Guess it's time I do my own. Since I played all but ORAS I've separated this by week. 6-2 isn't a terrible record by all means, and one was basically unwinnable on lead 2x, although one of those two games was avoidable if I just built better. Overall a very fun experience and a great dive back into a lot of the formats I enjoy playing alongside further exploring the new G9MnM meta. Only complaints are really G9 Deo-S and G8 Solgaleo being broken, but that's it.
Shoutouts to
Ivar57 and
Betticus IV for drafting me and
TrainerGoldAlt,
Treeko928, Ivar, Betticus,
hxmo,
ZombieEyeZ,
Quinn, and
mmtacos for the ideas and support.
Week 1 (Bo3 / Sagazinha / WW-)
As it was a starter week and my opponent was inexperienced, I decided to reload teams from past tours. This ended up being a great choice, since it meant I didn't have to reveal any tech early that I was saving or wanted to use.
Hisuian Avalugg Stall /
Game
This one isn't that bad, and Hisuian Avalugg is a very good wall in the current meta. The only real issue with this team is that Raging Bolt is near-unanswerable long-term since Clodsire is both Unaware and the only Ground-type present, but most of the time this isn't an issue since Ditto can just overwhelm long-term and the team can kind of barf hazards.
Raging Bolt was actually brought to the game, but it thankfully wasn't really used much. Unfortunately, I never got to showcase Hisuian Avalugg since Saga's Tusk was randomly Close Combat over a Flying move. However, the Raging Bolt was unviable set self-setup Raichunite Y, so Giratina and Blissey just kind of stonewalled despite FBlast Deo-S being present as well. The game was effectively won on turn 40 after Tusk went down. A terrifying matchup on paper was thankfully very easy thanks to one teambuilding decision by Saga.
Noivern + Washtom Fat /
Game
Probably my favorite team I made during Gen 8, some oldheads will recognise this team from 2022 when I brought it versus Abriel + hayedenn in OMWC. Quite funnily enough, this team was meant to target the overuse of the core of Zyg-C + Magearna that hayedenn liked to spam, and it came up in this matchup. Noivern is a disgustingly good stallbreaker in Gen 8 and no-one else had realised this before and even during the tour, while Washtom is a really nice Manectite user thanks to its ability to simultaneously Defog, pivot, and answer Altarianite Entei in one slot while having a form of sustain.
What should have been a very easy matchup became quite scary thanks to my incredibly stupid move of Mega Evolving my Levitate Defog user versus the very obvious Toxic Spikes Gyaradosite Toxapex on turn 4. Thankfully, I was able to get multiple layers of Spikes up very early on, accepting the trade of Poison for a ton of long-term pressure. I also got a very nice call on turn 10 to completely neuter Zygarde, although I did still know that Skarmory was of less importance after turn 10. I was also quite fortunate that Saga chose to Rest early with Zygarde, meaning that Noivern would have an extremely good chance of 2HKOing it (something like 80% chance). On turns 17 and 18 I also got the correct calls with Pain Split and Volt Switch to remove Magearna early, which then kind of just automatically cleared the way for Cameruptite Solgaleo to sweep
please ban that guy. Regieleki had to trade its life to remove hazards, and then I got quite greedy and Calm Minded twice, but I think I also knew that a Dragon Tail would help me long-term. I traded Washtom right after Toxic poisoning Zygarde again, followed by Spinning and Booming on Solgaleo with Regieleki to initiate a CM war that I had an insane lead on. +1 FCannon always OHKOs Pex there, while Thunderbolt put Ho-Oh into Noivern range. At this point I was 99% sure Noivern won, so just sent it straight in instead of chancing Solgaleo losing the potential speedtie and somehow not winning. As I expected, Noivern got the remaining KOs.
Zera Skymin Balance
This team was unfortunately unused, but it was probably my best build in SM of the tour. Lopunnite Zeraora is a demonic breaker, with basically nothing answering it long-term due to all the viable Ground-types bar Sablenite Hippowdon being susceptible to Toxic. I chose to use Throat Chop over Substitute on this build to respect a potential Lunala bring, but it never was relevant. The other surprise pick was Skymin, who, with Diancite, completely outspeeds the entire meta while threatening KOs on a ton of the meta and also overwhelming Blissey. CM Waterceus and standard defensive PDon round out the offensive core. Overall a very solid build that I was very happy with, although I was stupid to not bring it ever.
Week 2 (LCMnM / H4ru -> giove97 / WW-)
One common theme in this will be that I only play Bo3 sets, despite not always playing Bo3 slot. This week was no exception, with me and H4ru initially playing versus each other but then his overwhelming obsession leading him to sub out to preserve his mental health for giove, a worse but still very respectable player in her own right. I decided, as a result, to experiment, since I knew that Haru would instinctively try to counter the balance builds I commonly make.
