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Rest is the instinct of every creature.
The 'Rest' move actively puts the body into a deep sleep, quickly healing all injuries and restoring status conditions such as paralysis and burns.
The reason Roy had Elekid learn 'Rest' was to let it occasionally recover from injuries without relying on items.
Max Revives were too expensive, and it was best to save them when possible.
"Have you ever thought about what the principle behind the Rest move actually is?" Sebastian asked. "Don't you think it's rather unbelievable that Rest alone can heal injuries?"
Roy thought for a moment and had to admit it was true.
Rest healing injuries was indeed unscientific, about as logical as the Calm Mind training methods used by esports players.
When ordinary people and Pokémon rest, they restore their mental energy, relieve fatigue, and at most heal minor injuries that would recover naturally over time.
But the 'Rest' move that could restore all injuries and remove Status Conditions must involve some kind of special transformation.
"The principle is very simple," Sebastian explained. "It transforms the mental energy recovered during deep sleep into life energy, healing physical injuries."
"The key lies in the transformation of 'mental power' into 'life force.' It's an application of psychic energy, which is why the Pokémon League classifies the 'Rest' move as Psychic-type."
It suddenly made sense to Roy. All techniques related to mental power application belonged to Psychic-type moves.
For example, Lucario's Agility move worked by transforming mental energy into physical energy, greatly increasing speed.
"Slaking, born with the 'Truant' ability, has a unique advantage in learning the 'Rest' move. It falls asleep faster than any other Pokémon."
Hearing this, Roy speculated: "So we use the healing effect of Rest as a transition?"
"No," Sebastian shook his head and laughed. "If it were that simple, how could it be called a unique secret technique? You underestimate the first champion's talent."
"It's not a transition, but a deception."
"By using the 'Rest' move, the 'Truant' ability is tricked, making Slaking's body believe it's already in a resting state."
"But in reality, Slaking maintains consciousness through sheer willpower and uses the 'Sleep Talk' move to allow its body to fight freely."
"The name of this technique is Sleep Combat."
Sleep Talk was a recommended move that complemented 'Rest'.
Under the sleeping condition, Sleep Talk would normally randomly use one of the moves the Pokémon knew.
But according to Sebastian, Slaking could maintain consciousness, changing 'Sleep Talk' from random selection to deliberate choice.
A Slaking that could heal itself while freely choosing attacks would be truly terrifying.
"So the body is asleep, but the consciousness isn't..." Roy muttered. "Is such a thing really possible?"
"It's extremely difficult, which is why no Pokémon has mastered it in all these years."
Sebastian showed a frank smile and said: "There are too few Pokémon that possess both strong vitality and willpower. To be honest, apart from that Slaking from a hundred years ago, no Pokémon has ever fully learned this technique. It's been considered a failed technique."
"Teaching this secret to Elekid would at least put it to some use."
"As for whether to learn it or not, the choice is yours."
Hearing this, Roy fell into deep thought.
Elekid wasn't burdened by the "Truant" ability, so Sleep Combat wasn't mandatory for it.
However, maintaining the 'Rest' condition while continuously transforming mental power into vitality would be perfect for Elekid's fighting style.
Elekid's Lightning Armor were "Berserker" techniques that continuously drained its health.
Insufficient energy was the biggest weakness of the Lightning Armor.
If Elekid could learn Sleep Combat, that weakness would undoubtedly be addressed.
"We'll learn it," Roy decided.
This time, he didn't ask for Elekid's opinion.
A trainer needed to have his own judgment, and learning Sleep Combat wouldn't cause Elekid any pain.
It seemed almost cliché – the protagonist always finds a "forgotten technique that the founder created but was too difficult for anyone else to master, so it fell into obscurity for years." It was almost a standard trope.
Despite his joking thoughts, Roy truly believed in Elekid's potential, which was why he made this choice.
And so, Roy stayed temporarily at the Promise Gym.
He wasn't at all shy about it, treating the gym like his own home. On his first day there, he chatted and laughed happily with the disciples who came to train.
"I'm not exaggerating, but when I was fighting the Illuminati, I wasn't afraid to face Hermes with his sword. I managed to hold him off until Mr. Frances arrived on the battlefield."
Roy spoke eloquently, describing the battle as dark and intense, casually mentioning how he'd defeated an Elite's son instantly during his entrance exam.
The disciples called him amazing and immediately accepted him.
Whether they believed everything or not didn't matter – the main thing was that he was charismatic and likable.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Roy also began learning martial arts.
A trainer's physical strength could be modest, after all, no matter how strong a human became, they could never match a Pokémon.
However, reaction speed was crucial.
Improving reaction time and thinking speed, accumulating combat experience and decision-making ability – these were essential skills for every trainer.
Someone who only bred Pokémon without training them could only be considered a breeder.
The disciples who came to the gym not only had their Pokémon learn martial arts but practiced themselves to enhance their reaction speed.
They specifically worked on developing reflexes.
They increased mental power through Calm Mind.
A trainer with excellent talent would pursue both approaches.
Roy clearly belonged to the latter category.
After a sweaty workout, he went to the Calm Mind room of the Promise Gym, where he began practicing Latias' advanced Calm Mind method.
This top-tier mental technique, normally only learnable by Pokémon, came naturally to Roy.
"As expected of someone with psychic talent inherited from Deoxys..."
Roy was secretly delighted.
During Calm Mind, he could feel his mental power increasing every minute and second...
The growth rate of his mental power far exceeded that of normal humans, approaching that of Psychic-type Pokémon.
Vulpix and Cosmog stayed by Roy's side the entire time.
While Roy practiced martial arts, Vulpix practiced Ice-type moves.
When Roy used Calm Mind, Vulpix also practiced it alongside him, developing its perception of spiritual energy.
Cosmog watched them practice the whole time, while happily lazing about, either daydreaming or eating.
Wartortle was stationed elsewhere in the gym. In addition to continuing its energy training, it fought against the disciples' Pokémon daily, accumulating battle experience while practicing Aura control.
The power of Aura came from spiritual energy.
The best way to strengthen Aura was through battle and mental fortitude.
While Wartortle was strengthening its Aura, Lucario wasn't idle either. It trained with Rock, enduring daily sparring with its father, also developing its Aura powers.
At the end of the first day, after seeing Lucario overcome the Gravity environment, Clefable, the coach, began using the 'Disarming Voice' move.
The mental attack and torture instantly brought Lucario down again.
Eventually, Lucario would need to overcome both 'Gravity' and 'Disarming Voice' simultaneously, becoming able to move normally, exercise, and fight in that extremely harsh environment...
When that time came, Lucario would undoubtedly complete the transformation of both physical and mental strength.
Meanwhile, Elekid, in addition to deepening its thunder and lightning training, had to perform three hours of "Sleep Combat" training daily.
Sleep Combat training consisted of three steps:
The first step was to use Rest frequently to improve proficiency with the move.
The second step was to resist sleep.
Under the 'Hypnosis' move performed jointly by several Clefable coaches, Elekid had to maintain alertness and resist falling asleep.
This was extremely difficult.
The Promise Gym raised many Clefable, which handled the gym's maintenance and sparring duties.
Due to long-term sparring and the gym's excellent treatment of Clefable, providing top resources and training methods, these Gardevoir were exceptionally strong.
The strongest among them, the head Clefable, had even reached professional level.
To become immune to a professional-level Clefable's 'Hypnosis' was an incredibly difficult task.
The third step of Sleep Combat training combined the first two steps to achieve the unusual state of "consciousness while the body sleeps."
Beyond willpower and vitality, achieving this step required a profound level of understanding.