To Pimp a Butterfree (0) vs (0) Sacred Sakura
SS ZU: clean vs Fogbound Lake - Both had nice wins last week where they seemed in control of their games the entire time. clean once again showed he can play to his outs and find the route to win in a close game. Despite the good matchup our Silv-Fighting had into Fog's team, Fog was able to grab momentum early and applied pressure throughout the game, heavily limiting Silv-Fighting and easily winning. Up against someone who is considerably more experienced playing and building in SS ZU, I don't think Fog has that big of a shot to beat clean. Frankly, after analyzing Fog's games for last week's prep, I noticed that he misplays some interactions or lets the wrong Pokemon take chip. This isn't really something I see with clean. Moreover, clean can use just about any style effectively. On paper this isn't close for me as I favor clean heavily. Who knows though maybe Tuthur can help whip up something that catches clean here.
SM ZU: sasha vs SOMALIA - It's a shame somalia didn't show up for our game last week. I'm assuming he will show up this time for the sake of the prediction. Anyway, sasha's been recycling teams each game whereas it seems like the Sakuras build each week. I could be wrong though. Unlike what some people in the ZU Discord had to say about the Sakuras' team last week, I don't think it was mid or even bad aside from not having a Normal resist. Licky and Silv-Electric are two mons that can put in a lot of work some games, and they could've been scary if budgetplayer played a bit better. The Sakuras are now winless in SM going into this week compared to sasha who's 2-1 since debuting in week three. Moreover, sasha had a great upset last week beating Finchinator. While somalia is a capable pilot, I think his style in SM has some notable holes in it. For example, he has used fat teams/stall and some wacky offenses in the past, two styles that aren't too difficult to prep for. The Pekos tried to cover for HO by running ditto, but sasha brought offense that didn't really care for it. So, how the Sakuras prep for HO will be key here because the threats in SM are considerably varied and sasha could always grab a less offensive team and win a longer game like last week.
ORAS ZU: TWiTT vs a fruitshop owner - This might be a controversial pick because twitt is 4-1 and afo won last week by dodging a Leaf Storm in the end-game. Honestly, this is pick is a mix of gut + spicing things up. twitt has also had some notable luck a game or two this season, though a Stone Edge crit isn't something that lucky all things considered. It would've been fun to see how the twitt vs toto game last week would've ended if toto's Dustox was able to avoid that crit. I find afo easier to prep for than twitt because twitt has used so many different teams vs me that prepping for a particular style is not really doable. On the other hand, I find that fruits' teams tend to be weak to the same stuff (i,e., hints are what I've brought vs him in the past and what we brought last weak). Last week, twitt brought an interesting balance team with Ditto and CB Slaking while afo brought a standard Ivy/Carbink balance. I feel that fruits has to bring something different than usual to match up against twitt stylistically. Both have similar skill levels to me. twitt has some in-game tendencies one can catch and afo's tendencies can be caught in the builder. Definitely a highlight match.
Morpeek-A-Boos (0) vs (0) Dwayne Gang
SS ZU: Quinn vs Pokeslice - This matchup is one of opposites. The Pekos started off 2-1, then lost two straight since swapping Franklin for Quinn. Dwayne Gang started off 0-2 and then won three straight. Pokeslice is back to 0.500 with a strong (?) upset vs 4-0 Zause last week. Dwayne Gang made a good call predicting Zause to switch up his style and they caught him for it. As such, Dwayne Gang has steadily looked better and better in SS and the results speak to that. Conversely, while Quinn is still a capable pilot, Pokeslice has performed better so far.
SM ZU: Finchinator vs Greybaum - Greybaum bounced back with a win last week in a game that seemed like a job match. Like budgetplayer, Greybaum brought a team with no Normal resist. Also like budgetplayer, Greybaum luckily didn't face a Normal-type breaker. I bring this up because Pekos are sure to notice such things and try to capitalize on building tendencies. While that didn't work out with Ditto into Sasha last week, I trust the Pekos to come up with something solid in Greybaum's style. That being said, Greybaum is the better builder and player in this meta. While Finch mostly played solid last week, I think he could've pulled the game out if he popped Komala with Inferno Overdrive t7. Sasha started out the game with some aggressive plays and Komala was clearly CB from the U-turn damage, so Inferno Overdrive would've been a good call imo. Sub Punch Wrath would've been chunked too, but I understand not wanting to pop the Z that early. Anyway, I just think Greybaum will outprep and can catch Finch in-game.
ORAS ZU: Toto vs BaitWiz - Moment of silence for Dustox. Moment of silence for Shed Skin Seviper vs screens. I'd like a personal moment of silence for being the Dwayne Gang's only win. Seriously though, Toto is really favored here due to his experience and gap in teambuilding. When I say teambuilding, I mean choice in teams and knowing how teams will work more than actually building teams. Toto brought a super cool team into twitt last week featuring Slaking, DD Dustox, Wormadam-T, and Luxray. I think he'll roll with something more standard into Bait or at least pack a surprising set or two. BaitWiz has been invested in ORAS this tour so he should be able to keep things competitive.
CASTLE (0) vs (0) Shiiny Shiinotics
SS ZU: TomatoZause vs OranBerryBlissey10 - There are three 4-1 players in the SS pool and two of them are here. This is my highlight matchup because aside from last week, Zause was able to craft solid matchups in each of his games. Now he's up against someone with known tendencies (i.e., hint Tang), so I'll be looking to see if CASTLE tries to ct. I expect Zause to go back to the offense-oriented teams that got him four straight wins. However, if an outsider expect that, that means OBB and the Shiinotics should also expect that and prep accordingly. Moreover, I trust OBB to not be caught in prep here and to beat Zause in a close game. To be honest, I have a feeling that this won't be close based on matchup.
SM ZU: LustfulLice vs MZ - MZ's been on a roll this season and I don't remember the last time Lice played SM in a team tour. I assume that CASTLE wants to try something different with Lice here and BA supporting him. They could also be trying to find an SM that works since they are on a four game losing streak in this slot. MZ has been much more impressive in comparison and took down an undefeated Tenebricite last week, so really this is like 70-30 favoring MZ to me.
ORAS ZU: sleid vs tier - sleid switched things up last week, used screens, and won in dominant fashion. tier subbed out last week but beat afo week four. I've been liking the teams that tier has used so far, especially last week's Sticky Web team. sleid looks in form with the 3-game win streak he has going. In addition, sleid is a lot more knowledgeable in this meta and successfully showed he can change his style and pilot well. Meanwhile, I feel like tier's games come down to getting passed the right team more than him having to outplay. I expect sleid to win, but there's always the risk of the Shiinotics predicting sleid to run the usual bulky offense/balance and punishing him for it.
Morpeek-A-Boos (5) vs (3) Dwayne Gang 
Fiery Flamencos (5) vs (3) Cramlington Cramorants 
