NDPL VI Coverage

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Introduction

The biggest and most prestigious team tournament National Dex has to offer, National Dex Premier League, returned this year for its sixth edition overall and first in a Teraless SV NDOU world. Although there were no changes to the ten-slot format and its tiers, this year would see each team gain an extra manager and the ability to retain players from last year's rosters for the first time. Ironically, over the course of the nine rounds of fierce competition that followed, it would become clear that previous performances were not indicative of future success. Players and managers alike initially perceived as firm favorites would flounder, while several unlikely newcomers thrived. The result? One of the most entertaining and competitive ND team tournaments yet: with all eight teams producing exciting, high-quality games across seven different tiers and great storylines woven throughout, NDPL VI would be a spectacle on all fronts.

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Teams

Looking to reproduce their successful NDPL V runs, all four of the franchises that made playoffs last year returned, with the rest making their debut. As previously mentioned, each team would now be led by three managers instead of the usual two in their pursuit to be the ones lifting the trophy, which resulted in a lot of new pairings alongside some familiar faces.

Ryuji, widely accepted as National Dex's managing GOAT after his recent ND World Cup victory with France, reclaimed his three-time back-to-back champion team, the Galarian Phoenix. His usual co-manager, ChrisPBacon, was absent this time around, so he would bring with him fellow NatDex legend fififlutters and seth, the (self-proclaimed) 2022 National Dex Ubers Kickoff Vice Champion. Last year’s runner-up, the Wealthy Weaviles, returned with their US South-managing duo of sealoo and kDCA; joining them was experienced manager and fellow casualty of Ryuji's rampage hex, who had just led her US Midwest + West NDWC team to its best result of a second-place finish earlier in the year. Nashrock and his Always Midnight Absols joined forces with Isza, the only person with managerial results to rival Ryuji’s, and Monotype legend style.css. Former circuit champion Kate paused her retirement to lend her wisdom as the most experienced NatDex team tournament player to her Vice City Victinis, the final returning franchise, alongside newcomer 1yr and UU specialist Elfuseon.

As for the new franchises, Don Boomenheimer and his consigliere Danbear02 would take the Main Event Mafia onto the big stage after a second-place finish in SSNDPL. This time around, they were joined by Doubles player LogIce, who had been runner-up in the last three team tours and was now looking to take matters into his own hands as manager. Runo, omar, and hidin would form the appropriately named Three GoGoats; all were well-known in the NatDex scene and had experience managing, with hidin even winning National Dex's only blind draft team tournament with his DB Fanclub Dragonites. Captain of the victorious Gangster Darumakas in SSNDPL, Slowpoke Fan would ally with community pillar and future circuit finalist ElectraineHeart for their first venture into managing NDPL alongside respected Ubers player MirrorSaMa on the Pearl River Slowpokes. Last but definitely not least, the Basculegion of Doom arrived, featuring manager extraordinaire Toxinalpaca and his longtime collaborator, UU heavyweight Iride, plus Velcroc to provide further lower-tier assistance.

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Draft

This year's draft began well before the auction, with player retains and self-buys. Every team took advantage of the opportunity except for the Slowpokes, who opted to start from scratch and leverage their higher budget at the auction. Of those purchased early, there were several standout picks:

Title defenders Galarian Phoenix retained the two biggest stars of their most recent winning campaign: Ubers titan emoxu9 and devin, whose record-setting career speaks for itself. At the time of writing, devin is NatDex's all-time leader in team tour game wins, and his combined record of 21-4 in the last 3 PLs cemented him as the easiest retain of Ryuji's life. Both players had achieved 8-1 records last year and, alongside Monotype mainstay crash, were looking for a repeat run for the Phoenix in an attempt to extend a three-year dynasty.

The Weaviles’ self-bought manager and tier leader sealoo entered this tournament following a year-long string of explosive performances starting with a breakout 6-3 NDPL V and following it up with a combined 11-1 across World Cup and Blind Draft, with a seasonal win to boot. Unquestionably the strongest SV NDOU main of the whole draft numerically, his decision to self-buy was never in question despite a hefty 18.5k price tag—especially because he would never pass up an opportunity to pad his sheet wins. The Weaviles also retained two key players from their previous finals run: NatDex veteran and RU talent Micaiah (for only 10k!), plus 3-time SCL champion and Smogon great Luthier after his sheet-topping 8-1 run last year in SS NDOU.

The Mafia took advantage of their access to the retain pool of last year's Glaring Gengars by securing Kayzn and feen in SV OU and Monotype, on top of self-buying 2024 Grand Slam Champion Danbear02. While Kayzn was one of the most hyped players of the draft, with recent outings including a Majors win, a 5-0 World Cup run, and a Smogon Discord Swiss win, this would be feen’s first time slotting into Monotype in an NDPL. However, he wasn’t a complete stranger to the tier, having played it in NDMPL previously, and you can rest assured a player of his caliber would be able to settle in quickly anywhere.

Other teams similarly opted to secure their lower tiers early on, especially the GoGoats, who self-bought RU tier leader Runo while retaining long-time UU main and circuit quarterfinalist R1C3M4N, both strong starters for their respective tiers. The Basculegion's Iride followed suit, starting in her first NDPL as she looked to continue a dominant streak in UU that included an 8-0 farm league record, a 6-1 BD record, and a seasonal win.