Munchlax Gligar BO /
Game
Before the tour I made a general balance core guide for LCMnM, and it's not too outdated nowadays but there's still stuff to tweak about it. That being said, one core I highlighted there was Sablenite Protect Munchlax, Slowbronite Mareanie, and Eviolite Larvesta. This core is pretty weak to Psychic Fangs Arrokuda, but that's currently on the downtrend due to Slowpoke being the second best wall in the meta. I also added Brick Break Snowshrew for extra pressure, Substitute Diancite Chinchou to match better into Metagrossite Stunky, and offensive U-turn Gligar for extra assurance into Stunky, Finizen, and others. The only major change I'd make to this build is dropping Scald, Substitute and Volt Switch for Hydro Pump, Flip Turn and Ice Beam on Chinchou, since those moves don't do a huge amount. Overall a 6.5/10 build in my books.
I ended up getting a pretty good matchup despite loading into Munchlax, with their Mareanie being fraudulent Latiasite that actually doesn't handle Snowshrew at all, unfortunately for giove. Munchlax was a bit of a scare, but I thankfully burned that guy early so didn't have to fear it much, and then got up Rocks before Vullaby Mega Evolved, although it was unfortunately Defog. Metagrossite Meowth did pick up a KO versus Larvesta, but I quite honestly expected it to be Pinsirite and so tried to burn it before it did major damage to Mareanie. Munchlax then came in and just broke through giove's core due to her expecting Body Slam and not Double-Edge, enabling Snowshrew to effectively clean house once Chinchou used Rest.
Makuhita + Meganiumite Toed Balance /
Game
This was my favorite team of the week, with both Toedscool and Makuhita being mostly written-off unviable oldheads from before the DLCs were added. Toedscool gains a lot from Meganiumite, transforming the otherwise mediocre Altarianite set into a very potent Spiking spinner capable of cleaning house thanks to it gaining enough Special Attack to gain 2 stats from a Modest nature. Makuhita is the other unused demon, with FakeFeint making it a really good Snowshrew alternative that can break through most defensive cores in combination with Larvesta and Toedscool. Spikes Toedscool and FakeFeint Makuhita have great hidden synergy, with Makuhita forcing switches that, as a result, chip the opponent down further for one of them to clean house later on. Foongus, Larvesta, and Sablenite Vullaby make the defensive core, while Diancite Chinchou serves as the primary speed control and revenge killer. This team does notably lack a Stealth Rock setter, but I assumed that my opponent would have one. The team also doesn't necessarily need more than 1 layer of Spikes to really pose a threat.
This matched up into a build I expected more of from Haru in game 1, although this didn't hurt me too bad. Hwilfish was the real standout in this game, being otherwise unused for a full year before this game due to it being perceived as mediocre (the physical sets are pretty bad), so I wasn't sure what to expect from it. The real threat, though, was Metagrossite Mudbray, which could not only set Rocks reliably versus my team but also threaten to 2HKO everything while having Stamina to dissuade Makuhita. Quite simply, this matchup was difficult. Thankfully, I was able to outplay Mudbray after putting Chinchou to sleep, even calling the turn Stealth Rocks were set. By turn 10, I had neutered the big threat of Mudbray, so could start wearing stuff down. Larvesta, quite fortunately, walled Hwilfish barring a potential Spikes set, so I didn't fear it too much, with U-turn generating tons of momentum for me, and by turn 16 I had near-enough won the game. I sacrificed Vullaby to Drifloon to bring Chinchou in, and then called that their Chinchou would use Rest after wearing it down enough with Foongus to bring Toedscool in and Rapid Spin on the following turn., noting that Chinchou could technically use Flip Turn via Sleep Talk. Even if Toedscool didn't clean up, Makuhita would have won by that point due to its sheer unmatched revenge killing prowess.
Grookey Glimmet ChimeToed Balance (BAD)
This team was unused, and I'm very glad it wasn't. On paper, there are some very cool concepts on this team: Chimechite Toedscool matches up extremely well into Gligar and Glimmet, Choice Scarf Grookey enables Glimmet extremely well, Piplup is a great Vullaby alternative that answers Snowshrew, and Paldean Wooper gives the team some cool counterplay into Stunky and non-PFangs Arrokuda. Unfortunately, this is where it ends. Spore on Toedscool is basically unusable, with both Pain Split and Growth being strictly better alternatives, Pooper being way too frail and weak to do anything, Piplup being decently depressing stat-wise, and the extremely present lack of synergy between Pooper and Grookey. I did end up making a different version of this team, but I'd highly recommend avoiding this team.
Week 3 (Bo3 / TBP / WW-)
TBP is a very scary player and builder, and I knew that, if given the opportunity, he would easily clean house versus me. As a result, I mainly focused on teams that have dealing huge damage without much effort alongside a solid backbone.
