Pokémon Champions: the Mega Banette build for the M-5 season — set, EVs and partners in M-B rules

Since August 5, 2026 at 02:00 UTC, season M-5 of Pokémon Champions' ranked battles rewards all players with Chandelure and its Mega Stone, Chandelurite, slipped into the free tiers of the battle pass. No need for a premium pass or a single euro: the Ghost/Fire chandelier and its Mega Evolution unlock simply by playing, until September 9 at 01:59 UTC.

The timing is ideal to learn it. Regulation M-B remains the ranked battle format until the end of the season, and it's also the format for the 2026 World Championships, held from August 28 to 30 in San Francisco. The meta is stable, thoroughly documented… and Mega Chandelure remains marginal there: around 0.3% usage according to ladder data compiled by Pikalytics. In other words, almost no one is preparing their team against it.

Here's the reference build for fielding it in doubles: ability, nature, EV spread, moves, partners — and the threats waiting around the corner.

Why Mega Chandelure deserves a try in regulation M-B

On paper, the Mega Evolution turns a glass cannon into a complete threat. Its base stats after Mega Evolution:

• HP: 60 — its true Achilles' heel;
• Attack: 75 / Defense: 110;
• Special Attack: 175 — one of the highest values in the game;
• Special Defense: 110;
• Speed: 90 (80 before Mega Evolution).

The Ghost/Fire typing brings two valuable immunities (Normal and Fighting) and no fewer than seven resistances: Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, Fairy, and Bug. In exchange, it fears Water, Ground, Rock, Ghost, and Dark — five types heavily played in the format, more on that below.

Its Speed of 90 makes it a rare hybrid profile: 110 points with no investment, 85 in the slow version (Quiet nature, 0 EVs and 0 Speed IVs) to strike first under Trick Room, or 156 with full Speed investment and a Timid nature to outpace neutral-natured base 100s. One single Pokémon, two speed plans.

Flash Fire before Mega Evolution, Infiltrator after

A detail many players overlook: as long as Chandelure hasn't Mega Evolved, it keeps its base ability. Take Flash Fire, the most common one among recorded sets: it grants immunity to Fire-type moves and boosts its own by 50% once activated. Delaying the Mega Evolution by a turn to absorb a predicted opposing Heat Wave is a genuine line of play, not a gimmick.

Once Chandelurite is activated, the ability becomes Infiltrator: Mega Chandelure's moves bypass Protect, Light Screen, Aurora Veil, Mat Block, and opposing Substitutes. In a meta where screen teams and barrier setters are everywhere, this is a unique strategic argument — the chandelier strikes at full power where other special attackers see their damage cut in half.

The reference set: Trick Room attacker

Usage data in regulation M-B converge toward an almost unanimous moveset:

The Modest nature dominates (more than three sets out of four according to aggregators), far ahead of Timid and Calm. Our recommended EV spread to get started: 252 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def. With 110 in both Defenses and a maximized HP pool, Mega Chandelure takes neutral hits far better than its glass cannon reputation suggests, and its 175 base Special Attack doesn't need an overly offensive nature to secure big damage.

Fast variant: Timid 252 Speed

At 156 Speed, Mega Chandelure turns into a classic tempo attacker, very comfortable under Tailwind. You sacrifice power and bulk, but you catch off guard teams that mentally file it under "slow". Trick Room then gives way to a coverage move.

Full Trick Room variant: Quiet 0 Speed

A Quiet nature, 0 EVs and 0 Speed IVs: 85 points, below the vast majority of the format. Once Trick Room is set — by itself or by a partner — it strikes first with maximum power. It's the most punishing version, but also the most dependent on its game plan.

The options for the last slot

• Overheat: the single-target nuke, at the cost of two Special Attack stages;
• Flamethrower: the reliable Fire STAB if Heat Wave doesn't convince;
• Energy Ball: covers exactly three of its offensive weaknesses (Water, Rock, Ground);
• Mystical Fire: less powerful, but lowers the opponent's Special Attack — valuable in special mirrors;
• Will-O-Wisp: neutralizes physical attackers that threaten it;
• Calm Mind: especially relevant in Single Battle, where there's time to set up.

The partners that make it shine

Pikalytics team statistics draw a clear core around the chandelier:

• Sinistcha — the number one partner. Thanks to Prankster, it sets up Tailwind with priority or locks down an opponent with Encore. The duo offers two opposing speed plans (Tailwind or Trick Room): the opponent never knows which one to prepare for;
• Enamorus — the fast physical attacker that benefits from Tailwind and, in passing, eliminates the Dark types that terrorize Chandelure;
• Kingambit — slow, hence excellent under Trick Room, it punishes opposing Ghosts with Sucker Punch and takes over when the Mega falls;
• Ursaluna — a second Ghost with a physical profile, regularly paired with the chandelier in ladder data to maintain pressure during Trick Room turns.

The threats to anticipate

With five weaknesses and 60 base HP, Mega Chandelure forgives no positioning mistake:

• Ground: a boosted Earthquake mows it down. Ironically, Hippowdon — whose Hippowdonite is featured in the premium pass of this same M-5 season — outspeeds it under sand thanks to Sand Veil;
• Dark: opposing Sneasler's Sucker Punch leads the way, even bypassing Trick Room thanks to its priority;
• Rock: Rock Slide hits both slots and threatens a flinch;
• The Ghost mirror match: any opposing Shadow Ball hurts badly, including one from another Dusknoir;
• Water: charged Water attacks go right through its otherwise respectable Special Defense.

The answer is always the same: Protect, spread double targets, and reading the opponent's Mega Evolution turns. Never expose it without an exit plan.

Getting it, training it, testing it before Worlds

The Pokémon and its Mega Stone drop in the free tiers of the M-5 battle pass — you just need to play before September 9 at 01:59 UTC. If you miss the pass, Dusknoirite remains purchasable in the shop for 2,000 Victory Points. The 4 Exp. Candies from the free pass also speed up its preparation to competitive standards.

On the schedule side, everything lines up: the August Monthly Challenge (registration opens on the 14th, battles from August 21 to 24, in Solo Battle format under the M-B ruleset) offers a testing ground for the Trick Room variant, and the World Championships in San Francisco, from August 28 to 30, will tell whether the shine catches on at the global stage. Until then, the M-5 season ladder is the best laboratory there is: the format won't change again before September 9, and your Mega Dusknoir is just waiting for a pass tier. Might as well teach it to haunt opposing screens starting this weekend.