[OVERVIEW]
Mega Banette's sole niche is Prankster Destiny Bond, which it uses by alternating between Destiny Bond and an attacking move to checkmate most attackers into a double KO. This is particularly useful against setup sweepers, essentially denying their sweep by threatening the KO or forcing them out. However, Mega Banette is hindered by several flaws. Due to predetermined turn order, Prankster doesn't activate on the turn of Mega Evolution, meaning Banette has to use Protect or find a safe Mega Evolving opportunity against a weakened slower foe, severely limiting its possible options. While Mega Banette has a high Attack stat, the average Base Power of its moves heavily limits its damage potential, and poor stats everywhere else hold back its wide movepool and make Banette a one-trick pony.
Mega Banette also has immense difficulty fitting onto teams due to severe competition from other Pokemon, such as Spiritomb as a spinblocker, Absol as a stallbreaker, and even Sharpedo as a makeshift Prankster Destiny Bond user courtesy of Speed Boost. Furthermore, Mega Banette uses up the team's Mega slot, and other Mega Evolutions are usually more worthwhile, making it even harder to justify Mega Banette's use on most teams. Thus, Mega Banette only really manages fits on offensive entry hazard-stacking teams, where its capabilities, namely spinblocking and ability to trade KOs quickly, are maximized. However, even then it still faces competition from Rotom and Mismagius for the spinblocking role as well as Mega Glalie for the Mega slot and as an attacker that quickly attains KOs (with Explosion in Mega Glalie's case), so consider your options heavily first.
[SET]
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Destiny Bond
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Knock Off / Shadow Claw
move 4: Gunk Shot
item: Banettite
ability: Frisk / Insomnia
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 56 Def / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Destiny Bond halts faster sweepers, particularly setup sweepers without priority moves that can hit Mega Banette before it uses Destiny Bond, ending their rampage at the cost of Mega Banette's own life. Will-O-Wisp burns foes and benefits from Prankster, but it is primarily used to soften up bulky Pokemon such as Mega Steelix, Drapion, Qwilfish, Alomomola, and Amoonguss. Knock Off removes items, which is also helpful against bulky Pokemon. On the other hand, Shadow Claw allows Mega Banette to maintain greater damage against bulky Pokemon, particularly against bulky Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Mega Camerupt, and defensive Flygon, as Knock Off weakens after the first use; however, Shadow Claw may provide a free switch in for dangerous Normal-types, such as Meloetta and Exploud. Gunk Shot is Mega Banette's strongest attack and allows it to hit Dark-types, Fairy-types, and certain Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Mega Abomasnow, which shrug off Knock Off with ease; it also gives Mega Banette a tool to KO foes without resorting to Destiny Bond.
Alternatively, Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that can help Banette dispatch a weakened foe without needing to use Destiny Bond and can allow Banette to safely Mega Evolve should it KO the target. Shadow Sneak is a weaker alternative to Sucker Punch that is not reliant on the foe attacking Banette to work. Protect guarantees that Banette gets the Mega Evolution off without the risk of being KOed on the first turn, which is crucial if Banette needs to make use of Prankster Destiny Bond in a pinch.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment and an Adamant nature grant Mega Banette maximum power. After Mega Evolving, the Speed EVs allow Banette to outspeed Exploud, whereas the Defense EVs allow Mega Banette to always survive Adamant Hitmonlee's Life Orb-boosted Knock Off from full health. Less Speed investment can be run, though not outspeeding Fletchinder isn't advised. Either ability can be useful for Banette prior to Mega Evolving: Frisk scouts items, while Insomnia allows Mega Banette to fend off sleep users such as Amoonguss and Smeargle.
Usage Tips
========
Getting the Mega Evolution off is top priority, though it is only really an issue if you aren't running Protect on Banette; in this case, Banette can Mega Evolve by threatening a KO on a slower Pokemon or just surviving an attack. Mega Banette's main use is to disrupt opponents, primarily halting setup sweepers by putting them in a lose-lose situation between getting KOed by Destiny Bond, getting KOed by repeated attacks, and just getting forced out. With Prankster Destiny Bond, Mega Banette can act as a one-time insurance against sweepers such as Durant, Virizion, Tyrantrum, Hitmonlee, and Sigilyph which could potentially steamroll the team. This does mean Mega Banette has very little longevity and shouldn't be used conservatively, as it is meant to played in a kamikaze-like manner. Mega Banette can then make use of the switches caused by Destiny Bond to soften up foes, either with Will-O-Wisp or with its decently strong attacks. It is important to note that Prankster Will-O-Wisp is usually an inferior option to Prankster Destiny Bond even when it comes to stopping physical sweepers, as Mega Banette tends to still end up getting KOed either way. However, keeping the foe alive but burned can be a good choice if it provides a potential sweeping opportunity for one of Mega Banette's teammates.