SkewdaBolt Bulky Balance /
Game
I knew that I wanted to use Hisuian Avalugg due to it being really hard to break through, and that I wanted to use SkewdaBolt as the offensive core since they both create opportunities for each other. As a result, I focused on filling the gaps. Wellspring Mask Pecharunt helps versus Urshifu-RS, Altarianite Entei and Dragonite, and other big threats not named Pinsirite Great Tusk, Sablenite Mandibuzz gave the team a good way of handling Psychic-types, Zygardite Dragapult, and most Arceus formes, and Zygardite Magearna gave the team a Raging Bolt and Deo-S answer.
The only major flaw with this team is that Raging Bolt is Modest and not Timid, so definitely change that.
I was correct in expecting a Psychic-type from TBP, with him choosing to use Iron Crown. Unfortunately, this is a really annoying Zygardite user for me since it does a lot of damage with Volt Switch, and I can't easily dissuade it thanks to Tachyon doing so much to Magearna. This matchup was even more irritating thanks to the existence of Rocky Helmet Eternatus on this team, who I couldn't actually pressure easily thanks to my Raging Bolt being Modest and not Timid (good job me...). This game, as a result, quickly became a hazstack war, with the person creating the most pressure being the one ahead. By turn 17, I was pretty far ahead, even managing to get Barraskewda in safely, and by turn 22 I managed to correctly guess and remove Dragonite. On turn 24, I made an incredible read that TBP would sac his Magearna after I Flip Turned my Barraskewda into Raging Bolt versus their Waterceus and so doubled back into my Skewda, risking it being KOed or taking tons of damage. Around turn 30 is where the game slowed down, although I did still have my Magearna and he did not and, as such, I could actually win the hazard war. Unfortunately, TBP got a lucky turn 1 burn with Flamethrower, forcing me to trade Magearna to advance the gamestate, although not without setting 2 layers of Spikes and then luckily getting to Fleur into VSwitch Eternatus to bring in Pecharunt, although it got unfortunately crit for 2/3 of its HP. Some unfortunate Paralysis luck ended up forcing me to trade most of Mandibuzz's HP and Magearna entirely versus Great Tusk to Defog after getting another huge call that he wouldn't KO my Raging Bolt and bringing his Tusk to 6%. This Magearna KO, though, gave me enough momentum to KO Waterceus, winning me the game.
Ivar Venu Solg Sun /
Game
I wasn't sure what to bring for Gen 8 but knew I wanted something that could do tons of damage at will, so looked to Ivar's old builder. There I spotted his Venu Solg Sun team, and knew it was the right team for the matchup. Not much to say about this team since it isn't mine; everything is pretty obvious.
Seeing Heatran on lead wasn't super fun, since it answers Solgaleo and Victini, but I knew that I otherwise mainly had matchup. Milotic was unfortunately not Competitive for some reason, so my lead predict was unfortunately wasted. That being said, having Magic Bounce early was crucial for this matchup, so not too much was lost. Him bringing Slowbro in early gave me a free Spikes use, with Victini freely coming in as a result. I then was able to VoltTurn cycle for a few turns before catching Slowbro with a Bolt Strike, and then Heatran on turn 11 with another Bolt Strike before forcing it to Mega Evolve while Flip Turning. This single action probably won me the game alone since it let me either bring Regieleki or Groudon in for free with no available punish while also no longer dissuading Victini from spamming V-create. I got rocks up on Slowbro and then went straight into Victini on the predicted TP into Landorus, getting a KO on Ho-Oh as a result after 2 V-create uses. On turn 20 I managed to get a Spike up on Slowbro, effectively winning me the game since hazards can no longer be removed and Solgaleo beats everything left on TBP's team bar the 58% HP Landorus on his team... which he sacrificed to try to KO Mew... Yeah this was over quickly after that.
I did make a G7 team this week, but I also used it in Week 4 so won't show it here.
Week 4 (Bo3 / QT / L-L)
This was the first week I didn't really feel like I was the favorite to win. QT is a really scary opponent and he uses a wide range of Pokemon. Because of this, I really wanted to focus on Pokemon that I knew were strong and tried to enable them as a result, trying to use unexpected Pokemon and/or sets to catch him off guard. Unfortunately, this didn't work out too well...
DeoZone BO (BAD) /
Game
I view Deo-S as the single most broken in the current meta for good reason, and so wanted to build around a core of Deo-S + Lucarionite Magnezone to target the Zeraorite Steels that are becoming more and more populous in the meta, mainly Magearna. I really expected a much bulkier build from QT with Ho-Oh present, so built around prepping for that. Unfortunately that cost me heavily, as it resulted in a very awkward, admittedly subpar build from me that doesn't really do much. That being said, it's still a usable build, but the Dragonite spread was an overcook.
