Status: Done: Awaiting Mod Review
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/banette
[OVERVIEW]
<p>If you are building a Trick Room team, Banette is certainly worth looking at for the role of a lead. Whereas it lacks the bulk of traditional Trick Room leads such as Dialga and Bronzong, Banette makes up for it with Shadow Sneak, Destiny Bond, and Insomnia. Therefore, Banette is best characterized as a suicide lead. It possesses better matchups than the aforementioned Pokemon against leads such as Darkrai and Deoxys-S, and has an easier time getting KOes due to Destiny Bond and Shadow Sneak. However, it is definitely more prediction reliant than Dialga and Bronzong, has a worse matchup against Groudon in particular, and can't set up Stealth Rock, so using Banette has its costs.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick Room (Ubers)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Destiny Bond
move 4: Protect / Will-O-Wisp
item: Focus Sash
ability: Insomnia
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to its unique ability and moveset, Banette is able to get up Trick Room against a litany of enemy leads, and hopefully score a KO with Destiny Bond. Generally speaking, you will want to use Trick Room first, and use Destiny Bond on a predicted attack after your Focus Sash is broken. If your opponent is going to use a support move first, it might be worth using Will-O-Wisp or Shadow Sneak. Against the ubiquitous Deoxys-S, which will likely employ Taunt against Banette, Shadow Sneak is recommended to 2HKO it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Insomnia is crucial to this set, as it forces Darkrai leads to attack you. It can then use Protect to scout for Trick, use Trick Room, and Destiny Bond for the OHKO, unless you predict that your opponent will switch, in which case you should make a double switch to one of your Trick Room sweepers. Against Shaymin-S, the recommended strategy is to use Protect to lock it into a move (likely Air Slash), and switch to one of your setup Pokemon that resist said move, at which point you can set up Trick Room. Deoxys-A is 2HKOed by Shadow Sneak, and better yet, some Deoxys-A leads may be incapable of damaging you because they only possess Superpower and ExtremeSpeed as attacking moves. If that is the case, using Shadow Sneak is recommended whether they stay in to set up Stealth Rock or they switch. Kyogre is defeated by using Protect to scout out its moveset, using Trick Room as it breaks the Focus Sash, and Destiny Bond to KO it.</p>
<p>It's worth noting that leads such as Dialga and Groudon pose problems for Banette because they can gain momentum for their team by setting up Stealth Rock, and can stall out your turns of Trick Room by using support moves. Indeed, quite a few opponents using other leads may attempt to stall out your Trick Room turns by forcing you to play guessing games about whether they will attack or switch. To counter this, you will need to predict your opponent's intentions, and be ready to switch in one of your sweepers if you think he will switch himself.</p>
<p>The EVs on this set guarantee 2HKOes on Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A with Shadow Sneak. The EVs not allocated to Attack are mainly filler, and thus allocated to HP. Regarding the moveset, you can use Will-O-Wisp if you want to cripple enemy Groudon leads, but Protect is the recommended move to scout for attacks and support moves from the likes of Kyogre, Shaymin-S, Mewtwo, and Darkrai. Finally, Frisk is a near-useless ability, whereas Insomnia is powerful due to Darkrai's prevalence in the Ubers tier.</p>
<p>Banette is designed for use on Trick Room teams, so its teammates should come from the standard suite of Trick Room sweepers and supporters. Bronzong, Dialga, and Mew are excellent Pokemon to help set up Trick Room, and your team should have 2 of them along with Banette (most Trick Room teams have 3 dedicated support Pokemon). As for your sweepers, you should choose Pokemon that can benefit from being "faster" than everyone else in order to focus on their mixed capabilities or gain added bulk. Sweepers such as Rayquaza, Palkia, and Giratina-O can can take advantage of Trick Room by allocating the maximum amount of EVs to both Attack and Special Attack in order to more easily break through stall teams, which are usually the bane of Trick Room. Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre also can take advantage of Trick Room by allocating EVs to HP rather than Speed, and maybe even using Swords Dance in the case of Groudon.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Banette isn't too concerned about weather, with the exception of Sandstorm, which nullifies its Focus Sash. Fortunately, the only lead that summons a Sandstorm in Ubers is Tyranitar, who is not commonly seen. Banette, as a lead, isn't affected by Stealth Rock, nor does it benefit from the move. However, your Trick Room recipients may need the entry hazard in order to procure various KOes. Dialga and Bronzong are great Stealth Rock users on Trick Room teams.</p>
