In Yellow? Yes, as it's a significant part of the game. Elsewhere, it depends. In G/S/C, the starters are generally good enough and interesting, so it's worth keeping them in the team. In R/S/E, generally speaking their quality has usually decreased - apart from Mudkip - and some decent Pokémon show up pre-gym: Poochyena, Wingull, Shroomish, Ralts, etc., and a Poochyena is somewhat suggested for your purpose, so it might be referred to as orthodox. In D/P, while the starter quality may be lower, the early Pokémon aren't really more inspiring. In any case, though, they might usually be of interest, although of course how people might relate to them from R/B to maybe R/S would be quite different from in the later games of the series.