Banette

Banette
File:Banette.png National Pokédex Shuppet - Banette (#354) - Duskull Hoenn Pokédex Shuppet - Banette (#147) - Duskull
Japanese name	Jupetta
Evolves from	Shuppet
Evolves into	None
Generation	Third
Species	Marionette Pokémon
Type	Ghost
Height	3'7" (1.1 m)
Weight	28 pounds (13 kg)
Ability	Insomnia/Far Sight(the latter from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl onwards)

Banette (ジュペッタ Jupetta in Japanese, Banette in German and Branette in French) is a fictional, puppet-like character in the Pokémon franchise. It is #354 in the National Pokédex.

Banette's name is a portmanteau of bane, meaning a source of harm, and marionette, meaning a hand-controlled puppet.

Characteristics

The origins of the Banette species are unusually sinister. They are said to come from plush toys that were thrown away, similar to how Grimers and Koffings are formed by industrial waste. Shuppet possesses a discarded doll, growing into and forming Banette, a being which is actually somewhat large for a toy (3 foot 7 inches on average). It is also said that Banette live in garbage dumps of back alleys and wander around looking for the children that disposed of them, most likely in order to harm or kill them as it's revenge.

A Banette is filled with strong feelings of hate, which it expresses by laying powerful curses. It gains power to cast those curses by sticking pins into its own body, turning itself into a voodoo doll.

Banette's weakness lies in that its vital force is artificial, since it is an inanimate object infused with a cursed energy. This energy can be removed and effectively exorcized by forcing its zipper-like mouth open. Surprisingly, Banette can learn Screech, a vocal attack which would seem to require opening of the mouth, theoretically killing it; however it may produce noise by supernatural means. Other than its aforementioned feature, Banette is blackish-gray, has creepy-looking red eyes, small pointy ears, a horn, a long strand of hair drawn like a cartoon ghost, flipper-shaped arms, and a yellow tail shaped like a spiky doorknob. This is probably why, in Pokémon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness, Banette opens its mouth just before fainting, so that the evil spirit can escape before Banette is recalled. The evil inside of it is likely the Shuppet which possessed what once was a doll and is now Banette.

Furthermore, the idea of Banette being a puppet controlled by a spirit is illustrated by Banette's name. As mentioned earlier, its name comes from the word "marionette", a puppet on strings controlled by a human.

In the video games

Banette can be found in the Sky Pillar, in Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Emerald. It can also be evolved from a Shuppet. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness has one available as well. It can be snagged from Cipher Peon Litnar at Citadark Island.

Banette is the lone pure-Ghost-type Pokémon with an above-average physical attack. This is extremely useful, as it is the only Ghost-type that can effectively take advantage of the same-type attack boost (x1.5) for using Ghost-type moves (which, in the third generation, are physical attacks, not special; the fourth generation ended the three generations of moves of a certain type being physical or special; due to such split, some Ghost-type attacks are classified as special in the fourth generation). Its speed and defense statistics are below average.

Banette can be considered the statistical counterpart to Dusclops in that it sacrifices speed and defense for offense, whereas Dusclops sacrifices speed and offense for defense.

Phoebe of the Hoenn region's Elite Four uses two level 49 female Banette.

In the animé

The trainer Harley owns a Banette and used it in the episodes 'Deceit and Assist' and 'Rhapsody in Drew'. Strangely, its mouth unzips itself to make it look and sound more evil.

In other properties

In the card game

Banette has appeared three times in the Pokémon Trading Card Game thus far, in EX Hidden Legends as a holographic Stage 1 Psychic Pokémon, in EX Legend Maker as Banette EX, and in the newest set "EX Crystal Guardians" as a Stage 1 Pokemon.

References

• The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Publications

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
• Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
• Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Banette as a species
• Template:Serebiidex
• Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
• PsyPoke - Banette Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
• Smogon.com - Banette Tactical Data
• Template:WikiKnowledge