Team Options
========
Mega Banette partners well with wallbreakers that can punch through the bulky Pokemon it struggles with; Mega Banette in turn can keep faster Pokemon at bay, albeit only one at a time before its life inevitably expires. There are an abundance of wallbreakers, which include powerhouses such as Exploud, Emboar, Venusaur, Houndoom, Tyrantrum, Meloetta, Hitmonlee, and Durant. Mega Banette best fits on hyper offensive Spikes-stacking teams, where it can be used to halt a foe's sweep or quickly snag KOs in general in order to pave the way for its teammates to sweep. As Mega Banette also acts as a spinblocker, entry hazard setters such as Smeargle, Qwilfish, Omastar, and Accelgor make for appealing teammates. Braviary can work as a partner to discourage Defog, which Mega Banette cannot block, and can punch holes in bulkier teams for Mega Banette.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Banette has some interesting options that it sadly does not have the moveslot for. Taunt can be used to force foes to attack into the Destiny Bond as well as preventing status like Toxic, but alternating between Destiny Bond and an attacking move is effective enough against offensive foes, whereas Banette would preferably not waste its Destiny Bond on slower bulky foes when it can cripple them while keeping itself alive for real emergencies such as stopping a setup sweeper. Toxic can really cripple certain Pokemon, such as Alomomola, Tangrowth, and Fletchinder, although it does nothing against most other switch-ins, such as Mega Steelix, Drapion, and Amoonguss. Infestation can be a funny way to take advantage of Destiny Bond; it can either trap the sweeper and further limit the opponent's options or trap the switch-in and preventing the opponent from double switching while you make your switch, making it a quirky way to gain momentum.
On the other hand, some eye-catching moves just aren't good on Mega Banette. Mega Banette has access to Pain Split, but there is no need to increase Mega Banette's longevity and it does not help Mega Banette's matchup against bulky Pokemon by much either. Mega Banette's poor longevity and bulk also mean Calm Mind and Cotton Guard would not take it anywhere, not to mention Spiritomb uses Calm Mind better. Disable can prevent the opponent from using a move and may synergize with Protect, but considering Banette is either trying to take foes down with Destiny Bond or getting forced out by bulky Pokemon, it doesn't help in the larger scheme of things. Pursuit can catch foes trying to escape Destiny Bond, but Spiritomb is usually a better and more consistent user, especially because it gets STAB on it. Mega Banette has access to Prankster Thunder Wave, but instead of sacrificing itself to slow down foes for its teammates, Mega Banette would rather just bring them down with it via Destiny Bond; there are also other Prankster Thunder Wave users that do not take up the team's Mega slot, such as Liepard.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Pokemon can evade the KO via Destiny Bond or Mega Banette's attacks by simply tanking its attacks and PP stalling Destiny Bond so one will never be at risk of getting knocked out. The likes of Alomomola, Tangrowth, Aromatisse, Amoonguss, Togetic, and even bulky Flygon can keep Mega Banette at bay.
**Status**: Any kind of status can interfere with Destiny Bond's success, be it poison's and burn's health reduction or paralysis's and sleep's immobilization; burn also reduces Banette's damage output. The likes of Scald and Toxic do wonders at fending off Mega Banette, but Will-O-Wisp Fletchinder in particular deserves a special mention for being one of the few setup sweepers to easily circumvent Mega Banette. Taunt can help break the Destiny Bond + attack alternating cycle, although very few users will come out unscathed regardless due to the threat of Will-O-Wisp, much less defeat Mega Banette one-on-one.
**Sacrificing Less Valuable Pokemon**: Outside of the aforementioned methods, it can be really tricky to prevent Mega Banette from claiming a KO on your Pokemon. However, one of Mega Banette's biggest flaws is that, for the most part, it is the opponent that gets to choose what Mega Banette KOes. One can save their more important Pokemon from Mega Banette by having a teammate take the fall from Destiny Bond.