<p>Banette exists to serve Trick Room teams as a suicide lead, so his partners are taken from the standard suite of Trick Room users and abusers. Pokemon such as Dialga, Bronzong, and Mew are great choices for the purpose of setting up Trick Room. On certain teams, Palkia, Cresselia, and Jirachi can also function in such a capacity. As for Trick Room abusers, pokemon such as Rayquaza and Palkia enjoy the field condition, because it enables them to develop their formidable mixed capabilities instead of being concerned with their Speed. They also aren't crippled by paralysis under Trick Room, though becoming fully paralyzed is a nuisance. Additionally, Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre can abuse Trick Room to invest EVs in their HP rather than Speed, gaining considerable bulk.</p>
<p>Banette suffers against support leads such as Groudon, Dialga, and Forretress. These Pokemon aren't forced to attack you, and can instead set up Stealth Rock, phaze or status you, and force you to play mindgames about getting your Trick Room abusers onto the field. These Pokemon tend to be a part of stall teams, who have a favorable matchup against Trick Room teams by virtue of the fact that their Pokemon don't mind moving second, and that Trick Room abusers often don't have any stat-boosting moves. It cannot be stressed enough that the rest of your team must be capable of dismantling a stall team. Mixed sweepers such as Rayquaza, Dialga, and Palkia are invaluable in this task.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>One of Banette's problems is that it is a one-trick pony: it has few useful options besides what has already been listed. Taunt can shut down the rare opposing Forretress lead, but isn't good for much else because of Banette's low Speed. Don't try using anything from Banette's meager special movepool; even with max Special Attack EVs, Thunder fails to 2HKO Kyogre, who outspeeds and 2HKOes Banette in return.</p>
[EVs]
<p>The maximum amount of EVs must be allocated to Attack to boost the power of Shadow Sneak, and the minimum possible Speed is necessary for a Trick Room Pokemon. The rest of the EVs are mainly filler.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The worst possible lead a Banette can face is a Forretress. The bagworm is actually slower than Banette, so it benefits from Trick Room. Forretress basically can put up a free layer of entry hazards against Banette, who must switch to another setup Pokemon to avoid giving up any more time to Forretress.</p>
<p>Groudon and Dialga pose problems for Banette due to Stealth Rock, Roar, and other support moves. They are not forced to attack Banette because of these moves, and thus can force the your to play mind games with your opponent, wondering if he will attack or switch.</p>
<p>Other than that, you must focus on beating the Trick Room sweepers that Banette sets up, which is done by attempting to stall out the Trick Room, and then sweeping or focusing on your strategy. Stall teams have a far easier time with this than offensive ones.</p>
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/banette
[OVERVIEW]
<p>If you are building a Trick Room team, Banette is certainly worth looking at for the role of a lead. Whereas it lacks the bulk of traditional Trick Room leads such as Dialga and Bronzong, Banette makes up for it with Shadow Sneak, Destiny Bond, and Insomnia. Therefore, Banette is best characterized as a suicide lead. It possesses better matchups than the aforementioned Pokemon against leads such as Darkrai and Deoxys-S, and has an easier time getting KOes due to Destiny Bond and Shadow Sneak. However, it is definitely more prediction reliant than Dialga and Bronzong, has a worse matchup against Groudon in particular, and can't set up Stealth Rock, so using Banette has its costs.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick Room (Ubers)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Destiny Bond
move 4: Protect / Will-O-Wisp
item: Focus Sash
ability: Insomnia
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to its unique ability and moveset, Banette is able to get up Trick Room against a litany of enemy leads, and hopefully score a KO with Destiny Bond. Generally speaking, you will want to use Trick Room first, and use Destiny Bond on a predicted attack after your Focus Sash is broken. If your opponent is going to use a support move first, it might be worth using Will-O-Wisp or Shadow Sneak. Against the ubiquitous Deoxys-S, which will likely employ Taunt against Banette, Shadow Sneak is recommended to 2HKO it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Insomnia is crucial to this set, as it forces Darkrai leads to attack you. It can then use Protect to scout for Trick, use Trick Room, and Destiny Bond for the OHKO, unless you predict that your opponent will switch, in which case you should make a double switch to one of your Trick Room sweepers. Against Shaymin-S, the recommended strategy is to use Protect to lock it into a move (likely Air Slash), and switch to one of your setup Pokemon that resist said move, at which point you can set up Trick Room. Deoxys-A is 2HKOed by Shadow Sneak, and better yet, some Deoxys-A leads may be incapable of damaging you because they only possess Superpower and ExtremeSpeed as attacking moves. If that is the case, using Shadow Sneak is recommended whether they stay in to set up Stealth Rock or they switch. Kyogre is defeated by using Protect to scout out its moveset, using Trick Room as it breaks the Focus Sash, and Destiny Bond to KO it.</p>