Finally, the auction got underway; the Weaviles' management splashed a staggering 30.5k to acquire US South teammate and Smogon rising star hellom, making him the most expensive player of the tournament. Trailing behind at 22k was self-sufficient OU powerhouse Xurkiyee to round out the Mafia’s SV lineup alongside Kayzn and NDPL first-timer Aso. Two-time seasonal winner and SS NDOU circuit champion Mollymiltoast completed the top three at 21k, starting for the Basculegion in his first NDPL appearance since 2021.

Noteworthy steals included Darkness 789 (4.5k), a four-time circuit playoff qualifier and the eventual 2025 circuit champion, and luuanfps (3k), a new player who had caught the eye of some through his performance in the 2025 SS ND circuit. After four consecutive top-five finishes, including being runner-up of the entire circuit, he would be drafted to the Basculegion alongside the previously mentioned Mollymiltoast, who had been the one to encourage luuan to start competing in the first place and was about to be rewarded hugely for his acute eye for talent.

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Regular Season

Early Weeks

NDPL VI kicked off with the Absols and Weaviles quickly establishing themselves at the top of the leaderboard with commanding 7-3 wins over the Victinis and Phoenix, respectively. The Absols would continue to dominate, only suffering a loss to the Weaviles in Week 3; contrastingly, the Weaviles would struggle for wins against anyone else, and dropped to the middle of the pack. The Basculegion would also quietly make their way to the top of the leaderboard in Week 4 by way of two wins and two tied series.

The remaining teams would trade blows with each other, leaving most of them relatively close; by midseason, there was a three-way tie between the GoGoats, Weaviles, and Mafia. In Week 4, the Victinis were able to overcome the odds after an action-packed Coil Zygarde mirror in Ubers snowballed into a 4-0 lead for the Mafia, clawing the series all the way back to 5-5 (although the crit-ridden OU and UU games that denied them the win left a bad taste in their mouths) and leaving them just ahead of the midfield in third. Lagging behind, two teams would fail to win a series: the Slowpokes and—to everyone's surprise—the reigning champions.

During this period, three players would get a perfect 4-0 start: the Phoenix's emoxu9, cleaving through the competition as easily as they did last year, and the Basculegion's Mollymiltoast and luuanfps in SV and SS, respectively. Already one of the greatest SS NatDex players of all time, Molly had already proved that old dogs can learn new tricks earlier in the year with a third-place result in Majors despite sitting out most of the first two years of Generation 9. His brilliance in SS would not be going to waste either; luuanfps would end up being the ideal recipient of his support. Perfectly adapting to the unfamiliar environment, luuan delivered win after win against some of the strongest SS National Dex players ever: Stareal, Luthier, and Darkness 789 would fall one after another to the rookie.

Just behind them at 3-0, NDPL rookies Aso (Mafia) and Leroipolux (Slowpokes) also hit the ground running, proving capable enough to win in both SV OU and a secondary tier–SS OU for Aso and UU for Leroi. Other early lower-tier successes included the Weaviles' UU starter Axzel and the Basculegion's RU player jawabarat at 3-0. The Absols' SS OU rookie 3cho also put up a 3-1 record, beating strong opponents like Luthier and Stareal. The latter two were initially considered the strongest of the SS pool alongside devin but would suffer many early losses, going 1-3 and 0-4, respectively. devin himself would not be doing too hot either, with a 1-3 underperformance echoing that of his team's. In SV, Team France MVP Tuthur and ladder tournament runner-up Ado would similarly fail to live up to expectations despite their strong recent results. At 19.5k and 18k, they had both been large investments for their teams but would start the season 0-3.

Midseason Standings

Rank	Team	Record (Points) | Differential
1	Always Midnight Absols	3 - 1 - 0 (6) | 6
1	Basculegion of Doom	2 - 0 - 2 (6) | 6
3	Vice City Victinis	2 - 1 - 1 (5) | 2
4	Main Event Mafia	1 - 1 - 2 (4) | 0
4	Three GoGoats	2 - 2 - 0 (4) | 0
4	Wealthy Weaviles	2 - 2 - 0 (4) | 0
7	Pearl River Slowpokes	0 - 2 - 2 (2) | -6
8	Galarian Phoenix	0 - 3 - 1 (1) | -8

Later Weeks

The last three weeks of the season would see the top two teams further establish their lead, with the Basculegion impressively ending the season without a single loss. In stark contrast, the Phoenix continued to spiral, getting eliminated early in Week 6 after failing to win a single week. This was perplexing considering that they had the greatest managing talent NatDex could offer, not to mention Ryuji and fififlutters. Their roster was equally impressive, but only three of their players had gone positive. There was a logical explanation, however: the autopsy would reveal that the Phoenix had actually been suffering from an acute case of the "three-peat curse," a terminal condition that had claimed the US Northeast NDWC team just months earlier. The GoGoats soon joined them in elimination, having similarly lost the last three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Weaviles' management feared the worst following a shaky start and performed a sweeping overhaul of their lineup; the new and improved squad featured Luthier in SV, MGdos16 in SS, xinnobu in Ubers, and dunoks in Monotype. This dramatic move would turn out to be the right call in the end, as they would find out that they had been harboring a championship-worthy lineup all along, just somehow in all the wrong tiers; they easily swept the Victinis and GoGoats in the last two weeks to claim their ticket to the playoffs.

