Sleep FAQ:
- Q: "Being ko'd prevents me from doing anything, too, why should I care about Sleep?"
- A: Being ko'd is a matter of Pokemon, with regards to type effectiveness, move base power, EVs, etc. Being put to sleep is a matter of moves and items, in that countering Sleep is not something that can be done with type effectiveness (besides Grass > Powder), move base power, or EVs (besides Speed). Prepping for Sleep is done in a way that acts almost completely regardless of the Pokemon being used to counter Sleep, in the same way many Pokemon in Balanced Hackmons often have to run Safety Goggles, Poison Heal, Misty Terrain, or some other thing in order to handle the highly present risk of being put to sleep, the mon doesn't matter. Does this fact automatically make Sleep banworthy? No, I just want to make it clear that it is not comparable to being ko'd.
- Q: "Anything beats you if you don't prepare for it, why should I care about Sleep?"
- A: People often say this without considering the implications of the slippery slope that it creates. To what extent is it acceptable to not be prepared for something? You can beat Koko with Ground types, and Deoxys-Attack with priority, surely that makes them both fine, right? This is the inherent problem, every individual interpreting this mentality ends up having to subjectively draw some kind of line as to where the logic ends and things need to be banned.
- A2: Secondly, this logic is only ever considered from the perspective of something being broken, when the issue at hand is whether or not Sleep is uncompetitive. To make the difference between broken and uncompetitive clear, consider the analogy of a fistfight:
- Putting a boxing champion against a high school student is unfair. While the boxer still abides by the rules of the fistfight, they have a clear advantage over the high school student. The boxer in this scenario can thus be considered broken.
- Bringing a gun to a fistfight is unfair. While the gun can be countered by bringing a bulletproof shield, it transforms the very definition of what a fistfight even means, if left unchecked, as it makes the fight moreso about having the right equipment, rather than being a strong or skilled fighter. The gun in this scenario can thus be considered uncompetitive.
- This same kind of logic can be applied to Perish Song, where it wasn't really difficult to prepare for it, just that you were required to have the right "equipment" in order to deal with it. That said, this isn't inherent grounds for a ban, either, simply just a showcasing that Sleep and its effects should not be compared to traditional mons.
- Q: "Why is Sleep being discussed when moves like Zap Cannon and Focus Blast also rely on RNG?"
- A: With regards to the Focus Blast kind of "reliance" on RNG, Sleep is principally different. First and foremost, Focus Blast has mostly RNG that can only ever work against the one using it. Meanwhile, Sleep mostly consists of RNG that works against the opponent, in the form of sleep rolls. A more accurate Focus-Blast-to-Sleep comparison would be Focus Blast's 10% chance of dropping Special Defense, as that is RNG that works against the opponent.
- A2: With regards to the Zap Cannon kind of "reliance" on RNG, Sleep can be compared, here. However, there is still a crucial difference between Sleep and moves that have RNG that can work against the opponent in that the latter is only ever going to be relevant for certain matchups. For example, you only ever need Zap Cannon on Magnezone for things like Rock Tomb Heatran, Naganadel, Charizard-X, etc, whereas Sleep is used for almost everything. On the grand scale of everything that inflicts forced RNG against opponents, Sleep is easily one of the highest things out there, outweighing crits, freezes, flinches, burns, paras, and more, in addition to actually being relevant in a much larger number of scenarios than any of the other items listed.