2nd Gen Pick one of these three.

[Fenris]

Cyndaquil will always be my first pick for and Johto based adventure, hands down. He got me through some tough challenges during our travels together. Single handedly took down 90% of the gyms on his own back in the day.

However, Chikorita is a good backup if i'm feeling like a challenge. Totodile always felt sort of meh to me for some reason, though I admit he's a good starter choice.

 

[Synerjee]

I chose Totodile during my first few times playing Gold because my young mind already disliked the 5% inaccuracy of Tackle which came with Cyndaquil and Chikorita and decided that Totodile's 100% accurate Scratch was the best starter move. I did try out Cyndaquil and Chikorita during previous playthroughs, but Totodile stayed with me through till the Elite 4 as a Feraligatr.

Today, I prefer Cyndaquil's line the best out of the three. I still don't mind Totodile, but a physical water-type doesn't really suit my style anymore. As for Chikorita, I stopped using grass-types so it's out of the question. Typhlosion is an amazing starter and has never failed me once.

 

[Trainer VyNk]

Totodile, Because of design and powerful Moves he even learns Ground-type moves such as Earthquake. ^_^

 

[Puddle]

I liked Cyndaquil the most, but Totodile made the game play so much easier, so I usually go with him.
Meganium might be my least favorite starter.

 

[Sonata]

Chikorita was the cutest of the three and I loved it in the anime. But gameplay wise if I was playing Gold I went with Totodile and if I played Silver I chose Cyndaquil. Totodile is my all time favorite water type and starter.

 

[Bellsprout]

I like the Johto starters, but their final forms have always been my least favorite set. When I was younger I would always pick cyndaquil, but now I always want to lean towards Chikorita. But Chikorita kinda sucks hard in the end so I end up going with totodile.

 

[khaozz]

I usually pick all three thanks to the cloning glitch, but when I don't feel like doing that, I pick Cyndaquil. He has great speed and nice firepower (pardon the pun). I've used him in countless playthroughs and he has never let me down. To this day, Cyndaquil remains my favorite starter.

 

[Pendraflare]

I tend to go back and forth between Cyndaquil and Totodile, but in this era, as well as design and on its own i'd go with Cyndaquil. Between those two I like the Fire-type's design more, and it was more fun to use, especially against some of the Gyms in Johto that were weak to it. It also got ThunderPunch and was relatively fast.

 

[Necrum]

I know it gets no love, but I always loved using Meganium. It may be the underdog of Johto but sometimes it's fun to have a little more challenge to your game.

 

[invalid_user]

Coming from the original three this was a tough one but I always went with a cyndaquil hoothoot combo till around the 4th or 5th gym, they grew pretty quickly

 

[JaredJEstes]

Cyndaquil. Though, I've never played Totodile. I always thought Cyandaquil was a little 'prettier' than the other two.

 

[Aquali Umiko]

I tried to start my journey on Gold with Chikorita, but I just couldn't do it. It's not that I don't like her (I actually LOVE Meganium) but I just couldn't get it going, it didn't feel right. I started with Cyndaquil on Silver and Crystal, and when I get HG/SS I will probably do the same. Totodile, while nice, gets no love from me.

 

[Elswood]

Totodile! Without a doubt. I also really like Cyndaquil, but Totodile has the edge. Can't say I really like the Meganium line. But hey, personal preferences.

 

[Altairis]

Cyndaquil! Always. I love the others but Cynda is first pick because Quilava is the bomb :)

 

[TRGrunt]

Cyndaquil, I love them so much. They always seem to do the best with the fire starters sin terms of design.

 

[Sheep]

This adorable girl right here. I loved its design the moment I saw it and was willing to endure a lot of hard battles if it meant keeping her on my team. The other two are fantastic as well.. heck, Johto had the best starters so it's often hard to pick! Haha.

 

[the_xvthnobody]

I picked Cyndaquil on my Crystal, but I picked Totadile on my Gold rom playthrough. Never much cared for Meganium, although I think it's cool.

 

[nihon96]

Cyndaquil with no question.

 

[LavenderTownGhost]

Cyndaquil was my favorite back in the day and the starter I would always pick when I was younger, but I've grown to like Totodile more. Feraligatr is easily a bamf.

 

[Pokémon Master Damien]

cyndaquil always. fire pokemon are always my favorite