My favourite starter is either Cyndaquil or Squirtle. They both start out cute, then their middle stages are alright. But then they evolve into the coolest looking designs. Typhlosion has its cool fire, as well as looking like it's about to use Slash on something, and Blastoise has cannons on its back. Personally, I think Typhlosion is the better of the two. (Also my first Pokemon game was Pearl)