While Banette's movepool is similar to that of its fellow Ghosts, it does have the ever useful Knock Off to give it something to differentiate it from the pack. Shadow Claw is Banette's most powerful STAB option and hits reasonably hard from that impressive Attack stat. Shadow Sneak is a decent option to compensate for that low Speed, although it has a rather paltry Base Power of 40. Physical attackers can be burned with Will-O-Wisp, thus crippling their power. Thunder Wave slows down special sweepers, and fast Fire-types like Ninetales and Rapidash, who can absorb Will-O-Wisp. 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.
Banette’s physical sweeping capability is often overlooked due to its small movepool. With the exception of Steel-types, Banette can hit the vast majority of UU Pokemon for at least neutral damage. Shadow Sneak bypasses Banette's average Speed stat, and coming off a Choice Banded base 115 Attack, it is nothing to sneer at. Return is needed to hit incoming Dark-types, and does heavy damage to some of the frailer ones, like Absol, Cacturne and Sharpedo. Pursuit is great for wearing down Normal-types, if Banette manages to get in on a Return from a Choice Bander. It also tears frail Ghosts and Psychics to pieces, if they run, fearing a powerful Shadow Sneak. Sucker Punch is a good alternative, and lets Banette KO fast and frail Normal-types, like Swellow and Dodrio. The last moveslot has several good choices. They all cripple the opposing Pokemon one way or another, but Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are more reliable. This is because you may accidentally Trick your Choice Band onto a physical sweeper. Frisk is recommended on this set as it can function well with Trick. It allows you to scout for beneficial items and place Choice Band on Pokemon that won't benefit from an Attack boost. Frisk can also "support' your team as a whole, as it can help determine the set the Pokemon is running based on the item. Insomnia is still a good option, as it allows Banette more opportunities to switch in.
This moveset takes advantage of Banette's useful ability and relatively wide movepool to set up Trick Room. What sets this Banette apart from other Trick Room leads such as Bronzong is that it's not rendered relatively useless by Taunt leads. With a Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs, Banette will hit 118 Speed, outspeeding almost any opposing Pokemon once Trick Room has been activated. Destiny Bond fits snugly into Banette's moveset, since after Trick Room is activated Banette will nearly always use it first, taking down the opponent and allowing you to switch in a new Pokemon to take advantage of Trick Room unscathed. Thunder and Shadow Sneak are used to overcome most (if not all) of the Taunt leads, who otherwise would stop Banette from setting up Trick Room. Shadow Sneak 2HKOes Azelf and also allows Banette to always win against lead Gengar, which can only use Shadow Ball because of Banette's sleep-blocking Insomnia ability. Thunder lets Banette defeat other common Taunt leads, most specifically Gyarados and Aerodactyl. The former is usually OHKOed while defeating the latter is attained by using Thunder, then Shadow Sneak. Since Banette wants as little HP as possible for Destiny Bond to activate, only Attack and Special Attack EVs are required. Banette also wants the lowest Speed stat possible, making a Brave nature optimal.
The basic strategy behind this set is the same as the set above, but is more geared to take on the UU metagame. Banette is one of only two Pokemon in UU that has access to both Insomnia and Trick Room, making it a perfect candidate for setting it up. Considering the comparatively low level of Taunt leads in UU compared to OU, Taunt can replace an attacking move. Taunt will force any Pokemon to use an offensive move, for if you think the opponent might try to avoid attacking Banette directly, attempting to not be taken down by Destiny Bond. The last slot depends on how you plan to use Banette; offensively or defensively. If you want to use Banette as a quick suicide lead to get Trick Room up and sweep as soon as possible, Shadow Claw can prove pretty helpful for taking out any Pokemon that could possibly stop you or any Pokemon that just needs to be weakened first. However, Will-O-Wisp almost seems natural in Trick Room, lowering Attack with Trick Room reversing Speed. Both are acceptable options and give Banette some way of hurting opposing Pokemon. There is a different approach Banette can take with the set by ditching Destiny Bond for Knock Off and always using Will-O-Wisp in the last slot. Banette can act as a defensive Pokemon easily, and almost nothing will outpace it in Trick Room. If you choose to do this, an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with a Relaxed nature is recommended.
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. Alongside Shadow Ball, Hidden Power Fighting offers unresisted type coverage and takes out the Darks and Steels that can easily absorb Banette's STAB move. Other OptionsSnatch can be employed for stealing stat boosts or Substitutes. EVsDespite Banette's frailness, investing 252 EVs into HP does pay off from time to time, allowing you to take a Fire Blast from Timid Ninetales and Thunderbolt from Timid Rotom, as well as anything weaker. You can then proceed to take them out with Shadow Sneak, depending on their amount of health left. Max out whichever offensive stat you're using. Plenty of Speed is helpful on the Trick / Calm Mind set, particularly if you have Choice Scarf. 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 too, and gives Banette very little in the way of type coverage when using that great Attack stat. However, Banette does have a vast array of disrupting moves, which can make it a great asset to have on your team. A decent enough Pokémon in the lower tiers, where Fighting and Normal immunities are always welcome, but Banette faces stiff competition from Rotom, Drifblim, and Froslass. 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. Quick Feet Mightyena can absorb a Thunder Wave and finish Banette with Crunch. Steel-types will easily switch into any attacks from the Choice Bander, but will not be fond of Will-O-Wisp or Trick.
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