I initially traded most of Magnezone's HP to bring in Deo-S to KO Ghostceus, putting me somewhat ahead despite the SpA drop. This is where the good news ends. PBoost proceeds to miss Tusk, letting it get hazards up unpunished. I then have to bring Waterceus in and heal, then using Calm Mind as I see a good opportunity to set up, knowing I have a good chance to gain a lot of ground from this play. UNFORTUNATELY, Arcues is blind as shit and misses Wisp, putting me behind again for no reason. I then trade Tusk for their Dragonite while getting hazards up, but then throw by forgetting Mold Breaker ignores Multiscale and just lost Dragonite on the spot. GOOD JOB ME.
MixDon + Amph Blissey Fat (BAD) /
Game
This team was cool on paper, but suffers from "fucked versus tspikes syndrome". It's also very, very, very, VERY weak to Fairies. I ended up reworking this team completely in semis because I knew the concept had potential but wasn't it in its current form. Nevertheless, I still chose to bring this over gen 8 since I knew it was my worse gen. This team is also really bad into Zygarde. I wonder if that was here lol...
Talking about this game is painful, but I really couldn't do much. Substitute Zeraora can't do much to Sablenite Mew, Mandibuzz is completely shut down by Gyaradosite Cofagrigus, Lucarionite Zygarde heavily pressures PDon and 2HKOes everything bar Mandibuzz (which dropped so fast), and the rest of the team just doesn't fair well into the rest of QT's team. This was a pretty bad matchup that was caused by building and using something incredibly mediocre.
(maybe
?)
i dont think i built for 8, couldnt find anything and im pretty sure i just planned on reloading my w1 team. it might have been
this keldeo semistall team though, but not sure.
Week 5 (LC / Novax / WLW)
Originally a Bo1, Haru convinced both of us to play a Bo3, making this a pretty tight set. Novax is a pretty solid LC main and the scariest LCMnM newcomer, so I knew I was in for some tough games. However, I also knew what to expect from him due to prepping with him (well, mmtacos) earlier in the tour, meaning I could prep around what I was expecting.
Blitzle Electric Spam Balance /
Game
Learning from what worked and didn't work in Week 2, I reused the same defensive core of Foongus/Vull/Larv with Diancite Chinchou to create as much offensive pressure as possible with a solid defensive core, although I had Altarianite Blitzle as the main breaker of choice to try to pressure opposing Chinchou as much as possible. Since Makuhita is more hazard reliant, I chose to use good ol' Snowshrew last. This is a really, really solid team, and changed my beliefs on Blitzle in the current meta drastically.
This game started pretty much perfectly, with Blitzle forcing Arrokuda out for Chinchou and then getting a lucky crit to OHKO. Glimmet coming in forced me into Foongus, who I was plenty prepared to have to sac, although I knew I'd be significantly ahead if I did have to. To my surprise, though, Foongus won the interaction, meaning I was basically guaranteed to win the game. Vullaby coming in to KO Foongus with Knock Off let me bring in Blitzle unpunished again, giving me a free KO on Grookey. I chose to then switch Larvesta in as opposed to using Quick Attack on Arrokuda in case Aqua Jet crit or if Arrokuda never Mega Evolved, losing me basically no ground in the process since my Chinchou is also unchallengeable at this point. Weather Ball KOs Larvesta, and then Chinchou Mega Evolved on the second turn it was in as to minimize the damage it took from Shadow Ball, sealing the game. Blitzle had a really strong showing here and I was really happy with how the team performed.
Grookey Glimmet Lax BO /
Game
This was my 2nd attempt at a Grookey Glimmet core, although this attempt was honestly worse than my first. That being said, it performed pretty well, only losing because of a 25% chance that I'd have to face at some point anyway. Everything has already been explained before in other LCMnM parts, so no explanations here.
Seeing Wingull and Diglett on preview made me really want to prioritise getting Snowshrew in as much as possible to get Grookey in as much as I could on the doubles. Seeing the Manectite reveal on Wingull was partially irritating, but it was fine. What was really annoying, however, was that Munchlax could not 2HKO Slowpoke with Double-Edge, meaning it would wear itself down always without gaining anything. This made me bring in Grookey early to get hazards up ASAP, accepting I'd always lose it to Diglett. I for some reason chose to bring in Snowshrew over Grookey, forcing me to use Ice Shard and as a result threatening nothing. This wasn't a huge detail long-term but was something to at least note. Slowpoke coming in forced me to dance around its coverage, bringing in Mareanie and then Larvesta to limit how much it could do. Vullaby switching in on the U-turn let me bring in Grookey to KO it, giving me at least some form of advantage back. Toedscool was promptly OHKOed on the next turn, followed by Slowpoke getting the 1/4 to survive and KOing in return. At this point the game was lost, but I continued anyway as a last-ditch luck-reliant effort.
