What's the point of learning Rest & Sleep Talk?

Question

I feel that there's no reason one should go out of their way, or sacrifice other good moves, to teach a Pokemon Rest and even combine it with Sleep Talk. I think the only obvious exception would be teaching these moves to Snorlax because, well, it's Snorlax.

Even using Sleep Talk is risky in critical situations; there's still a 1/3 chance that Sleep Talk will just use Rest again while you're already asleep.

I see people saying they include Rest in their movesets to various Pokemon with high HP, but I can't figure out why Rest is a better option than a Max or Hyper Potion or a Full Restore. And yes, I am aware that Rest is free and Potions cost money.

Just curious. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

In Competeive battling Restalking can be very effective, as Rest heals the Pokemon completely, including status. While it may seem inneffecient it is actually quite viable on many Pokemon, such as giratina, which can easily abuse a restalk set due to the fact that Dragon Tail and Roar lose their negative priority when used via Sleep Talk. Sleep talk is a way to be able to do SOMETHING while asleep, and more often than not you have woken up just in time to use rest again, which is extrmeley annoying to the opponent.

Comments

not to mention that hyper potion, full restore, revive, full heal, sacred ash, etc. are all not allowed in competitive play!

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So I suppose it it more for out-of-game Competitive battling. I was not aware that potions were not allowed in Competitive battling, or I would not have asked. Thanks.

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Really forgot to mention the most effective Restalker, the well-known CroCune.