On the flip side, having lost Weeks 5 and 6, the Victinis were still in contention mathematically but not entirely practically—they needed both to win big and hope the correct teams won the other series. Before being silenced by two Shell Smash Polteageists, manager 1yr would spend much of his time in the National Dex Discord telling anyone who would listen (i.e., nobody) just how robbed the former No. 3 seed Victinis were. This was very motivating for the team he was supposed to have been managing in the meantime, who would go on to lose to the worst team in the tournament and get promptly eliminated.

The final playoff spot would go to either the Mafia or the Slowpokes, who were playing each other. The Slowpokes had struggled all season, and their two priciest players going negative certainly wasn't helping. That said, rookies LB and Leroipolux had helped put them back in the fight alongside veteran Shucklegigas, with five wins each in their respective tiers; this, along with the efforts of the rest of the team, was enough to give them a shot at playoffs going into the final week. The odds were not in their favor, however—they had to win the series, while the Mafia only had to achieve a tie. Despite a promising 3-1 start, the Slowpokes faltered at the finish line, and it would be the Mafia moving on to the playoffs.

As the regular season wrapped up, the dust settled to reveal a Basculegion triple threat standing at the top of the sheet: jawabarat remained undefeated at 6-0, while Iride and luuan continued their strong runs at 6-1. Completing the elite six-win group were the Phoenix's emoxu9 and Maryland's finest, sealoo and hellom, for the Weaviles. Meanwhile, Kayzn would be disappointed in a 2-5 record haunted by several traumatizing Kyurem encounters. Fortunately, the rest of the Mafia's SV had more than picked up the slack; Xurkiyee put up a strong 5-2 record in his own slot, and Aso and Vlarcheops contributed another five wins in the others.

Final Standings

Rank	Team	Record (Points) | Differential
1	Basculegion of Doom	4 - 0 - 3 (11) | 14
1	Always Midnight Absols	5 - 1 - 1 (11) | 10
4	Wealthy Weaviles	4 - 2 - 1 (9) | 6
4	Main Event Mafia	2 - 2 - 3 (7) | 4
7	Pearl River Slowpokes	1 - 2 - 4 (6) | -2
3	Vice City Victinis	2 - 4 - 1 (5) | -10
4	Three GoGoats	2 - 5 - 0 (4) | -10
8	Galarian Phoenix	1 - 5 - 1 (3) | -12

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Playoffs

Semifinals

Always Midnight Absols (3) vs (7) Wealthy Weaviles

• SV Ubers: DripLegend vs xinnobu
• SV OU: Separation vs Luthier
• SV OU: Nashrock vs hellom
• SV OU: Kyo vs sealoo
• SV UU: Micciu vs Axzel
• SV RU: LBN vs Micaiah
• SV DOU: Akaru Kokuyo vs PigWarrior19
• SV Monotype: Sunnyboi0 vs dunoks
• SS OU: One Last Kiss vs ZDen
• SS OU: 3cho vs MGdos16

Number two seed, the Always Midnight Absols, entered the playoffs as strong contenders; comfortably residing in the top two positions all season, they had been able to beat or tie every team... but one. As fate would have it, this would be the very team they faced in the semifinal, although with a completely different lineup. The Wealthy Weaviles were prepared to prove that they weren't just here to be a minor setback in the Absols' otherwise perfect season—they were here to send them home. The runback began promisingly for the Absols as newly crowned OLT champion Separation drew first blood with a convincing Mega Diancie beatdown on Luthier in SV. Minutes later, Sunnyboi0 would take them up 2-0 in Monotype. Then, it all started to go sideways; despite their namesake's ability to foresee imminent disaster, nobody on the Absols would be able to predict just how catastrophically the rest of the week would go.

The Weaviles set their comeback into motion in UU; Micciu would suffer a second loss in his rematch against Axzel when his defensive core crumbled against a well-piloted Hisuian Arcanine. With momentum now on their side, the Weaviles showed no mercy with consecutive wins in SV, Ubers, and both SS slots. Each win was another nail in the Absols' coffin; hellom overpowered Nashrock with an oppressive Melmetal balance, then xinnobu took Ubers with a Choice Scarf + Foul Play Tera Dark Yveltal perfectly primed to take advantage of DripLegend's physically oriented Mega Salamence hyper offense. MGdos16 and ZDen made quick work of their opponents in SS with aggressive Kartana and Volcarona sweeps, and suddenly the Absols were on the brink of defeat. Despite a valiant effort from LBN in RU, it would be sealoo who dealt the killing blow as he steamrolled his TL predecessor using an unconventional Hidden Power Rock Volcarona to blow past Mega Charizard Y on his way to a second finals appearance in a row.