Mudbray Tadbulb Bulky Balance /
Game
I knew I wanted to bring "Clas Balance" once, and decided to do it here. Slowpoke and Sablenite Vullaby are the main defensive pieces, Manectite Koffing is the main Knock Off switchin and Stunky answer (although Hwilfish is another good choice; 76def/156spe/236spe timid (dpulse/spikes)/ibeam/mudshot/psplit should be the used set), and Red Orb Tadbulb is the team's Electric resist and Chinchou answer. Diancite Chinchou is the speed control and temporary Electric immunity, while Metagrossite Mudbray is the team's main breaker. Chinchou and Tadbulb create a strong pivot core, allowing Mudbray to come in and claim KOs relatively unchallenged while answering the rest of the metagame for it. Not much to the build, and it's all pretty self-intuitive and easy to pilot.
The team ended up having a pretty good matchup, with only Grookey and Finizen being particularly threatening. Mudbray can 2HKO Vullaby and threaten to set Rocks versus the entire team, Tadbulb pressures Finizen extremely well, Chinchou having no major switchins, and Koffing just having innate value in the matchup. I led Mudbray into his Vullaby since I wanted to create as much pressure as possible while guaranteeing I could get Rocks up, followed by KOing it and switching Tadbulb in on Grookey. Stunky replaced Grookey, forcing Koffing in on the switch and then me trading Koffing for almost all of Tadbulb, including a cheeky poison. Mudbray then comes in and KOs Snowshrew and does 71% to Grookey after Finizen doubles out, basically sealing the game. Grookey chooses to Wood Hammer, giving me momentum to bring Tadbulb in on Stunky for the KO, followed by Chinchou in on Finizen after it KOs my Tadbulb with Boomburst. Chinchou KOs their Tadbulb with Thunderbolt, followed by me switching Slowpoke in on the U-turn into Finizen. Slowpoke is sacrificed to bring in Chinchou, who promptly seals the game.
Semis (Bo3 / Sagazinha / LWW)
I already faced Saga once, and felt like I could easily run it back with confidence. While they aren't a particularly bad player, they're also one that has less meta knowledge than me and has a higher tendency to throw games. I ended up procrastinating and not building until really late, though, so reloaded for Gen 9 LMAO.
Hisuian Avalugg Stall /
Game
where have i seen this one before...
Loading this team for the second time just to fight yet another cursed matchup was pretty upsetting. Everything is fully improofed, so I can't really get much value from Ditto, Raging Bolt can just run over the team, and the rest of the team just is super bulky. This is just a loss on lead, so I'm not going to talk about a 110 turn loss. Feel free to watch the game, but it's a game where I get like 7 calls but a lost call can just lose me the game, in which the 3rd lost call sealed said game. Not much I can do here.
SkewdaTricity Fat /
Game
Very fun team, Skewda + Toxtricity is a core i noticed in the builder and saw its potential immediately. Toxtricity was regarded as a noobtrap for the entirety of Gen 8, since it either has to use the pretty terrible Glalitite or use Altarianite and severely limit the team's overall output. However, I built a team that completely mitigates those shortcomings by focusing moreso on the defensive side and using the sheer breaking power of the offensive pieces to develop boardstates. As a result, the team has two very strong pivots in Manectite Mew and Sablenite Blissey alongside two very annoying pressurers in Ho-Oh and Gyaradosite Knock Toxic Toxapex. This is my second favorite team for G8 behind the Noivern team and my favorite team I built for this tour.
I ended up loading into Ivar's Weavile Sun BO, which was a really good matchup for me, outside of Victini being a terrifying threat. I do have to keep in mind Sablenite Swampert, but it is otherwise a very solid matchup. I lead Blissey to get Bounce active ASAP, then bring in Skewda on Ho-Oh after they FTurn. Another double pivot lets me bring in Mew versus Solgaleo, which lets me bring in Skewda to surprisingly KO Ho-Oh from near-full. Weavile then replaces it, with it using SD + Beat Up to kinda just cook my defensive core, but i survive.. just to lose momentum LOL so I sac Toxapex to then bring Skewda in. Skewda then KOs Solgaleo with CC -> FTurn, where Groudon comes in on Ho-Oh so I bring Mew in to handle it. I heal Mew, then trade Mew to bring Groudon to half while setting Rocks. Toxtricity then KOs Groudon with Boomburst, followed by Victini using BStrike twice on Ho-Oh to KO it. Skewda then KOs Victini, FTurns on Pert to bring Toxtricity in, and then Skewda finally cleans the game up with 2 uses of CC.
PKyo + Zera Fat /
Game
I wanted to reattempt my Week 3/4 team, and decided to redo it with PKyo instead. Pkyo has better synergy with Zeraora thanks to it doing more damage overall with its Water moves and hitting the Grounds (mainly PDon) for more damage, while Zera can slam Blissey and co without issue. Aggronite Mew is good into Xerneas and Zygarde, while Zyg-C covers offensive PDon. This team is really solid, but I will say that I do like to build the same team over and over again huh.
