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Banette

ListEntry

Table of Contents

#354

218

ATK

126

DEF

162

STA

Lvl 50Max CP

2599

Lvl 40

2298

Lvl 25Weather Boost

1642

Lvl 20Raids/Eggs

1313

Lvl 15Research

985

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Moves

Fast

Hex

Shadow Claw

Charge

PvE Analysis

Banette is a strictly worse version of Gengar, even without the Poison-typing that burdens Gengar with inconvenient weaknesses. However, it possesses a good Atk stat and one of the best movesets in the game in Shadow Claw + Shadow Ball. It's usable, but not exactly a recommended investment.
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Shadow Claw + Shadow BallBest
Shadow Claw, one of the best fast moves in Pokemon GO, is strictly superior to Hex.
Shadow Ball is Banette’s superior charge move, having better damage, coverage, and STAB compared to Dazzling Gleam.
Thunder offers no offensive utility.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Hex + Dazzling GleamBest
Hex is slightly better than Shadow Claw, offering slightly higher damage and more energy gain.
Dazzling Gleam is arguably superior to Shadow Ball on defense, better at hitting some common attackers.
Thunder hits early, but is weak and won't be used before Banette faints.

PvP Analysis

Shadow Claw + Shadow Ball and Thunder
This moveset is relatively straightforward and allows Banette to threaten with a lot of Ghost-type damage with STAB. Shadow Ball is actually the cheapest charge move in terms of energy among Banette's options, and also gets STAB which means it gets used most of the time. Thunder is the second cheapest charge move energy-wise so consider that for some interesting coverage, though it won't be used much. Dazzling Gleam can cover Banette's weakness to Dark-type foes, but a high 70 energy cost leaves it undesirable to use. 
Great League
Banette is a risky Pokemon for Great League due to its squishyness. A severe lack of bulk causes it to lose many matchups due to simply not being able to finish the opponent fast enough. This becomes more apparent when looking at its moveset. With Shadow Ball as the cheapest charge move in terms of energy, Banette needs 8 Shadow Claws to be able to use a charge move. A lack of a low energy cost charge move prevents Banette from effectively being able to bait shields, which means Banette can't apply enough shield pressure to really threaten its opponents. As long as the opponent uses one shield, Banette needs to use 16 Shadow Claws before being able to hit the opponent for heavy damage, which Banette might not even get to due to low durability. Despite this, Banette still manages to pick up some wins in Great League, though mostly against opponents which rely on charge moves for big damage instead of their fast moves (ex. Forretress, Froslass, Lanturn). Obvious typing advantages also awards wins against Medicham.
Ultra League
Despite a higher CP cap which benefits Banette's high ATK stat, the same problems in Great League are still present in Ultra League. Narrow wins or ties instead of clean wins are unimpressive against Psychic-type legendaries, which have a typing disadvantage (Psycho Cut Mewtwo loses more notably). Banette is also no match for the king of Ghost-types: Giratina. 
Master League
Banette loses against just about every meta pick in Master League. Any wins it does get are mostly off-meta candidates, such as Uxie. 

Great League
Banette is a risky Pokemon for Great League due to its squishyness. A severe lack of bulk causes it to lose many matchups due to simply not being able to finish the opponent fast enough. This becomes more apparent when looking at its moveset. With Shadow Ball as the cheapest charge move in terms of energy, Banette needs 8 Shadow Claws to be able to use a charge move. A lack of a low energy cost charge move prevents Banette from effectively being able to bait shields, which means Banette can't apply enough shield pressure to really threaten its opponents. As long as the opponent uses one shield, Banette needs to use 16 Shadow Claws before being able to hit the opponent for heavy damage, which Banette might not even get to due to low durability. Despite this, Banette still manages to pick up some wins in Great League, though mostly against opponents which rely on charge moves for big damage instead of their fast moves (ex. Forretress, Froslass, Lanturn). Obvious typing advantages also awards wins against Medicham.
Ultra League
Despite a higher CP cap which benefits Banette's high ATK stat, the same problems in Great League are still present in Ultra League. Narrow wins or ties instead of clean wins are unimpressive against Psychic-type legendaries, which have a typing disadvantage (Psycho Cut Mewtwo loses more notably). Banette is also no match for the king of Ghost-types: Giratina.
Master League
Banette loses against just about every meta pick in Master League. Any wins it does get are mostly off-meta candidates, such as Uxie.