Pokémon Gold and Silver/Species strategies

Chikorita, Bayleef, and Meganium

Chikorita is a pure Grass type Pokemon. As it evolves into Bayleef and Meganium, it will learn new Normal and Grass type moves as well as developing solid Defense and Special Defense. Along with decent offensive moves such as Razor Leaf and BOdy Slam, it will be able to learn valuable support moves like Synthesis, Reflect, Light Screen, and Poison Powder.

Despite sounding solid enough and being a decent enough Pokemon in its own right, it is not recommended for new players to pick Chikorita at the beginning of the game. This is because the Johto region is very hostile to a pure Grass type; of the eight gym leaders, six of their teams are resistant to Grass moves and/or are strong against Grass types. Although Chikorita would be strong against Water, Rock, and Ground Pokemon, these are relatively rare for most of the game.

If you want to use Meganium in competitive play, you'll find that it's not a bad option, though not top tier. It can either play a supporting role using moves like Reflect, Light Screen, and Synthesis to set up defenses for allies while healing itself, or if bred carefully, it can be a powerful Swords Dance user with Body Slam and Earthquake.

Cyndaquil, Quilava, and Typhlosion

Cyndaquil is a pure Fire type Pokemon. It and its evolved forms specialize in having high Special Attack and Speed. As they level up, they will learn a variety of Normal and Fire type moves.

Cyndaquil's main problem is that it takes a while for it to learn new Fire moves. By default, it will learn Ember at Level 12, Flame Wheel at Level 31 just before evolving into Typhlosion, and Flamethrower at the distant Level 60. You can speed this up by not evolving, but even Cyndaquil doesn't learn Flamethrower until Level 46.

Despite this slow acquisition of Fire moves, there's a lot to be said for Cyndaquil. The Fire type is fairly uncommon in Johto, especially before the mid-game, and can be invaluable for defeating the various Bug and Grass types early on and Steel and Ice types later in the game. The Fire type is also notably a decent match against all gyms except for the last in Johto.

If Typhlosion is used competitively, you'll find that it's one of the best Fire types available. Though it is vulnerable to Ground moves like Earthquake, it stands out from the likes of Charizard and Moltres by being capable of learning Thunder Punch. This gives it a way of fighting back against the various Water types that it outspeeds, as well as a way of dealing with the various Flying types used at the higher levels of competitive play. In addition to Thunder Punch, it should know either Fire Blast or Flamethrower and possibly something like Dynamic Punch or Earthquake for even better coverage.

Totodile, Croconaw, and Feraligatr

Totodile is a pure Water type. It and its evolved forms focus on having high physical Attack and Defense stats. They mostly learn Normal and Water moves by leveling up, though they also pick up Bite as a Croconaw.

Totodile is probably the simplest choice of a starter in Gold, Silver, and Crystal versions. It isn't as hard to use as Chikorita and doesn't suffer from a drought of Water moves similar to Cyndaquil. This is because by the time you'll want to replace Totodile's Water Gun, you'll have easy access to the HM for Surf.

That being said, there is a major downside to picking Totodile: the mismatch between its Water type and its physical stats. This means that Totodile, and later Feraligatr, will not be able to use Water moves as well as some other Water type Pokemon. The Water type is full of great Pokemon that you'll be able to catch, many of which have advantages over Feraligatr.

Competitively speaking, Feraligatr is probably the worst of the three fully evolved starter Pokemon. It is overshadowed by at least a dozen other Water types, such as Starmie, Vaporeon, and Suicune. If used, it should take advantage of both its Water type by having at least one powerful Water move, but should otherwise use physical moves like Earthquake, Rock Slide, Dynamic Punch, and maybe Curse to improve its stats. That being said, Feraligatr is probably not the right choice for whatever competitive role you want it to play.