Ground and Fire immunity from Flash Fire, having the ability to lure in Fire types and get a free turn for setup or recovery.

As I already seemed to have every role I needed on the team, and I only had filled five out of six slots, I decided to use Adaptability Bisharp in the sixth slot. All of Bisharp's weaknesses are covered between Skarmory and Landorus, and Landorus, Gastrodon and Volcarona are all by Bisharp's side to take care of threats that it can't hurt super effectively, such as Magearna. Volcarona's Water immunity can also take care of Greninja, who will often not be running anything to take care of Volcarona other than Hydro Pump or Scald. Regular Bisharp in itself is already a viable threat, getting access to powerful damage and utility from Knock Off, STAB coverage from Iron Head, and priority from Sucker Punch. Not to mention, a single Swords Dance raises Bisharp to an immensely threatening Attack stat of nearly 700, making it very hard to switch in on. Adaptability boosted Bisharp's STAB boost from x1.5 to x2 does nothing but offers a huge enhancement to Bisharp. Even before getting any SD boosts, it's capable of passing out plenty of damage, and after one SD, paired along with Adaptability, it either OHKOs or 2HKOs the entire metagame.

The Sets

Volcarona @ Charti Berry
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ground]

I'll tell you, nothing is more destructive than a Fire Blast from Volcarona after not only a +1 boost from Quiver Dance, but a 50% boost in Desolate Land. Quiver Dance is for setting up, due to a single Quiver Dance giving Volcarona enough power to outspeed scarfed threats such as Tapu Lele. Unfortunately, because of Garchomp being ever so slightly faster than Volcarona, scarf variants outspeed and OHKO +1 Volcarona with Stone Edge. Although, staying in on Garchomp (with full health) with Volcarona isn't a great idea, as it can't hit it super effectively and will end up being revenge killed with Stone Edge. Fire Blast is Volcarona's strongest STAB Fire-type move, getting off as much damage as possible. Giga Drain and HP Ground are simply coverage moves for Pokemon that can't be hurt by Fire Blast, such as opposing Water types, Heatran, and Tyranitar. After slowly damaging and wittling down the opposing team, Volcarona's main niche on this team is to come in late-game and clean up the mess of weakened Pokemon that the rest of the team leaves behind.

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Spikes
- Defog
- Iron Head/Brave Bird

Since Skarmory holds reliable recovery from Roost, this set uses Rocky Helmet over Leftovers, to provide a bit of extra damage to opposing Pokemon that are making contact. Spikes is a backup hazard for assisting the team with much-needed wearing down on opposing switch-ins. Defog gives the team hazard support, avoiding a scenario where the team gets weakened or crippled from Stealth Rocks and Sticky Web. Iron Head is the main damaging move of choice, used simply for giving off damage to opposing Pokemon. Brave Bird is another option if you want a more powerful attack, but this comes at the cost of recoil damage, which can potentially put Skarmory in a tough spot. Flash Fire is simply for offering the team a Fire immunity, for not only Bisharp, but Volcarona. Even though Volcarona isn't exactly weak to Fire, it's still neutral, and in it's own sun, Volcarona can be severely damaged by opposing Fire types.

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Clear Smog/Scald
- Recover
- Toxic/Substitute
- Earth Power

Gastrodon is mainly a Grass switch-in and a special tank, as without Gastrodon, the team could be put in a difficult spot by Tapu Bulu, especially if Skarmory has already been put down. Scald is Gastrodon's main Water-type STAB move, and is also capable of giving off burns to opposing Physical attackers that attempt to take down Gastrodon. Clear Smog is another option in replacement of Scald to quickly stop attempts at sweeps from Volcarona and other setup sweepers. Recover is possibly Gastrodon's most important move in any set, providing it with a reliable form of recovery and allowing it to stick around to support the team for as long as possible. Toxic is for a reliable method of inflicting status and crippling the opponent's Pokemon, making it harder for them to stay in long and weakening them to be cleaned up by Volcarona. If you're running Scald, than Substitute is a recommended option, as Scald can take care of status infliction. Although, if you don't want to rely on the 30% chance of burning and want a guaranteed chance from Toxic, it's recommended you use Clear Smog over Scald. Earth Power is Gastrodon's strongest Ground-type STAB move (excluding Earthquake) and can also take care of Steel-types that try to switch-in to avoid Clear Smog.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump

Rotom-Wash is the team's main special wall, and provides support for the team with status infliction and other support moves. Leftovers is Rotom's only passive form of recovery, so using this item is mandatory. Magic Bounce is for bouncing back status moves from opposing support Pokemon such as Will-O-Wisp, Hazard Setting Moves, etc. Volt Switch is for pivoting into teammates, forming a VoltTurn core with Landorus. Pain Split is for support, equalizing the user's and the target's HP. If used correctly, Rotom can deal damage and heal itself simultaneously using Pain Split. Will-O-Wisp is Rotom-W's primary method of inflicting status and assisting in whittling down the foe, and in some cases, forcing a needed switch into another foe. Hydro Pump is not only Rotom-W's strongest STAB Water move, but it's only Water move. This is used entirely for dealing damage to the foe when support is not necessary at the time.

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

As mentioned in the teambuilding process, Adaptability + Life Orb Bisharp is a destructive force of nature, being able to efficiently damage nearly everything in the metagame after a single Swords Dance. Knock Off is Bisharp's most effective and reliant STAB move, also utilized for removing items that are disrupting the rhythm of the team. Swords Dance is for boosting Bisharp's attack, which is much needed to help deal as much damage as possible. Iron Head is Bisharp's best Steel type attack used for STAB damage, and is great coverage to hit most Steel types that Knock Off can't hurt. Sucker Punch is simply for priority, as even with speed EVs, there are plenty of threats that outspeed and OHKO Bisharp, so Sucker Punch is mandatory for quickly taking down those threats before they get the chance to attack. Although, since Sucker Punch is a very predictable move on Bisharp, play with this move carefully.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Leftovers is Landorus-Therian's only decent recovery option, so this was a simple choice of an item. Since Magic Bounce is a fairly common ability in AAA, Mold Breaker is to avoid getting Stealth Rock bounced back by that. In addition, Mold Breaker can also take care of smaller issues that can result in Landorus being OHKO'd, such as Sturdy Magnezone, Pokemon with Levitate that typically avoid Earthquake, and Filter Aggron-Mega. Earthquake is Landorus's most commonly used attack and it's main form of damage, being a powerful STAB Ground attack. U-Turn provides a pivoting option, also forming a VoltTurn core with Rotom-Wash. Stone Edge is for creating the combo of EdgeQuake (Earthquake + Stone Edge) for hitting the Flying type Pokemon that Earthquake can't touch. Stealth Rock is simply for early game hazard setting, and supporting the team with the additional switch-in damage.

Importable

Volcarona @ Charti Berry
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Spikes
- Defog
- Iron Head

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Clear Smog
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earth Power

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Anyhow, thanks for reading! Feel free to give feedback, I'm open to constructive criticism to help improve the team.