<p>It's worth noting that leads such as Dialga and Groudon pose problems for Banette because they can gain momentum for their team by setting up Stealth Rock, and can stall out your turns of Trick Room by using support moves. Indeed, quite a few opponents using other leads may attempt to stall out your Trick Room turns by forcing you to play guessing games about whether they will attack or switch. To counter this, you will need to predict your opponent's intentions, and be ready to switch in one of your sweepers if you think he will switch himself.</p>
<p>The EVs on this set guarantee 2HKOes on Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A with Shadow Sneak. The EVs not allocated to Attack are mainly filler, and thus allocated to HP. Regarding the moveset, you can use Will-O-Wisp if you want to cripple enemy Groudon leads, but Protect is the recommended move to scout for attacks and support moves from the likes of Kyogre, Shaymin-S, Mewtwo, and Darkrai. Finally, Frisk is a near-useless ability, whereas Insomnia is powerful due to Darkrai's prevalence in the Ubers tier.</p>
<p>Banette is designed for use on Trick Room teams, so its teammates should come from the standard suite of Trick Room sweepers and supporters. Bronzong, Dialga, and Mew are excellent Pokemon to help set up Trick Room, and your team should have 2 of them along with Banette (most Trick Room teams have 3 dedicated support Pokemon). As for your sweepers, you should choose Pokemon that can benefit from being "faster" than everyone else in order to focus on their mixed capabilities or gain added bulk. Sweepers such as Rayquaza, Palkia, and Giratina-O can can take advantage of Trick Room by allocating the maximum amount of EVs to both Attack and Special Attack in order to more easily break through stall teams, which are usually the bane of Trick Room. Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre also can take advantage of Trick Room by allocating EVs to HP rather than Speed, and maybe even using Swords Dance in the case of Groudon.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Banette isn't too concerned about weather, with the exception of Sandstorm, which nullifies its Focus Sash. Fortunately, the only lead that summons a Sandstorm in Ubers is Tyranitar, who is not commonly seen. Banette, as a lead, isn't affected by Stealth Rock, nor does it benefit from the move. However, your Trick Room recipients may need the entry hazard in order to procure various KOes. Dialga and Bronzong are great Stealth Rock users on Trick Room teams.</p>
<p>Banette exists to serve Trick Room teams as a suicide lead, so his partners are taken from the standard suite of Trick Room users and abusers. Pokemon such as Dialga, Bronzong, and Mew are great choices for the purpose of setting up Trick Room. On certain teams, Palkia, Cresselia, and Jirachi can also function in such a capacity. As for Trick Room abusers, pokemon such as Rayquaza and Palkia enjoy the field condition, because it enables them to develop their formidable mixed capabilities instead of being concerned with their Speed. They also aren't crippled by paralysis under Trick Room, though becoming fully paralyzed is a nuisance. Additionally, Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre can abuse Trick Room to invest EVs in their HP rather than Speed, gaining considerable bulk.</p>
<p>Banette suffers against support leads such as Groudon, Dialga, and Forretress. These Pokemon aren't forced to attack you, and can instead set up Stealth Rock, phaze or status you, and force you to play mindgames about getting your Trick Room abusers onto the field. These Pokemon tend to be a part of stall teams, who have a favorable matchup against Trick Room teams by virtue of the fact that their Pokemon don't mind moving second, and that Trick Room abusers often don't have any stat-boosting moves. It cannot be stressed enough that the rest of your team must be capable of dismantling a stall team. Mixed sweepers such as Rayquaza, Dialga, and Palkia are invaluable in this task.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>One of Banette's problems is that it is a one-trick pony: it has few useful options besides what has already been listed. Taunt can shut down the rare opposing Forretress lead, but isn't good for much else because of Banette's low Speed. Don't try using anything from Banette's meager special movepool; even with max Special Attack EVs, Thunder fails to 2HKO Kyogre, who outspeeds and 2HKOes Banette in return.</p>
[EVs]
<p>The maximum amount of EVs must be allocated to Attack to boost the power of Shadow Sneak, and the minimum possible Speed is necessary for a Trick Room Pokemon. The rest of the EVs are mainly filler.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The worst possible lead a Banette can face is a Forretress. The bagworm is actually slower than Banette, so it benefits from Trick Room. Forretress basically can put up a free layer of entry hazards against Banette, who must switch to another setup Pokemon to avoid giving up any more time to Forretress.</p>
<p>Groudon and Dialga pose problems for Banette due to Stealth Rock, Roar, and other support moves. They are not forced to attack Banette because of these moves, and thus can force the your to play mind games with your opponent, wondering if he will attack or switch.</p>
<p>Other than that, you must focus on beating the Trick Room sweepers that Banette sets up, which is done by attempting to stall out the Trick Room, and then sweeping or focusing on your strategy. Stall teams have a far easier time with this than offensive ones.</p>