I lead this game like usual by getting my Bouncer up ASAP, then go into PDon to get rocks up unchallenged and remove their Mandibuzz for the cost of 35% of PDon's HP, but then I get to freely remove Lunala too with Toxic -> PBlades. We both go into Mew and I use Toxic on their switched-in PDon, then switch to Mandi to take the incoming Lava Plume. I Roost as they switch to Mage, and they SGear as I U-turn into Zygarde. I then Coil into TArrows, with PCon activating at the end of the second turn. They switch Mew in on my second TArrows, then I switch Zera in on the U-turn. They then double into Mew as I use Substitute, followed by me using Toxic on the Mew and Substituting on the U-turn into PDon. I then KO PDon thanks to a crit, but all I'd lose is my substitute at worst so nothing changed. Zera then cleans the game, but at worst I'd spend an extra 10 turns to win.
This set was particularly scary since I was the last to play and we were only 4-3 up. Losing this may have been us out, so I'm glad to have won this set after such a rough start.
Finals (Bo3 / Treeko / L-L)
Going into finals I was a bit nervous. Treeko is probably the best Bo3 player in the pool and he can really mix up what he uses. The one thing that he doesn't have over QT though is consistency, so I knew that there was a greater chance of him misplaying. This set wasn't really meant to be, though, with game 1 being a repeat of week 4's abysmal luck and game 2 being completely unwinnable.
DeoZone + 3a AltNite BO /
Game
This was my second attempt at using Deo-S + Magnezone, with me recognising that Zeraorite Magearna was a very likely bring into me when looking at my teams this tour. I did want to use Dragapult originally, but the team convinced me otherwise. I do think Dragapult was the better bring here, but oh well I guess. Dragonite is 3A here to maximize offensive output since I figured I wouldn't get to set up much. Manectite Milotic is here to help versus the super potent physical guys like Skewda and Entei. Tusk on this team can survive 3 ESpeeds from Alt Eleki IIRC.
This game was hilariously short. I already knew from lead that I didn't have matchup, so figured I had to get a lot of calls right. I ended up getting the lead call and the ensuing Turn 1 call wrong, expecting a Volt Switch over an immediate Fleur. If I Roost on a Volt Switch, I lose about 6-8 turns of momentum just to likely end up in the same position as Turn 1. If I Roost on the Fleur like what happened here, I still probably lose momentum. If I U-turn on the VSwitch then I'm ahead, and if I U-turn on the Fleur (like what happens here) then I'm still behind but can probably exert enough offensive pressure to survive if I get the correct calls. I end up basically fully trading Magearna via Magnezone using Steel Beam, then sacrificing it to Deo-S to get my own Deo-S in to try to get a KO on the Ho-Oh. Unfortunately, I got Nuzlocke Momented. Game was over right then and there. Treeko's Deo-S was Timid, but I really think this was still winnable since I know that DNite has great potential in the late game if I can remove Ho-Oh and Tusk can always clean up in a pinch. This was still probably like a 90% win for Treeko, though, since I'd need to be constantly calculating 4 turns deep at a minimum, potentially up to 6 or even 8 at times.
Z-Xern Fat /
Game
Honestly, this team is messy. I wanted to build around Z-Geo Xerneas since I knew that Treeko liked using more offensive teams, and decided to use it on a Balance team to try to mask the set a bit. The team is otherwise extremely standard excluding Waterceus, who is carrying Reflect to help Xerneas set up better. The team is pretty wonky, though, so I'd not recommend using it.
This game was cooked on lead, although I didn't realise it at first. Quite simply, there is no way for me to win this matchup; everything on my team is hard countered by something on Treeko's team, and I can't answer his team long-term. I won't go into detail about how this game happened, but my main goal on preview was to try to get Xerneas in a position where it could set up safely, preferably with Reflect up. I did manage to do this, but I in the process unfortunately rolled the single worst possible matchup possible - Calm Mind Water Spout Origin Pulse PKyo. I wish I was joking, but I am not. Outside of this Pokemon, I can actually win with Xerneas if it sets up, but there is physically no way to do this since Treeko's Blissey is also carrying Wish! Completely unwinnable matchup, but Treeko definitely cooked with this one. I most definitely overused Substitute Zeraora, though, since Throat Chop would've meant I could break through this team without too much issue.
Double Dragon BroBliss Balance
This team is a bit janky, but it's probably the best team I made this week. Aerodactylite Solgaleo is almost impossible to switch into and I noticed that most of my teams are Victini-weak, so decided to try to capitalise on this as much as possible. Most of these sets are pretty standard, with really only Blissey standing out due to it being a wacky Sablenite Rocks TP set but I didn't have a different Rocks setter available. Pult on this team is to help versus opposing Solgaleo and other annoying guys while also getting my Solg in safely.