Basculegion of Doom (5) vs (5) Main Event Mafia

• SV Ubers: bumboclaat vs Swas
• SV OU: Lameflame vs Xurkiyee
• SV OU: Mollymiltoast vs Kayzn
• SV OU: Tempo di anguria vs Vlarcheops
• SV UU: Iride vs Danbear02
• SV RU: jawabarat vs mrfraud
• SV DOU: Chris32156 vs gephicka
• SV Monotype: Dorron vs feen
• SS OU: luuanfps vs Clawed Winter
• SS OU: Tenebricite vs Aso

On the other side of the bracket, top seed the Basculegion of Doom would find themselves pitted against the Main Event Mafia. The Mafia's Mega Houndoom mascot is fitting considering their position as the underdogs, having barely clutched the playoff spot just days earlier. Now staring down the first NDPL team in four years to finish a regular season without losing a single week, everyone watching was ready to pay their last respects to the hellhounds. The situation worsened for them as Lameflame—moving fast for his age—struck first for the Basculegion by putting the otherwise reliable Xurkiyee out of commission in SV. Neither player was a stranger to the high-pressure playoff environment, but Lameflame's five consecutive finals appearances (and wins) would provide him with the expertise necessary to deliver when the stakes were high. However, there were still nine games remaining for the Mafia to fight back, and fight they did.

First, gephicka's Deoxys-A wiped out Chris32156's team with nuclear Expanding Forces in Doubles to bring the score to 1-1. The teams would continue to trade blows, and it would become apparent to everyone that the Basculegion were not putting up the numbers they had been in the first seven weeks. The rallied Mafia players—even those with otherwise underwhelming seasons—found themselves emerging victorious in a series of unlikely upsets, with a little help from Lady Luck. 6-0 jawabarat would be removed unceremoniously from his throne at the top of the sheet by 2-4 mrfraud in RU. 6-1 Iride's bulky offense faltered against 2-5 Danbear02's hyper offense in UU. Having lost to him in Week 3, 3-3 Clawed Winter would make the necessary adaptations to win the runback against 6-1 luuanfps in a devastating Dragon Dance Kyurem endgame. It wasn't all gloom and doom for those with good records; an exhilarating Coil Zygarde mirror would see Swas victorious for the Mafia in Ubers on his way to a breakout 5-2 showing.

It was far from over for the Basculegion, however; Mollymiltoast and Tempo di anguria would help level the score in SV alongside Dorron, who had taken over their underperforming Monotype slot as of week four and was 4-0 so far. Needing one more win to have a chance at saving their season, the Basculegion turned to their other SS slot, Tenebricite. He opted to load a bulky Mega Latias team, which would turn out to be a great choice to outlast Aso's more aggressive bulky offense, especially when it featured the world's blindest Mega Medicham. After anticlimactically missing both High Jump Kick attempts, Aso would have no choice but to forfeit in the face of an impending Gliscor sweep, receiving his first loss of the tournament and taking the series to a tiebreaker.

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Basculegion of Doom (1) vs (2) Main Event Mafia

• SV OU: Mollymiltoast vs Aso
• SV OU: Tempo di anguria vs Xurkiyee
• SV DOU: Chris32156 vs Kunal

Having already gone through all five stages of grief over the comically overdue pre-season power rankings, the community had largely landed on "acceptance" by the time they actually dropped, which ended up being just in time for the semifinals tiebreaker. Gauging how poorly a power ranking has aged is always a fun exercise, but this year's had gotten at least one thing right: Xurkiyee is a force to be reckoned with. Back with a vengeance when the Mafia needed him most (having started the tiebreak a game down), Xurk outmaneuvered Tempo di anguria in an offense mirror, using Dragonite and Blaziken to blitz through his opponent’s team.

Up against dual-generation juggernaut Mollymiltoast in the final game, it looked like the Mafia would need a miracle. Lucky for them, their resident miracle worker did not disappoint; Aso started the game off strong by knocking out Molly's Garchomp by keeping his Tapu Lele in on an aggressive Stealth Rock play, then expertly dodging a Heat Wave and setting an unpunished Spike with his fortunate Ferrothorn, putting Molly even further behind in the entry hazard game. In the resulting Regenerator pivot war that pitted Slowbro against Slowking and a pair of Tornadus-T against each other, Aso deployed his Choice Specs Tapu Lele to great success, eventually bringing Molly's team—in both the game and the tournament—to its knees. While the Main Event Mafia triumphantly proceeded to the finals, a disappointed but respectful Basculegion of Doom bowed out elegantly without any drama at all.

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Finals

Wealthy Weaviles (7) vs (2) Main Event Mafia

• SV Ubers: xinnobu vs Swas
• SV OU: sealoo vs Xurkiyee
• SV OU: Luthier vs Kayzn
• SV OU: hellom vs Aso
• SV UU: Axzel vs Danbear02
• SV RU: Micaiah vs mrfraud
• SV DOU: Terekusai vs Kunal
• SV Monotype: dunoks vs feen
• SS OU: ZDen vs Clawed Winter
• SS OU: MGdos16 vs HoodedZack

The culmination of ten weeks of intense preparation and hard-fought battles got underway with the Weaviles getting a huge jump on the Mafia in a lower-tier triple. Axzel's Mega Latias smothered Danbear02 in UU, while feen found his mono-Water team unable to break through dunoks's Dragon-types in time to stop a late-game Choice Scarf Roaring Moon; then, Terekusai terrorized Kunal in the sun mirror with an off-meta Ogerpon-C pick in Doubles. The Mafia clapped back in RU, where mrfraud's Crawdaunt beat up Micaiah's team enough to clear a path for a Mega Slowbro cleanup, but it was looking like too little, too late. The Weaviles had spent four years in pursuit of this trophy and were not going to let it slip through their grasp again so easily.

