Welcome to Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow!

[Nova]

Curious to see everyone's preference...

I chose Squirtle.

[Vulvokunvrii]

Out of those Pokemon, i would choose Charmander. He's pretty cool!

[CrypticQuery]

Squirtle rocks, nuff' said

Felt the need to post this;

[El Zorro de la Estrella]

Gotta go with the 'Chu!

And since all the Squirtle love segues BEAUTIFULLY into this...

[Sideways]

I always choose Charmander.

[Shinigami]

Squirtle without a doubt since it makes certain parts of the game easier or more challenging depending on what you go up against; though having Pikachu as your starter in yellow was fun - the game played out very similar to that of the anime's first season.

[DoctorAllosaurus]

I always go with Squirtle, that way I have a decent water pokémon when I get Surf.

[Sideways]

Funny.. nobody picked bulbasaur.. XD

[El Zorro de la Estrella]

Funny.. nobody picked bulbasaur.. XD

For me it was either Pikachu or Bulbasaur...

And I chose Pikachu cuz he was always my fave

But Bulbasaur is still my fave starter in Red/Blue! :razz:

[ballisticwaffles]

charmander was the logical choice, for in the early gmae a fire pokemon was really rare, so to build a balanced team, a fire type was nessisary.

[KokoaMinto]

After I got Pokémon Blue the first one I choose was Bulbasaur, in Red I choosed Squirtle and Yellow... Pikachu. I got Charmander when my first Pokémon Blue game got killed by the glitch Town (I forgot to put a Pkmn into my team that had the ability to use Fly and killed myself by saving there. Yeah pretty stupid I know LOL), I couldn't save anymore and needed to get a new Blue version where I choosed Charmander at last.

[Asper Sarnoff]

Charmander. Not only is his final form one of my favorite pokemon, but I always geared my collection towards fire.

[Dublinthefox]

I would choose Squirtle. Because water type poke'mon are my THANG!

[Star Fox Runner]

Either Charmander or Bulbasaur, but most of the time I pick Charmander because I'm of a fire type person. Same reason I chose Cindaquill in HeartGold.

[DoctorAllosaurus]

Either Charmander or Bulbasaur, but most of the time I pick Charmander because I'm of a fire type person. Same reason I chose Cindaquill in HeartGold.

Cyndaquil? Bah, Totodile is where its at.

[Milkyway64]

charmander was the logical choice, for in the early gmae a fire pokemon was really rare, so to build a balanced team, a fire type was nessisary.

But there's also the fact that a fire starter was useless.

First gym = rock

Second = water

Charmander = pwned

Bulbasaur is a good choice to easy mode the early game, but Squirtle is all kinds of manly.

["User"]

But there's also the fact that a fire starter was useless.

First gym = rock

Second = water

Charmander = pwned

Bulbasaur is a good choice to easy mode the early game, but Squirtle is all kinds of manly.

Right, but once you get past the first two gyms (the easiest ones) you'll be better off. Bulbasaur is a good choice early on but becomes more "useless" in the later stages of the game. Charizard on the other hand, at very high levels is just ridiculous. Of course, since physic pokemon were way overpowered a level 100 alakazam or mewtwo is probably the best pokemon in the game.

[Xortberg]

Right, but once you get past the first two gyms (the easiest ones) you'll be better off. Bulbasaur is a good choice early on but becomes more "useless" in the later stages of the game. Charizard on the other hand, at very high levels is just ridiculous. Of course, since physic pokemon were way overpowered a level 100 alakazam or mewtwo is probably the best pokemon in the game.

Charmander probably has the best mid-game utility of the three original starters, but you're quite wrong about how easy the early gyms are. Before Brock, I'm pretty sure you have no access to Grass or Water types other than the starters (don't quote me on that, though) so your only real chance is to level Charmander up crazy high or raise a Butterfree, and Misty can easily throw you for a loop if you aren't overleveled thanks to Starmie. Without Bulbasaur or another Grass type, you'll have quite a bit of difficulty.

As for Charmander's lategame, it is most definitely better than Bulbasaur's. Grass moves can't compete with Fire for power, plus Solar beam is utterly useless. Still, Charizard has nothing on Blastoise. Both are sweepers, but Blastoise is also quite a physical tank and Water types can learn Ice moves, so his vulnerability to Grass types are countered. Charizard has nothing if he's fighting a Water type to save him.

Totally true on Psychic being broken, though.

["User"]

Charmander probably has the best mid-game utility of the three original starters, but you're quite wrong about how easy the early gyms are. Before Brock, I'm pretty sure you have no access to Grass or Water types other than the starters (don't quote me on that, though) so your only real chance is to level Charmander up crazy high or raise a Butterfree, and Misty can easily throw you for a loop if you aren't overleveled thanks to Starmie. Without Bulbasaur or another Grass type, you'll have quite a bit of difficulty.

Charmander's Ember burns Geodude and Onyx and thus takes away 1/8th of their HP each turn. Rock pokemon don't have a high special defense so it does more damage than you might think - even though Rock is resistant to the fire type. Also, they don't have a really strong attack in general. That's more or less what I did when I first played the game back in 1998 - just had to use a few extra potions. As far as Misty is concerned by the time you reach her you'll have access to other grass type pokemon so it's definitely not impossible. That or just give a Clefairy a moonrock and use Sing. Bubblebeam is such a bitch though...