Finals TB (LC / Haru / WWW)
After the really disappointing set I had versus Treeko, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to play at all except if both opposing slots were SV/SM, but thankfully for me the Machamps chose LC of all tiers for TB, meaning I could finally get the Bo3 vs Haru in a team tour we've both wanted for a while. Haru is by far the single scariest player in the LCMnM pool, being able to build and play every team style bar hard stall and use a significant variety of Pokemon to great effectiveness. I knew that I'd need to build extremely strong teams that are either hard to stop without a hard counter or some extremely consistent stuff.
Scarf Vulpix + Chloro Timburr Trapper BO /
Game
The concept of Diglett Sun was one that I knew could do extremely well into Haru since he relies on only Electric-types in Red Orb Tadbulb and Eviolite Chinchou for his Diancite Chinchou answers, so decided to try to abuse that. I went with Scarf Vulpix over Heat Rock since I assumed that I could keep the pressure up enough for this to not matter long-term. I also wanted a good physical sun user, preferably one with a good matchup into Alolan Sandshrew and Vullaby, so chose Timburr for its access to Close Combat, Ice Punch, and Mach Punch all at once - something nothing else can do. Hisuian Qwilfish is the team's Eject Button user as to allow for getting Diglett in extremely easily while also just naturally being incredible into Stunky.
This was honestly a quite scary team to face, puely because of Misdreavus being able to disrupt everything on the team and me not having any good answers to it alongside the incredibly major threat of Pinsirite Drilbur being able to set Rocks safely while also threatening a 2HKO on Vullaby. Thankfully, though, the rest of the team was pretty bad into me. I led Vulpix expecting Drilbur on lead, which I got right, leading to me getting a free pick on Drilbur with Overheat... yeah no it missed but thankfully he didn't just win on turn 1 with an EQ click! I KO Drilbur next turn, but Misdreavus comes in next and TWaves my Vullaby. I don't get paralysed, managing to Defog and then bring Vulpix in as replacement to remove Misdreavus without significant issue. The Weather Ball crit was nice but didn't matter. He replaces Misdreavus with Arrokuda, which I switch Timburr in against since it threatens to KO all of his remaining Pokemon, but he Flip Turns into Vullaby. Thankfully, he either didn't carry Brave Bird or didn't click it because he expected a switchout, leading to it being in range of a CC KO later in the game. He brings Snowshrew in, only to realise that it actually gets Mach Punch, and so has to hard switch into Chinchou. This, however, lets me switch into Hwilfish to Eject Button out into Diglett to remove it. At this point Timburr just OHKOs everything, so I can safely sac Vulpix to win the game.
Finizen DiaChou Offensive Balance /
Game
This team is a little different from my usual balance stuff, using Finizen + Diancite Chinchou to break through teams. Hisuian Qwilfish is the standout Pokemon here, thanks to its access to Pain Split and ability to handle Stunky better than Manectite Koffing while also having a good enough Speed tier to handle Tadbulb and Gligar without significant issue. The rest is pretty standard, excluding the lack of a hard DiaChou answer. Not my best team ever, but it's pretty good still.
This matchup was pretty even, although seeing Drilbur and Chinchou again wasn't fun. I chose to lead Vullaby knowing that I didn't have a great matchup into Drilbur or Tadbulb and accepted the major chip from the latter. Hwilfish has immense value in this matchup and I used this to my advantage, bringing Chinchou down to 14/27 HP and freely KOing Drilbur in trade for having Rocks set. I also brought down Vullaby to 1 in the following turns before having to switch out to handle Arrokuda. Tabulb is brought in via Flip Turn, which I accept is annoying so decide to Psychic in order to attempt to chip it down as he fears me switching Eviolite Chinchou (mine is Diancite for the record, but he doesn't know that) on a potential Volt Switch. After bringing Tadbulb into Finizen range, I sacrifice Vullaby, although he chooses to Rest instead and so he gets his Tadbulb back to full before Sleep Talk thankfully calls Weather Ball. I bring Hwilfish back in to try to threaten a KO on it and Pain Split a potential Chinchou in, although I really don't know why I did this as it's a major momentum loss no matter what. Thankfully, I'm bailed again and he calls Rest instead of an attack, bringing me back in the game; Mud Shot KOs on the next turn. I then bring Snowshrew in on Arrokuda since I don't expect it to be of significant value anymore, choosing to Ice Shard Stunky on the following turn as he switches back into Arrokuda to get the KO... or not since Flip Turn didn't KO, but I went for Stealth Rock anyway so it doesn't matter much outside of losing his 1HP Vullaby. I then lose the Sucker 50/50 and don't end up getting Rocks up, but at this point I don't need them too much anyway outside of putting Chinchou in 2HKO range of Hwilfish. I bring Hwil back in that turn, barely missing the 2HKO on Chinchou but he thankfully does not use Rest and instead Thunderbolts to bring Hwil to 1HP. I then realise that this game is almost surely lost; I can't OHKO Stunky with any of my Pokemon while he can OHKO Chinchou if I Mega Evolve as well as force a 50/50 after I sacrifice Finizen by either switching into Arrokuda on non-Mega Boomburst and forcing me to Mega Evolve the next turn OR simply Poison Jab on the Mega and win on the spot that way. Except I get bailed with a TBolt paralysis and don't have to play that mindgame. "Clas luck" actually made an appearance for the first time in about a year. Finizen ends up cleaning up the game after Chinchou is KOed.
