After Dedode first suggested the idea to me during the Member Appreciation Day Chatroom event back in 2019, I decided that I'd hold a Pokémon Pokémon Showdown tournament for everyone here on Paint who'd be interested in participating in it.
(Sorry, but I won't be holding any Pokémon tournaments that use the handheld games until I get my O2DS and/or DS Lite fixed, or get a Switch.)

Many of y'all will remember me trying (and ultimately failing) to hold this tournament last year, due to:

1. Issues with setting a date and time that worked for everyone interested in participating.

2. Me being banned from Mimi's Rubber Ducks The Third Discord server (where I was doing most of the scheduling and planning for it) on the day of the tournament.

3. The expected complications related to my RL situation.

4. One of the more reluctant participants wanting a Gen 6 Single Battle format rather than a more modern battle format like everyone else had wanted.

Fortunately, I have found solutions to all of these problems this year, and it's time for a do-over!

First of all, in order to participate in this tournament, you must DM me (either here on Paint, on SocialCu.be, or on Discord) or leave a comment on this blog that tells me the following:

1. That you're interested in participating in the tournament.

2. What your username on Pokémon Showdown is.

3. What timezone you're in.

4. What dates and times will work best for you.

The tournament has actually already begun, but it isn't over yet, and anyone still interested in joining can do so.

I'm taking a pretty loose approach with the scheduling of the matches now, so that everyone in the current bracket of 6 people can actually battle everyone else (it's a round robin tournament), and the other benefit of me holding the tournament in this way is that it is incredibly easy for me to expand the bracket at any point during the tournament.
(Which I'm desperately trying to do every chance I get.)



And here is the current status of everyone's progress in the tournament so far:



Although I will try to keep this blog up to date, if you want more regular updates on the current status of this year's tournament I'll be making them in my Ryuusei no Tami and Pokétopia groups here on Paint, and also in the "shoutbox" and "tournament" channels on my Ryuusei no Tami Discord server.

Also, although I'm taking a much looser approach to the scheduling here, I'd still rather finish the tournament sometime this month, as I plan on devoting the month of December to finishing up the SDK Quilt instead.
(Although I am willing to extend it into early December if necessary.)

Now, on to the rules of the actual tournament...

Like I mentioned earlier, it is a round robin tournament, and it use Pokémon Showdown's NatDex Doubles OU format (now that that's actually a thing), both because I am anti-Dexit and because I prefer Double and Triple Battles over Single Battles.

For those unfamiliar with the NatDex Doubles format, here are the rules for it, which I copied and pasted from the official NatDex Doubles forum thread on Smogon in the link above:



Overall it's pretty standard rules for a Doubles format on Showdown, and for those more familiar with VGC rules, most of the Special Legendary Pokémon that are banned under those rules are still banned here (with a few notable exceptions, such as Black Kyurem, Zygarde, and Zamazenta), although many of the Mythical Pokémon (such as Mew, Jirachi, and Diancie) that would be aren't.

Also, it is worth mentioning that while Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Terastallization are all usable in the Gen 9 NatDex formats, Dynamaxing has been removed from the Gen 9 NatDex formats, and it was basically replaced by Terastallizing.
(I can't say that I necessarily like that, but I like Terastallizing too, and that's just how it is.)

Back in September I wrote this blog to help people (especially beginners) to prepare for this tournament, and I encourage anyone unfamiliar with Pokémon Showdown, the NatDex Doubles format, or competitive Pokémon battling in general to check it out.

For those who (unlike myself) aren't particularly interested in trying to come up with their own team of Pokémon to use in the tournament, there are a number of good rental teams out there on Smogon and other websites, and I have compiled a list of all 40 still eligible NatDex Doubles teams posted on that same forum thread on Smogon that I linked to earlier in this blog.



Some of the older teams posted on that forum thread include Pokémon that have since been banned BTW, but all of the ones I listed in the spoiler above are still allowed under the current NatDex DOU rules.
(Which is why I compiled that list, so that y'all didn't have to go looking through that forum thread to find eligible teams for yourself.)

Additionally, I came up with these 9 NatDex Doubles teams of my own, and y'all are free to use one of them in my tournament if you want to as well.
(And no, none of those are the team that I'm going to be using in the tournament myself.)

[Spoiler=Draconid_Jo's NatDex DOU Rental Teams]

It's Always Sunny in Pokétopia

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Rainy Days Make the Dracovish Come Play

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Operation Sandsear Storm

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A Song of Ice and Defense

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The Electric (Terrain) Company

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May The (Expanding) Force Be With You

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The Grass is Always Greener with Rillaboom

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DJ's Legends of Yesterday

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Dedode's Infamous Anger Point Krookodile Team (Improved)

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[/Spoiler]

Of course, if you don't like any of those teams as is you can make whatever adjustments to them that you want (nicknaming the Pokémon, making them all Shiny, changing their Tera Types and their stats, etc.) in the teambuilder over on Showdown, and you can even remove individual Pokémon that you like from any of these teams to fill empty slots on your own if you want to.

As for the prize of this tournament, the winner of the tournament will have a special square added to this year's SDK Quilt honoring them and their team of Pokémon that led them to victory, which I thought would be a nice prize that I can actually offer and that most people here would probably appreciate.
(Which is another reason why I'm holding the tournament before this year's SDK Quilt is completed, BTW.)

Anyway, like I said before, anyone who wants to participate in this tournament or who has any questions about it should please let me know in the comments on this blog, via DM here on Paint or elsewhere, in my Pokétopia group here on Paint, or the "tournament" channel on my Ryuusei no Tami Discord server.

Sayonara!