They piled on the pressure further in Ubers, where xinnobu was the victor of a thrilling Coil Zygarde mirror that put the score at 4-1. Now looking to close out the tournament exclusively in National Dex's flagship tier, the Weaviles sent Luthier up to bat. A well-timed Subzero Slammer left Kayzn's team without its Tornadus-T safety net and wide open to Zamazenta's overwhelming physical assault, an opportunity Luthier was able to cash in on to put the Weaviles on tournament point. This would once again put Aso in the hot seat, this time against fellow X-1 record holder hellom. Despite Hisuian Samurott putting his Zapdos on a timer with an unorthodox Turn 1 Toxic, Aso would leverage the full power of tier titan Gholdengo to claim four KOs and knock hellom off the top of the sheet, keeping the Mafia alive a little longer.

The NDPL VI scriptwriters did not disappoint when choosing the tournament's deciding matchup. This final SV game had sealoo seeking redemption against Xurkiyee in more ways than one; not only was this a rematch from Week 2, where sealoo had suffered the only loss of his last fifteen team tour games in another series decider that saw Xurkiyee deal the final blow to the Weaviles, but it was also a rematch from NDPL V's grand finals—one that had ended in victory for sealoo but tragedy for the Weaviles. This rivalry between the SV PR's number one and two would now come to a head when the stakes were highest.

The Weaviles opt for a no-nonsense Fightinium Z Tapu Lele bulky offense, while Xurkiyee's infamous some-nonsense teambuilding produces a team that features the rarely seen (read: unviable) Mega Gallade in hopes of exploiting the tier leader's iconic balance-centric playstyle. sealoo starts the game off strong with some early double switches to put himself in position to fire off a progress-forcing Pyro Ball. Xurkiyee retaliates by setting up a Swords Dance on turn 6 with Mega Gallade as Ogerpon-W switches in. sealoo then wins a game-defining speed tie and is able to successfully trade almost all of Gallade's health for his Ogerpon-W. He further presses his advantage by dispatching his opponent's Ting-Lu with an All-Out Pummeling, and the game enters its closing stages. In the following frantic flurry of Pyro Balls and Moonblasts that sees both players trading Poké aggressively, the rest of Xurkiyee's team members—and the Mafia's hopes and dreams along with them—were picked off one by one. sealoo would simultaneously claim the NDPL VI trophy for the Weaviles and stand uncontested at the top of the sheet with the only 8-1 record of the tournament. We all knew which of those the sheet farmer liked the sound of more.

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NDOU Metagame Developments

Going into NDPL VI, National Dex OU had entered a previously unseen era of peace following a chaotic start to Generation 9 and a dramatic tier reset when Terastallization was banned in late 2024. There would be no bans or suspect tests during this NDPL, but there would still be plenty of innovations and new trends.

Kyurem is already one of the most difficult Pokémon to account for when building a team, given its many different sets that often require completely different responses. While its Substitute + Roost set (with either Leftovers, Heavy-Duty Boots, or Groundium Z) continued to be its most common, it would add a new trick to its arsenal during this tournament: Expert Belt. Featuring Hidden Power Fire, Earth Power, and a Modest nature underpinning its already monstrous base 130 Special Attack stat, this set aimed to make the most of Kyurem's coverage by surprising Steel-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor that would otherwise eat a hit comfortably. Even the most specially defensive Heatran dropped to Earth Power, and Ferrothorn had high odds to be knocked out by a Freeze-Dry on the switch followed up with Hidden Power Fire. The power boost also allowed it to threaten 2HKOs on Corviknight and Galarian Slowking with minimal chip. An example of some of these calculations coming into play would be in this game, where this Kyurem set is able to break down both Heatran and Corviknight while picking up a third KO on Garchomp in the process.

Iron Treads would enjoy a healthy uptick in usage with an extremely high win rate as people began to favor it over popular Rapid Spin users Terapagos and Great Tusk on more teams. Most commonly seen with an Air Balloon, Iron Treads would be able to take advantage of the many resistances and immunities afforded to it and its access to Ice Spinner to set or remove entry hazards in the face of common Ground-types or Flying-types such as Landorus-T, Gliscor, Garchomp, Great Tusk, Zapdos, and Tornadus-T. Alternatively, an Icium Z set would allow it to achieve similar goals while eliminating those same Ground- or Flying-types completely if they stayed in expecting to tank an Ice Spinner, or a Leftovers set could be used to patch up its otherwise lacking longevity. It displays these traits well in this game, where it is able to completely dominate both Ferrothorn and Landorus-T to win the hazard war thanks to Rapid Spin denying Leech Seed. It would even be able to make use of its strong Ground + Ice coverage coupled with a serviceable Attack stat to wear them down, eventually forcing a KO on Kyo's Mega Latios.

Ceruledge's tournament usage would more than double during NDPL VI, largely due to the spot it had on a particularly popular sun team. Making an explosive NDPL debut for the Slowpokes in week 2, this team created by shuzoku would see repeated use by multiple NDPL teams (including here and here) while deploying a previously unseen Ceruledge set to great effect: Ghostium Z + Endure. The Z-Move offered Ceruledge a nuclear Never-Ending Nightmare to blow through physical walls like Alomomola, Gliscor, and Great Tusk, while Endure would serve as a stand-in for the Focus Sash that Ceruledge would normally be holding otherwise, allowing it to activate Weak Armor safely and sweep unprepared teams. Responsible for 60% of Ceruledge's appearances, this team would quickly become one of the most recognizable and iconic of the tournament; that said, similar Ceruledge sets were also seen on hyper offense or balance, with varying results.