Mega Banette's sole niche is Prankster Destiny Bond, which it uses by alternating between Destiny Bond and an attacking move to checkmate most attackers into a double KO. This is particularly useful against setup sweepers, essentially denying their sweep by threatening the KO or forcing them out. However, Mega Banette is hindered by several flaws. Due to predetermined turn order, Prankster doesn't activate on the turn of Mega Evolution, meaning Banette has to use Protect or find a safe Mega Evolving opportunity against a weakened slower foe, severely limiting its possible options. While Mega Banette has a high Attack stat, the average Base Power of its moves heavily limits its damage potential, and poor stats everywhere else hold back its wide movepool and make Banette a one-trick pony.
Mega Banette also has immense difficulty fitting onto teams due to severe competition from other Pokemon, such as Spiritomb as a spinblocker, Absol as a stallbreaker, and even Sharpedo as a makeshift Prankster Destiny Bond user courtesy of Speed Boost. Furthermore, Mega Banette uses up the team's Mega slot, and other Mega Evolutions are usually more worthwhile, making it even harder to justify Mega Banette's use on most teams. Thus, Mega Banette only really manages fits on offensive entry hazard-stacking teams, where its capabilities, namely spinblocking and ability to trade KOs quickly, are maximized. However, even then it still faces competition from Rotom and Mismagius for the spinblocking role as well as Mega Glalie for the Mega slot and as an attacker that quickly attains KOs (with Explosion in Mega Glalie's case), so consider your options heavily first.
[SET]
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Destiny Bond
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Knock Off / Shadow Claw
move 4: Gunk Shot
item: Banettite
ability: Frisk / Insomnia
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 56 Def / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Destiny Bond halts faster sweepers, particularly setup sweepers without priority moves that can hit Mega Banette before it uses Destiny Bond, ending their rampage at the cost of Mega Banette's own life. Will-O-Wisp burns foes and benefits from Prankster, but it is primarily used to soften up bulky Pokemon such as Mega Steelix, Drapion, Qwilfish, Alomomola, and Amoonguss. Knock Off removes items, which is also helpful against bulky Pokemon. On the other hand, Shadow Claw allows Mega Banette to maintain greater damage against bulky Pokemon, particularly against bulky Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Mega Camerupt, and defensive Flygon, as Knock Off weakens after the first use; however, Shadow Claw may provide a free switch in for dangerous Normal-types, such as Meloetta and Exploud. Gunk Shot is Mega Banette's strongest attack and allows it to hit Dark-types, Fairy-types, and certain Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Mega Abomasnow, which shrug off Knock Off with ease; it also gives Mega Banette a tool to KO foes without resorting to Destiny Bond.
Alternatively, Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that can help Banette dispatch a weakened foe without needing to use Destiny Bond and can allow Banette to safely Mega Evolve should it KO the target. Shadow Sneak is a weaker alternative to Sucker Punch that is not reliant on the foe attacking Banette to work. Protect guarantees that Banette gets the Mega Evolution off without the risk of being KOed on the first turn, which is crucial if Banette needs to make use of Prankster Destiny Bond in a pinch.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment and an Adamant nature grant Mega Banette maximum power. After Mega Evolving, the Speed EVs allow Banette to outspeed Exploud, whereas the Defense EVs allow Mega Banette to always survive Adamant Hitmonlee's Life Orb-boosted Knock Off from full health. Less Speed investment can be run, though not outspeeding Fletchinder isn't advised. Either ability can be useful for Banette prior to Mega Evolving: Frisk scouts items, while Insomnia allows Mega Banette to fend off sleep users such as Amoonguss and Smeargle.
Usage Tips
========
Getting the Mega Evolution off is top priority, though it is only really an issue if you aren't running Protect on Banette; in this case, Banette can Mega Evolve by threatening a KO on a slower Pokemon or just surviving an attack. Mega Banette's main use is to disrupt opponents, primarily halting setup sweepers by putting them in a lose-lose situation between getting KOed by Destiny Bond, getting KOed by repeated attacks, and just getting forced out. With Prankster Destiny Bond, Mega Banette can act as a one-time insurance against sweepers such as Durant, Virizion, Tyrantrum, Hitmonlee, and Sigilyph which could potentially steamroll the team. This does mean Mega Banette has very little longevity and shouldn't be used conservatively, as it is meant to played in a kamikaze-like manner. Mega Banette can then make use of the switches caused by Destiny Bond to soften up foes, either with Will-O-Wisp or with its decently strong attacks. It is important to note that Prankster Will-O-Wisp is usually an inferior option to Prankster Destiny Bond even when it comes to stopping physical sweepers, as Mega Banette tends to still end up getting KOed either way. However, keeping the foe alive but burned can be a good choice if it provides a potential sweeping opportunity for one of Mega Banette's teammates.