Flabébé Stall /
Game
I wanted to at least bring LCMnM Stall once this tour, and a Bo3 where I've spammed more offensive stuff is a great opportunity to catch Haru off-guard with stall. Hisuian Qwilfish is good into Gligar and Stunky, Slowpoke answers most of the tier's annoying physical guys, Flabébé handles Mienfoo, Scraggy, and other Fighting-types with Knock Off access, Vullaby gives the team a Defog user and Magic Bounce guy, Munchlax handles the Weather Ball users and can pressure Finizen, and Scald Thunderbolt RestTalk Chinchou gives the team a strong Diancite Chinchou answer, although it could honestly also be Diancite here. The only major problem with this team is its lack of a Stealth Rock setter, but there's not a great way of going about that without dropping Chinchou. Hisuian Qwilfish at least has Spikes and it's always possible to bounce Stealth Rock from guys like Gligar and an off-guard Snowshrew, so there's that.
Haru ends up reloading his Game 2 team, which honestly made it very easy to win excluding the Drilbur-shaped threat as long as I had a single layer of Spikes up, and this was going to be my overall gameplan. We both lead Vullaby, but I don't have U-turn so have to Heat Wave instead as he brings in Chinchou. I bring in my own Chinchou as he brings in Drilbur from Flip Turn, followed by him EQing and then Mega Evolving to use... Rapid Spin??? This generally let me infer that his Drilbur was Adamant, meaning that I'd outspeed regularly with Hwilfish, but the choice to sacrifice Vullaby in hindsight was incredibly questionable; I guess I just feared Double-Edge. I bring Hwilfish in as replacement and not only OHKO Drilbur without taking any chip but also bring Vullaby into Ice Beam range AND, actually quite unexpectedly, get the 5/16 to OHKO Tadbulb. He then brings in Arrokuda and Flip Turns, bringing in Chinchou on a Mud Shot. I then get to Spike up versus him, effectively sealing the game since I could always switch Slowpoke into Arrokuda risk-free, as he Flip Turns back into Arrokuda. I save Hwilfish, knowing that I need it for Stunky, choosing to Surf on the following turn expecting him to Flip Turn, as he does. I sacrifice Flabébé in this position since it has no use in this matchup, but he uses Knock Off so I switch Munchlax in instead to threaten a KO after Poison Jab -> Knock Off most of the time as Flabébé can still pressure everything bar Stunky at this point or get a Wish off freely. He instead decides to Temper Flare, probably a misclick, before sacrificing Vullaby to then bring Arrokuda in to handle Munchlax, Flip Turning on my switchout to bring Stunky in, where I choose to sacrifice Munchlax. This lets me bring Hwilfish in and Mud Shot to KO Stunky, sealing the game on the spot. We then get into a pivot war, but not before I burn his Chinchou with Scald turn 1, forcing him to Rest early. This gives me time to PP stall him and chip down his Chinchou simultaneously, knowing that I have basically won now since Slowpoke will never drop before Arrokuda drops to Spikes chip as I always have Flabébé in reserves. Flip Turn does crit, though, making me plan to sacrifice Flabébé earlier than expected. At this point the game becomes a slow burn, with me switching Slowpoke and Chinchou in over and over again, at one point using Rest myself as to not lose the chip war. I do unnecessarily almost throw the game by keeping Slowpoke in versus Chinchou, taking a Thunderbolt in punishment and losing most of its health in the process, but sacrificial Flabébé in the back bails me out. He chooses to KO Flabébé with Flip Turn, making me have to switch Slowpoke in and then back out to get Regenerator healing instead of being able to use Slack Off. By turn 47, though, I've won the game, since Arrokuda can no longer switch in without switching out and I can completely PP stall Chinchou, with Arrokuda falling on turn 50 and him forfeiting on turn 53.
This last game did not matter, since I had already won the set and therefore my team the tournament, but we played it nevertheless out of enjoyment for the format.
this was a big post huh, heres all the teams without the whole paragraph stuff with them.
and 
to make any progress on waterceus after magearna got chipped early
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