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Highlight Matches

SV NDOU - sealoo vs Xurkiyee

You may be growing tired of hearing about these two players; that said, this game is worth looking at in greater detail for the Pokémon alone. At team preview, some Pokémon immediately stand out—sealoo's team is mainly composed of offense mainstays, but with the noteworthy inclusion of Slowking, who was seeing some usage over its Galarian counterpart as a sidegrade with stronger insurance against Psychic-types like Mega Latios and Tapu Lele. Meanwhile, Xurkiyee's heat of the week appears to be Tinkaton, who has a niche due to its typing and utility, as well as access to Mold Breaker + Stealth Rock. However, the real highlight of his team is revealed a few turns into the game; the previously discussed Expert Belt Kyurem makes its tournament debut here for the Main Event Mafia by annihilating sealoo's Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire.

This is devastating for sealoo, as he is now without his entry hazard setter and Fairy resist. While Kyurem goes down a few turns later thanks to a Hurricane confusion, the damage is irrecoverable. Slowking has to fill in as the Tapu Lele response, and although it is capable of the task, it cannot cover Ferrothorn's other role at all; the now-unchecked Ogerpon-W is given free entry every time a Slack Off is forced. Not only that, but on turn 21 Xurkiyee lets sealoo know he's getting predictable with an aggressive double switch directly into Ogerpon-W, further pressing his advantage. On these key turns where Slowking is forced out, Xurkiyee is able to force progress with Ivy Cudgel and dominate the hazard war with Spikes. His great use of an unexpected set and smart play to capitalize on it would eventually lead to him winning this game, ending his opponent's nine-game win streak and securing the week for the Main Event Mafia.

SS NDOU - Clawed Winter vs luuanfps

At the time this semifinal game is played, luuanfps has quickly established themselves as an up-and-coming force in the SS ND scene, jumping out to an initial 5-0 start, including a prior showdown against Clawed Winter himself. Alternatively, Clawed Winter comes into this year's NDPL VI as an established veteran of the tier, posting several impressive victories en route to their eventual 4-4 overall record. The winner of this game would prove crucial to either team's chances of moving on to the final round; the winner of this game would have earned their respective team a 5-4 overall advantage in the week, guaranteeing either a tiebreaker or the chance to advance to the finals outright in the last unplayed SS game. At team preview, luuan elects to bring an innovative double-guardian-oriented offense, featuring the offensive pair of Choice Scarf Magnezone with the lesser-used Swords Dance + Scale Shot Mega Garchomp, albeit without entry hazard removal. Clawed Winter, alternatively, opts to bring what otherwise appears to be a standard Mega Charizard Y offensive structure, but with the added twist of an unexpected Dragon Dance Kyurem.

At the outset of the battle, Clawed Winter establishes a very early lead by removing luuan's Scarf Tapu Lele on turn one—at the calculated cost of losing critical chip damage on Charizard Y, which luuan would otherwise struggle to punish long term. Early sequencing allows luuan to quickly regain momentum by trapping and removing Clawed's only form of hazard removal in Grassium Z Kartana. After positioning his own Swords Dance Kartana in front of Clawed's weakened Landorus-T, luuan successfully forces Charizard Y to be sacrificed early to the incoming Z-Move, limiting its progress to a single yet pivotal turn. Following the loss of Charizard Y, Clawed Winter's game plan and eventual win condition are relatively straightforward: sufficiently chip the opposing Tapu Fini and Choice Scarf Magnezone to facilitate an eventual sweep with Dragon Dance Kyurem. Alternatively, for luuan, his game plan revolves around carefully pivoting around Clawed's Scarf Victini while also accounting for the Kyurem set, which has yet to be revealed, and chipping the opposing Tapu Fini to allow himself to get to +1 Speed and clean the remainder of Clawed's team.

After making full use of Victini's sun-boosted V-creates until the sun subsides, Clawed achieves the first round of crucial chip needed on Tapu Fini on turn 13. Clawed's subsequent aggressive positioning of Victini allows him to generate consistent offensive pressure and retain momentum, which forces an eventual Landorus-T sacrifice and a heavily chipped Tapu Fini while remaining mindful to carefully deny luuan any opportunity to click Scale Shot into a choice-locked V-create. By turn 27, the battle is effectively concluded. Clawed’s decision to spam Moonblast in the Tapu Fini mirror presents a checkmate scenario, achieving the final required chip on Magnezone, and luuan's remaining Pokémon cannot OHKO Kyurem to deny it from setting up and ultimately winning the game.

UU - MGdos16 vs Iride

This week-four match pits the Basculegion of Doom's NDUU phenomenon and manager Iride against MGdos16, who is making his debut in the tournament, relieving the 3-0 Axzel of his usual duties in the UU slot. MGdos16 is an SS OU player by trade, evidenced by the team selection at preview; his team features Slowbro, Tyranitar, and Zeraora in hopes that they would level the playing field by providing him with some familiar Pokémon. Iride's team similarly has Zeraora and Slowbro but instead opts for Mega Latias and Clefable to bolster its defenses. To address the dog in the room, both sides also feature the hottest threat on the NDUU block: Okidogi.