Team Options
========
Mega Banette partners well with wallbreakers that can punch through the bulky Pokemon it struggles with; Mega Banette in turn can keep faster Pokemon at bay, albeit only one at a time before its life inevitably expires. There are an abundance of wallbreakers, which include powerhouses such as Exploud, Emboar, Venusaur, Houndoom, Tyrantrum, Meloetta, Hitmonlee, and Durant. Mega Banette best fits on hyper offensive Spikes-stacking teams, where it can be used to halt a foe's sweep or quickly snag KOs in general in order to pave the way for its teammates to sweep. As Mega Banette also acts as a spinblocker, entry hazard setters such as Smeargle, Qwilfish, Omastar, and Accelgor make for appealing teammates. Braviary can work as a partner to discourage Defog, which Mega Banette cannot block, and can punch holes in bulkier teams for Mega Banette.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Banette has some interesting options that it sadly does not have the moveslot for. Taunt can be used to force foes to attack into the Destiny Bond as well as preventing status like Toxic, but alternating between Destiny Bond and an attacking move is effective enough against offensive foes, whereas Banette would preferably not waste its Destiny Bond on slower bulky foes when it can cripple them while keeping itself alive for real emergencies such as stopping a setup sweeper. Toxic can really cripple certain Pokemon, such as Alomomola, Tangrowth, and Fletchinder, although it does nothing against most other switch-ins, such as Mega Steelix, Drapion, and Amoonguss. Infestation can be a funny way to take advantage of Destiny Bond; it can either trap the sweeper and further limit the opponent's options or trap the switch-in and preventing the opponent from double switching while you make your switch, making it a quirky way to gain momentum.
On the other hand, some eye-catching moves just aren't good on Mega Banette. Mega Banette has access to Pain Split, but there is no need to increase Mega Banette's longevity and it does not help Mega Banette's matchup against bulky Pokemon by much either. Mega Banette's poor longevity and bulk also mean Calm Mind and Cotton Guard would not take it anywhere, not to mention Spiritomb uses Calm Mind better. Disable can prevent the opponent from using a move and may synergize with Protect, but considering Banette is either trying to take foes down with Destiny Bond or getting forced out by bulky Pokemon, it doesn't help in the larger scheme of things. Pursuit can catch foes trying to escape Destiny Bond, but Spiritomb is usually a better and more consistent user, especially because it gets STAB on it. Mega Banette has access to Prankster Thunder Wave, but instead of sacrificing itself to slow down foes for its teammates, Mega Banette would rather just bring them down with it via Destiny Bond; there are also other Prankster Thunder Wave users that do not take up the team's Mega slot, such as Liepard.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Pokemon can evade the KO via Destiny Bond or Mega Banette's attacks by simply tanking its attacks and PP stalling Destiny Bond so one will never be at risk of getting knocked out. The likes of Alomomola, Tangrowth, Aromatisse, Amoonguss, Togetic, and even bulky Flygon can keep Mega Banette at bay.
**Status**: Any kind of status can interfere with Destiny Bond's success, be it poison's and burn's health reduction or paralysis's and sleep's immobilization; burn also reduces Banette's damage output. The likes of Scald and Toxic do wonders at fending off Mega Banette, but Will-O-Wisp Fletchinder in particular deserves a special mention for being one of the few setup sweepers to easily circumvent Mega Banette. Taunt can help break the Destiny Bond + attack alternating cycle, although very few users will come out unscathed regardless due to the threat of Will-O-Wisp, much less defeat Mega Banette one-on-one.
**Sacrificing Less Valuable Pokemon**: Outside of the aforementioned methods, it can be really tricky to prevent Mega Banette from claiming a KO on your Pokemon. However, one of Mega Banette's biggest flaws is that, for the most part, it is the opponent that gets to choose what Mega Banette KOes. One can save their more important Pokemon from Mega Banette by having a teammate take the fall from Destiny Bond.
Last edited:
