Banette

Using Banette in a Playthrough

Shuppet evolves into Banette at level 37, producing a pure Ghost physical attacker with base 115 Attack and useful immunities to Normal and Fighting. Generation III is especially favorable to Banette because Ghost attacks such as Shadow Ball are physical and therefore use its strongest stat, while Insomnia provides a complete sleep immunity that can create safe switches into predictable sleep moves. After the Generation IV physical/special split, Shadow Ball becomes special and no longer fits Banette's Attack, but physical Ghost options such as Shadow Claw and Shadow Sneak preserve its offensive role while priority helps compensate for only base 65 Speed. Will-O-Wisp, Knock Off, Taunt, Destiny Bond, Thunder Wave, Frisk, Cursed Body, and other utility allow Banette to disrupt opponents even when direct attacking is not ideal. Mega Banette raises Attack to an enormous base 165 and gains Prankster, giving priority to non-damaging moves and making Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Thunder Wave, and especially Destiny Bond much more dangerous, although the Mega form remains only moderately bulky and relatively slow.

Banette in Competitive Pokémon

Banette was a respectable ADV lower-tier Ghost because base 115 Attack powered physical Shadow Ball, Insomnia let it exploit sleep moves, and Will-O-Wisp, Knock Off, Taunt, or Destiny Bond supplied useful disruption. The physical/special split initially hurt its natural Ghost STAB by making Shadow Ball special, and standard Banette generally fell behind stronger or more versatile Ghost-types despite later access to Shadow Claw and priority. Mega Banette restored a clear competitive identity with base 165 Attack and Prankster, allowing priority Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Thunder Wave, or Destiny Bond alongside extremely powerful physical Ghost and Dark attacks. Prankster Destiny Bond is particularly distinctive because Mega Banette can threaten to trade itself for an opposing sweeper even when the foe is much faster, forcing awkward prediction from the opponent. Its competitive ceiling is still limited by mediocre bulk, only base 75 Speed after Mega Evolution, lack of reliable recovery, and the opportunity cost of using a Mega slot, but Mega Banette is a meaningful wallbreaker and disruptive specialist rather than merely a statistical upgrade.

Banette in Nuzlockes

Banette can be a useful Nuzlocke Pokemon because Normal and Fighting immunities create completely safe switches against known moves and its high Attack allows favorable battles to end quickly. Insomnia can remove sleep as a threat entirely, while Frisk is valuable for revealing opposing held items and Cursed Body can occasionally disable a dangerous attack after Banette is hit. Will-O-Wisp can sharply reduce physical damage, but imperfect accuracy in several generations means it should not be treated as guaranteed protection when a missed turn could cause a death. Destiny Bond is powerful competitively but conflicts with the usual goal of keeping every team member alive, so it is best treated as an emergency option rather than a routine Nuzlocke strategy. Mega Banette's Prankster utility and huge Attack can make it excellent in controlled matchups, but low defenses and Dark and Ghost weaknesses mean it should enter through immunities or safe switches rather than absorb neutral attacks.

Banette is said to originate from a discarded stuffed doll whose accumulated resentment and hatred became powerful enough to give the abandoned object life. It wanders garbage dumps and dark alleys searching for the child or owner who threw it away, using its own body like a voodoo doll and driving pins into itself to generate curses against others. The zipper across its mouth has a vital biological purpose: Banette's cursed life energy is sealed inside the body, and opening the mouth would allow that energy to escape. Its grudge is not necessarily permanent, however; some traditions claim that treating Banette with sufficient affection can satisfy the resentment and cause it to become an ordinary stuffed toy again, while sleeping Banette have been observed appearing happy as though remembering a time when they were loved. Mega Evolution violently destabilizes that restraint, opening additional zippers and releasing so much stored vindictiveness that Mega Banette may curse even its own Trainer despite their bond.