The game begins with Amoonguss and Clefable trading Spore and Stealth Rock at lead before both sides pivot between their defensive cores, until Iride's Okidogi enters the field and Bulks Up. Foul Play from Amoonguss bounces off, and MGdos16 must pivot into his own Okidogi, hoping for a trade. However, an unexpected High Horsepower denies MGdos16 this opportunity by eviscerating his Okidogi before it has a chance to counterattack. This greatly weakens his offensive presence, but the game is far from over; Slowbro, Celesteela, and Amoonguss form a 3 GoGoats-like defensive core, and Tyranitar helps out by significantly weakening Mega Latias with Pursuit.

On turn 28, knowing that her Adamant-natured Zeraora is likely slower than MGdos' own, Iride decides to exchange Close Combats; this sees her come out of the turn on top, as her Zeraora will not suffer the consequences of dropping its defenses, while the same cannot be said for her opponent's. Late-game, MGdos' Celesteela breaks through Slowbro and Excadrill before falling to two Mystical Fires from Mega Latias as a Leech Seed tragically goes left. Finally, in a dramatic climax that sees both players down to their last Pokémon, Okidogi manages to wake up just before Slowbro's Psychic Noise puts it to sleep for good and KOs it with an Acid Downpour to secure the win for Iride and the Basculegion of Doom by the slimmest of margins.

RU - Micaiah vs mrfraud

Sunday is crunch time for the Main Event Mafia, as further losses would spell their doom in the NDPL Finals given how powerful the Weaviles were. Only RU and Ubers remained for lower-tier gameplay, with mrfraud stepping up first in RU against the Weaviles' Micaiah. Micaiah terrorized NatDex RU for a long time, building up a reputation for his very unorthodox structures while still outputting consistent results. mrfraud is the underdog in this pairing, being a replacement for Danbear02 in Week Four and having less NatDex RU experience to go with it. Micaiah is using a non-Slowbronite Galarian Slowbro in order to run Mega Manectric, with Rhyperior serving as the team's Stealth Rock user to let Tinkaton carry more dangerous sets. As Primarina and Basculegion-F lack consistent checks, this also necessitates Assault Vest Tangrowth. On mrfraud's side, we see Crawdaunt, Metagross, and Flamigo making up his offensive core. These breakers were only just starting to find their footing in the tier and were sparsely used during the opening weeks of NDPL. To support this, he has a standard but beefy core of Gligar, Blissey, and Mega Galarian Slowbro.

The game starts normally, with both making safe plays and harm-reductive trades until turn 19. Micaiah is in a tricky position, as he cannot break this Slowbro unless Rhyperior enters the field, which is risky due to Scald. Micaiah hard-switches his Choice Scarf Latias into Slowbro in the hopes of scaring it out with Draco Meteor. Expecting Blissey to enter the field, Latias uses Defog. Unfortunately, mrfraud's Crawdaunt comes in instead, locking Latias into a terrible move and allowing Crawdaunt to set up a Swords Dance. As Tangrowth comes in on the Swords Dance, mrfraud is put into a risky position. +2 Adamant Knock Off only has a 31.3% chance to KO Assault Vest Tangrowth from full. If he loses Crawdaunt, the game becomes much tougher for him, with only Flamigo as the breaker. mrfraud takes the chance anyway, and Tangrowth is KOed, but now he has to deal with Mega Manectric. Volt Switch is coming, and he cannot afford to let Rhyperior enter the field. He is left with little choice but to hard-switch into Gligar to Volt block. Mega Manectric goes for Hidden Power Ice, but Gligar takes the hit and KOs with Earthquake. This wouldn't have been possible if not for Gligar's Special Defense EVs, as a physically defensive Gligar would've been KOed. From there on, Micaiah's team loses cohesion, and mrfraud is safely able to Mega Evolve their Galarian Slowbro and set up Calm Minds to win.

Ubers - Swas vs DripLegend

The Mafia's Ubers player Swas is having a great season coming into this game in Week Six, with an undefeated 3-0 record. His ND career prior to this breakout performance took place almost entirely in SS AG, but he seemed to have made the transition to Generation 9's Ubers very smoothly—great news for the Mafia, who Swas had set back only 3k at the auction. DripLegend was in a similar boat, having played SV OU, SS OU, and UU previously before venturing into Ubers.

Both players bring Ubers' most iconic defensive core, consisting of Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, Arceus, and Zygarde. The remainder of Swas' team completes a well-known sample balance team, sourcing most of its offense from Deoxys-A; with a wide movepool, sky-high offensive stats, and a Life Orb, it supplies the team with immediate power as well as much-needed speed. Its final member, Fezandipiti, bolsters the team's defenses and pivoting capabilities, providing the otherwise frail Deoxys-A with many more opportunities to enter the field. On the other hand, DripLegend rounds out his team with Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM and Choice Band Rayquaza. Necrozma-DM in particular is a problem for Swas at team preview, as Zygarde—who would normally take responsibility for checking physical monsters such as these—is Tera Fairy and not the required Tera Water, leaving it vulnerable to a +1 Searing Sunraze Smash.

