Are any of the desert Pokemon worth using for a no new moves challenge run in Gen 3 Hoenn?

Question

Before getting into the actual question let me first explain what I mean by no new moves.
A Pokemon can only use the first 4 moves it learns when it was caught excluding the ones they learn automatically when the have less than 4 moves.
HM knowing Pokemon are allowed in the sake of progression but not allowed in battle.

I was thinking of using a Pokemon from the desert area of Hoenn but I am unable to figure out whether they are going to be use full or not after I obtain them.

Comments

Questions can't be about a specific team per rule 1.6, I edited to suit this.

Answer 1

In the Desert area of Route 111 (Which I assume is what you're talking about), these are the Pokemon that spawn

Sandshrew at level 19-21 with Poison Sting, Sand-Attack, Scratch, and Defense Curl
Trapinch at level 19-21 with Bite, Sand-Attack, and Faint Attack
Cacnea at level 20-22 with Pin Missile, Sand-Attack, Leech Seed, and Growth
Baltoy at level 19-21 with Self-Destruct, Rock Tomb, Psybeam, and Mud-Slap

In my opinion, Baltoy seems like the best thing you can get in the Desert

Baltoy learns a good Psychic STAB as well as an alright Rock move for coverage, and Self-Destruct as a fail-safe for when the Baltoy/Claydol is low on HP. Now, notice how I said Baltoy may be your best option in the desert, and not the best Psychic type in the game, as Claydol is outclassed by Grumpig and Kadabra, due to knowing Psybeam too once you catch a Spoink and Kadabra's fourth learned move through levelup being Psybeam, they're both also more attack orientated (As in, having better Sp. Atk and Speed), which is much better for a playthrough then defense is. Claydol also is weakened by its Ground type more then its benefited, as Mud-Slap is practically useless. Claydol isn't your WORST option though, as some of your other options are Medicham, which only gets Confusion, and Gardevoir which only knows Growl once you catch it. Claydol may be outclassed by other Psychic types too, but I've probably bored you enough.

You can also use Trapinch if you really want something with Dark type moves (which it can't really utilize well), and maybe Cacnea if you really want Pin Missile, but that's all there really is.

If you allow yourself to use Legendaries however, Regirock would be ludicrously helpful, and will likely carry you throughout the game.

Regirock learns Superpower, Ancient Power, Curse, and Rock Throw at the level you catch it at, giving you a great setup move as well as a good STAB and a great Fighting move. It'll will help you against Sidney, and also Glacia if you've got something to take care of her Water types for you know who. Regirock's problem is its speed, but its defensive stats let it take a couple hits to dish off enough damage to defeat the foe. All in all, Regirock seems like a team member worthy of a slot, as long as you're willing enough to get it, and have a place on the team for it.

I hope I've helped, and good luck on your challenge run!

Comments

According to the challenge run rules, Kadabra is allowed to learn psybeam at level 21, which means its psychic STAB is just as good as Claydol's. Claydol also evolves 20 levels later than Kadabra does, which means it's unobtainable for a third of the game, a waste of experience for a third of the game, and moderately useful for the last third of the game. Even after both of them have evolved, Kadabra can still take a hit from most physical attackers (as long as it's not Phoebe's or Drake's Pokemon), and its 120 base special attack lets it do a lot of damage before going down. Claydol's water and ice weaknesses become increasingly problematic in the second half of the game, so its extra bulk is not really that useful. Kadabra might not be the best choice for this challenge run, but it's definitely better than Claydol.

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Don't the challenge rules that the person asking the question stated that it's only the moves it has when its caught, and not the first four moves it can learn? And even if that isn't the rule, doesn't Kadabra learn four moves (Teleport, Confusion, Kinesis, and Disable) before it evolves? Also, I never really said Claydol would be better than Kadabra, I mostly just mentioned why it may be a better choice, and how Baltoy seems to be the best thing you can get from there. Even if Kadabra is better than Claydol, Claydol can still fulfill a role by having a coverage Rock move and Ground STAB, and as it's Attack and Sp. Atk are the same, it can use both its Psychic and Ground STAB.

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I just re-read the question, and it's really not clear whether "excluding" means excluding from the allowed moves or excluding from the moves they learn after getting caught.
Kadabra can learn kinesis only from the move reminder, so psybeam is the fourth move it learns when it levels up.
Mud-slap has only 20 base power. It's technically a STAB move, but it's still one of the most useless attack moves in the game regardless of STAB.

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@sumwun sorry for the delay on clearing it out but I'll clear it out now.
I mentioned "excluding the ones they learn automatically when the have less than 4 moves."
What I meant by that is you can not stop a Pokemon from learning moves when it has less than 4 moves, for example Shroomish. Shroomish has Tackle and Absorb but as I level it up it gets Leech Seed and Stun Spore which you can't stop so it is fine by me.
Hope I got it cleared out.

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So Kadabra is allowed to learn psybeam, right?