I've read somewhere that Cyndaquil was for beginners (because it can beat the most gyms), Tododile was for intermediate, and Chikorita was for advanced players who would like a challenge.
They are all awesome. It's so hard to choose. Chikorita was the first Pokemon I've ever had. Tododile and Cyndaquil are cute, too, but I didn't really like Croconaw.
Feraligatr can learn Ice moves (to defeat Meganium) and Water moves (to defeat Typhlosion.)
However, Typhlosion can learn Fire moves (to defeat Meganium) and ThunderPunch (to defeat Feraligatr.)
Meganium can use Grass moves against Feraligatr, but it can also learn EARTHQUAKE and use it on Typhlosion.