DripLegend plays the early game very proactively, setting Stealth Rock, paralyzing Ho-Oh, and badly poisoning Zygarde to limit Deoxys-A and destabilize Swas' defensive responses. The constant pressure also prevents Swas from setting his own Stealth Rock, a big deal for a team using Rayquaza as its main wallbreaker. After Zygarde is forced to use Rest, Drip swiftly capitalizes on the opportunity; the usually impenetrable physical tank is denied its Complete forme transformation and blown away by Tera Flying Dragon Ascent. Swas is now without a physical wall and completely lacking a Flying resist, meaning future Dragon Ascents are even more deadly, but he can still even the playing field with Deoxys-A. He nails the incoming Necrozma-DM with Shadow Ball, putting a huge threat out of commission, but DripLegend limits the damage by pivoting his defensive core around Deoxys-A's coverage—by the time Groudon is sacrificed to Psycho Boost, entry hazards and Life Orb recoil have burned through nearly half of its health.

Dragon Dance Zygarde puts Drip back in the driver's seat; Swas, missing his otherwise perfect check in Tera Fairy Zygarde, has to respond with Tera Grass Fezandipiti, afraid that his paralyzed Ho-Oh is no longer up to the task. Although this allows him to wall Zygarde and bring it down with Icy Wind, it leaves him defensively compromised, as he is now much more vulnerable to Arceus-Fairy and Rayquaza's U-turn. A trade of Ho-Oh on turn 26 removes yet another of his Arceus-Fairy checks, leaving him with only a heavily chipped Primal Groudon. Not only is it worn down by Stealth Rock, but more critically it cannot deter Rayquaza's entry; this lets DripLegend claim two more KOs despite being down a Pokémon in the endgame, and Deoxys-A does not have enough health to reach the finish line even before considering Rayquaza's Extreme Speed looming in the back. This win from DripLegend ends his opponent's three-game win streak and was crucial in helping the Absols secure a narrow 6-4 victory over the Mafia, guaranteeing their playoff spot. On the other hand, this game was a small setback in an otherwise incredible season for Swas, as he would only lose one other game in this tournament.

Monotype - Lacks vs crash

This game is one of many to embody NDPL VI's running theme of old vs new; crash is a very familiar face in National Dex Monotype, with a career dating back to NDPL II, while Lacks is on the exact opposite end of the scale, making his NDPL debut. The matchup is between Water rain and Electric offense, which gives Lacks an edge on preview; Mega Swampert is crash's sole defense against the abundant Electric-type moves Lacks has at his disposal, but it is stonewalled by physically defensive Rocky Helmet Rotom-Wash.

crash knew this full well and would immediately get to work trying to remove the roadblock on turn one. Having led Urshifu against Tapu Koko, he makes a great read as Rotom-Wash switches in by letting All-Out Pummeling rip, connecting for massive damage. With Lacks' Earthquake response temporarily out of the picture, crash now had some much-needed breathing room, which he would use to claim a KO on Iron Hands when his Swampert hit the field. That said, Lacks would make a smart double on turn 8 to get his weakened Rotom-Wash in, then use the opposing Alomomola's massive HP stat to resuscitate Rotom-Wash with a Pain Split and bring it back into the game. The rest of the game would see each side trading Pokémon aggressively in order to get their heavy hitters in. Knowing how devastating it would be to click an Electric move into Mega Swampert, crash would correctly identify almost all of Lacks' attempts at trying to catch it switching in, keeping Alomomola in on Will-O-Wisp and Pelipper on Flash Cannon. This allowed him to keep up momentum throughout the game and give his Greninja enough opportunities to keep up in KOs, with help from a critical hit Sludge Wave. While his own team's numbers were shrinking rapidly, he was able to keep the advantage in the sacrifice war and win the game with a final Dark Pulse.

Doubles - kunal2 vs Terekusai

Coming into the NDPL Finals, Terekusai and Kunal have both had identical 4-3 runs. Having already played the head-to-head earlier in the season, Terekusai is looking to diversify his scout after not having loaded sun—the most dominant playstyle in the tier—and Kunal was simply looking to build a consistent team he could outplay with. Kunal's load is an adapted version of ratpacker's NDWC Finals team, choosing to utilize Diancie to target some of the more powerful Mega Evolutions like Mega Charizard Y and Salamence, while Terekusai brings an extremely unique variant of sun utilizing the unique pick of Ogerpon-C alongside an Assault Vest Raging Bolt to give him an advantage in the mirror matchup.

After a very unfortunate turn 1 Power Whip miss, Kunal's Diancie is able to get up Trick Room and start fishing for Defense boosts to bolster its bulk. Terekusai is able to stay in the game, however, and uses the combination of Landorus-T, Assault Vest Raging Bolt, and Tapu Fini to stall Trick Room and, on turn 7, remove the Diancie. The match culminates on turn 9, with Terekusai doubling the Terastalized Rillaboom—calling out Kunal's Protect and allowing him to clean with his own Raging Bolt and Charizard. This game put the Weaviles up 3-0, a huge lead that proved too difficult for the Mafia to overcome in the end.

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Final Thoughts

After four years of campaigning, the Weaviles emerged victorious as the first non-Phoenix franchise to win NDPL since 2021, one more shakeup to cap off a tournament rife with them. In the meantime, National Dex's team tournament scene continues to grow and evolve in 2026; both NDPL VI and the brand-new National Dex Champions League, where lower tiers and the newly introduced Draft are given a chance to shine, broke the record for the most signups of any National Dex forum tour. To see how NDPL VI played out in greater detail, check out the replay thread, and look forward to the (at the time of writing) upcoming NDWC for more NatDex tournament action.

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