I'm really new to GSC (around 2008), but since I actually started to get more into it (late 2009-early 2010), I don't remember facing a lone Pokemon with a trap and a sleep move in the same moveset, nor from better nor from worse players. Pretty much every time I've played GSC, SleepTrap was either officially banned (in Pokemon Online for example), or if not officially, there was some kind of consensus that SleepTrap was too "cheap" to be used in competitive play.
But yesterday I saw that SleepTrap was allowed (it only was banned along with Perish Song) in a tournament here in Smogon and it kind of caught me off guard. It's not exacly that I just wasn't expeciting SleepTrap to be unbanned, but rather that I wasn't expecting... anything, because I wasn't considering that possibility. I mean, my mind has assumed SleepTrap is banned in GSC and seeing it allowed in Smogon kind of shocked me a bit, kind of like if I see that Freeze Clause is not on; it's something you simply wouldn't consider until you read it in the rules.
To be honest though, I have to admit that SleepTrap isn't exactly broken in terms of "power". You can compare it with Freeze Clause; going for double/multiple freezes wouldn't happen all that often anyway, but when it would, it could make games a bit stupid. I'd say the SleepTrap ban is a "preventive" ban more than anything else. I know SW/Spore/BP Smeargle, LK/ML/Nightmare Jynx or Misdreavus are not going to win games like nothing (in fact they might just die without achieving anything), but they can be as legitimate as other OU Pokemon/strategies with the difference that they are mostly about luck/randomness (like LK/Hypnosis misses, early wake ups, or whatever). I think SleepTrap can be compared to Sand-Attack Umbreon or Cray Misdreavus, albeit SleepTrap is much higher risk/much higher percentage reward.
And all in all, SleepPerishTrap ban seems to me kind of weird. Perish Song is not the main reason SleepTrap is problematic, it's just the most reliable option to follow an asleep and trapped Pokemon. I mean, there is the same concept behind SleepCurseTrap or SleepNightmareTrap as well. And SleepBPTrap can be as dangerous as well, or even more, it's just that the only Pokemon that can abuse it has shitty stats. It's kind of as if we considered banning Wrap and Clamp in RBY but not Bind and Fire Spin. It would seem weird to me.
I know the SleepTrap isn't a completely necessary ban, I'm just trying to say what I think. I'd like to know what are your opinions about this guys.
But yesterday I saw that SleepTrap was allowed (it only was banned along with Perish Song) in a tournament here in Smogon and it kind of caught me off guard. It's not exacly that I just wasn't expeciting SleepTrap to be unbanned, but rather that I wasn't expecting... anything, because I wasn't considering that possibility. I mean, my mind has assumed SleepTrap is banned in GSC and seeing it allowed in Smogon kind of shocked me a bit, kind of like if I see that Freeze Clause is not on; it's something you simply wouldn't consider until you read it in the rules.
To be honest though, I have to admit that SleepTrap isn't exactly broken in terms of "power". You can compare it with Freeze Clause; going for double/multiple freezes wouldn't happen all that often anyway, but when it would, it could make games a bit stupid. I'd say the SleepTrap ban is a "preventive" ban more than anything else. I know SW/Spore/BP Smeargle, LK/ML/Nightmare Jynx or Misdreavus are not going to win games like nothing (in fact they might just die without achieving anything), but they can be as legitimate as other OU Pokemon/strategies with the difference that they are mostly about luck/randomness (like LK/Hypnosis misses, early wake ups, or whatever). I think SleepTrap can be compared to Sand-Attack Umbreon or Cray Misdreavus, albeit SleepTrap is much higher risk/much higher percentage reward.
And all in all, SleepPerishTrap ban seems to me kind of weird. Perish Song is not the main reason SleepTrap is problematic, it's just the most reliable option to follow an asleep and trapped Pokemon. I mean, there is the same concept behind SleepCurseTrap or SleepNightmareTrap as well. And SleepBPTrap can be as dangerous as well, or even more, it's just that the only Pokemon that can abuse it has shitty stats. It's kind of as if we considered banning Wrap and Clamp in RBY but not Bind and Fire Spin. It would seem weird to me.
I know the SleepTrap isn't a completely necessary ban, I'm just trying to say what I think. I'd like to know what are your opinions about this guys.
