Week 1: https://pokepast.es/819a1798f6311ada
- I had a feeling my opponent (lasen) would resort to a standard NatDex team. Since I was very busy during that week, I decided I would just load one of my older teams that could pressure stuff like M Latias and M Swampert very well. An offensive Double Dark core, like M Thievul + Tyranitar, is generally difficult to handle for more Balance oriented teams since the two of them exerts tremendous offensive pressure. M Thievul messes up with Pokémon that like to switch into Tyranitar, such as Buzzwole, Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Hippowdown, among others, due to their physical bias. Moreover, due to Sucker Punch, which becomes special thanks to its ability, M Thievul can also cleave through weakened offensive teams very well as most fast, offensive Pokémon tend to have higher physical Def than special Def. There's also the fact that stuff like Intimidate, Rocky Helmet, and Burn won't work on M Thievul at all due to its ability to turn its own contact moves into special moves that are unaffected by contact punishing strategies. As for Tyranitar, it hits Pokémon on the weaker side of Def to cover for M Thievul. Besides, it's a trapper that handles M Magmortar, which would otherwise wall M Thievul due to Neutralising Gas. As Tyranitar and M Thievul are good at pressuring Flying Pokémon, I had to include Kartana to take advantage of that.
Week 2: https://pokepast.es/6ae0c4a153aa61b1
- Gekokeso believed crying would most likely bring Rain into the match, which is why I decided to rely on good, old M Noivern which pressures weather teams that don't respect it enough in the builder. But also, M Noivern is a very solid Pokémon in general thanks to its speed and ability, giving it a lot of flexibility on a team. I wanted to use it on Sand to make it even more difficult for opposing weather teams to maintain their weather (unless they relied on Sand as well). Moreover, M Noivern naturally synergizes with Sand's structure due to the utility it provides, such as its resistance profile, Trace (to pressure opposing weather teams), and its stallbreaking ability, among other qualities. With chip damage support in the form of Sand, Rocky Helmet, and hazards, M Noivern becomes even more potent, especially in the lategame where the opponent's only hope is a Choice Scarf Pokémon able to pressure it.
Week 3: https://pokepast.es/1f0e09f79724081b
- Note to myself: I should take the time to get used to the team
if I actually had time in that week. There were some crucial hax moments that honestly sucked; I would have loved to see how the match would have turned out if they didn't happen. Still, it's Pokémon at the end of the day; I respect dex's piloting abilities in this match and the fact that they are like one of the very few (if not only) non M4A players that actually try to build with custom Mega Pokémon from time to time.
Week 4: https://pokepast.es/be5b34d45c5bb6a0
- I noticed my opponent (Bolivia) relied on Volcarona quite a lot, which is why I wanted to be on the safer side and run M Dhelmise. After all, thanks to its Steel/Ghost typing, good bulk, and Primordial Sea ability, it could handle it pretty well. I could have run stuff like Toxapex or Urshifu-R instead but I had a feeling, with sticky as Bolivia's manager, the two of them would make sure to well take care of these checks. So, it had to be M Dhelmise. Moreover, it's the kind of Pokémon that can usually only be checked offensively. So, most defensive structures will struggle against it. Initially, I wanted to support M Dhelmise with Clefable as it could provide Wish and Aromatherapy but it seemed unreliable. So, I decided to rely on Grassy Terrain for the extra mini healing and the fact that Ground Pokémon could no longer attempt to wear down M Dhelmise siginificantly. Moreover, with Grassy Glide, which is rarely run on and experimented with with M Dhelmise, I could mess up fast offensive threats (like Greninja, Weavile or M Lopunny), especially if they already had some chip damage. A shame Tapu Bulu stole the spotlight as I would have loved to see if Grassy Glide could be an actual set on M Dhelmise.
Week 5: https://pokepast.es/992979288c6dce65
- no comment. All has been discussed privately.
Week 6: https://pokepast.es/2df720ac9c6d76d0
- no comment aside from the fact I wanted to use some of my favs so badly (especially if week 6 were to be Tropius's last week), such as Weavile. It was a Pokémon I hadn't used for a very, very long while. I was sure Paul would prep for it. Still, I wanted to run Weavile to see if it could still thrive in the match. There was also the chance that, because I hadn't run it on any team in this tour before, I might get away with its inclusion. Moreover, to me, it wouldn't feel like a true match between us, as friends, if I didn't run Weavile.
Dave’s Dachsbuns (6) vs (0) Close Combat Comrades 
