While Banette's movepool is similar to that of his fellow Ghosts, he does have the ever useful Knock Off to give him something to differentiate him from the pack. Shadow Claw is his most powerful STAB option and hits reasonably hard from his somewhat impressive Attack stat. Shadow Sneak is a decent option to compensate for his low Speed, although it has a rather paltry base power of 40. Inflict the status of your choice with Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, or choose both for some added versatility. Destiny Bond is a fine choice and nets Banette a decent chance of a getting a KO. Don't use it alongside Thunder Wave as full paralysis may kick in at the wrong moment and spoil the surprise. While Insomnia is useful to fend off your opponent's attempt to use sleep inducing moves, Frisk is a very cool trait especially if you're leading with Banette. Working out whether Nidoking is carrying Choice Specs or Choice Band is helpful; this also applies to Salamence if you're crazy or brave enough to use Banette in OU competition.
Take advantage of two new additions Banette gained this generation: Trick and Frisk. Scout your opponent's item with Frisk, and Trick your Choice item onto them. Then you can try to Calm Mind up and attempt a sweep. Other OptionsSucker Punch will often do more damage than Shadow Sneak (except to Fighting-types) but may give the opponent a chance to set up and has less PP. As such, Snatch can be employed for stealing stat boosts or Substitutes. Trick Room is worth considering if you've loaded your team with slow, powerful sweepers. Sadly, Return is Banette's only other option for a physical attack if you want to hit Normal or Dark-types. Pursuit can wear down an opponent fleeing from Banette, especially if it happens to be weak to Dark, obviously. EVsMax whichever offensive stat you're using and its Speed. If you are using Thunder Wave, you'll probably be better off using more HP. OpinionThe transition from ADV to DP was not too kind to Banette. Two of his fellow Ghosts—Misdreavus and Dusclops—got evolutions, while Banette was overlooked. Loss of physical Hidden Power really hurts it, too, and gives Banette very little in the way of type coverage when using his respectable Attack stat. However, Banette does have a vast array of disrupting moves, although those poor defenses prevent him from using them too effectively. He's a decent enough Pokémon in the lower tiers, but competition from Rotom may make it hard for Banette to find a spot on most teams. CountersSwitching into Banette's status moves is annoying for most opponents, so Camerupt makes a good choice, as it is immune to both and won't mind receiving Choice Specs from Trick too much. If they can avoid status, Normal-types with a Ghost or Dark attack can take Banette out. Guts Ursaring, for example, will be a big problem for Banette. Quick Feet Mightyena can absorb a Thunder Wave and finish Banette with Crunch.
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