^ It wouldn't be fun! Ash would be tearing down most of the gyms after that, considering that Gyarados is a beast after evolution! D :
It would surely be interesting if Ash got that Squirtle (he DID say he wanted one) instead of Gary. Squirtle could retain the personality Pikachu had, but the battles would definetely be different. For example, Brock's battle might be much easier, but considering the size of Onix, things could turn out pretty different from what Ash had expected.