As for Charmander's lategame, it is most definitely better than Bulbasaur's. Grass moves can't compete with Fire for power, plus Solar beam is utterly useless. Still, Charizard has nothing on Blastoise. Both are sweepers, but Blastoise is also quite a physical tank and Water types can learn Ice moves, so his vulnerability to Grass types are countered. Charizard has nothing if he's fighting a Water type to save him.

You're right, I should have mentioned this earlier. Most of my games I've actually used Blastoise and used Surf as my main water move but then when I was able to forget said move I'd replace it with Hydro Pump

Totally true on Psychic being broken, though.

Such a game breaker...oh well. :/

[Xortberg]

Charmander's Ember burns Geodude and Onyx and thus takes away 1/8th of their HP each turn. Rock pokemon don't have a high special defense so it does more damage than you might think - even though Rock is resistant to the fire type. Also, they don't have a really strong attack in general. That's more or less what I did when I first played the game back in 1998 - just had to use a few extra potions. As far as Misty is concerned by the time you reach her you'll have access to other grass type pokemon so it's definitely not impossible. That or just give a Clefairy a moonrock and use Sing.

Herp, derp, debating Pokemanz.

Ember has a relatively small chance to burn, so relying on it is much more risky than, say, nuking the whole fight with Bubble or Vine Whip. Plus, not having to use potions > having to use potions. As to your argument about the damage still being respectable:

Charmander's base stats in SP ATK and DEF are 60 and 40, respectively. Bulbasaur has 65 and 49, and Squirtle has 50 and a whopping 60 base DEF. As far as pure damage output, Charmander is still far behind against Brock, since Super Effective hits more than make up for the difference in stats there, and both of the other starters are more physically durable than Charmander. Against Brock, the clear winner is Squirtle, with Bulbasaur in a close second.

Moving on to Misty, Charmander is again the most useless, for obvious reasons, while Squirtle can tank physically with his high DEF and specially due to resistance to other water attacks and deal decent damage with Normal moves. Bulbasaur wrecks this whole gym, coming in first for worth here. This is less of a point, though, since as you said you do have access to other methods of taking her out by this point. Still, being able to nuke her down without training a whole new Pokemon is better than having to add a Grass type to your team and raising it just so you can take her out.

Moving on to the third Gym, Bulbasaur comes in first place again. Resistance to electricity makes Surge a breeze, but at this point Charmander becomes more viable over Squirtle (lolsuper effective) and after that is, I believe, the Grass type gym where Charmander shines. From then on, I'm pretty sure Bulbasaur's only useful for Giovanni and Squirtle's only expressly better than either of the other two on Cinnibar, so the rest of it all comes down to rival battles and the Elite Four.

You're right, I should have mentioned this earlier. Most of my games I've actually used Blastoise and used Surf as my main water move but then when I was able to forget said move I'd replace it with Hydro Pump

Such a game breaker...oh well.

Replacing Surf with Hydro Pump? Madman! Blasphemer! HEEEEATHEN! Surf is like... totally superior. I <3 Surf.

[DoctorAllosaurus]

Charmander probably has the best mid-game utility of the three original starters, but you're quite wrong about how easy the early gyms are. Before Brock, I'm pretty sure you have no access to Grass or Water types other than the starters (don't quote me on that, though) so your only real chance is to level Charmander up crazy high or raise a Butterfree, and Misty can easily throw you for a loop if you aren't overleveled thanks to Starmie. Without Bulbasaur or another Grass type, you'll have quite a bit of difficulty.

As for Charmander's lategame, it is most definitely better than Bulbasaur's. Grass moves can't compete with Fire for power, plus Solar beam is utterly useless. Still, Charizard has nothing on Blastoise. Both are sweepers, but Blastoise is also quite a physical tank and Water types can learn Ice moves, so his vulnerability to Grass types are countered. Charizard has nothing if he's fighting a Water type to save him.

Totally true on Psychic being broken, though.

There may not have been any grass or water types, but I swear I remember catching a Mankey on the route that leads to the victory road gate. Just level it up til it learns a fighting type move and you're good to go.

[Geo Stelar]

I prefer Squirtle. He is strong early game and goes more useful as the game goes on. Surf is a very important method of traveling, plus Blastoise's Hydro pmp is just ownage.

[Xortberg]

There may not have been any grass or water types, but I swear I remember catching a Mankey on the route that leads to the victory road gate. Just level it up til it learns a fighting type move and you're good to go.

I don't quite remember this, so I'll take your word for it. Still, that involves a Rival battle, which are arguably the hardest fights of the game. Dunno how difficult he was at that point, though, so your point may still hold some water.

[DoctorAllosaurus]

I just checked, it seems Mankey is only there in the Yellow version. I didn't own any of the games at the time they were popular, but I did borrow the extra copies my friends had, which would probably explain the confusion.

[ICantLose74]

Awesome just awesome. I wasn't expecting Super Effective to go on here. Now that that's said and done I'd have to say Bulbasaur because tactically speaking he seemed to have some of the best attacks. (That is in my opinion)