Squirtle is the best starter to choose in Generation 1 Pokemon games

So I am going to hop into this right away. Squirtle is just not a better starter than charmander and bulbasaur but he is also far superior to them in the late game and even the meta in Gen 1 as far as in game fights. The main focus of this is about game playability so we are not focusing entirely on a meta 5v5 team but what pokemon is best suited to get you through the entire game. I almost feel like this will be Blastoise vs Venusaur because other than Charizard looking cool he offers nothing in the game or in a 5v5 team. C1) How squirtle compares to other starters. My adversary briefly touches on starter stats in one of his contentions, but that is entirely irrelevant to this discussion. What their stats are when they start and what they are when they evolve are two different things. Their level 1-16 stats are almost not even worth looking at because we are focusing on what they bring to the game as a whole. I want you to notice what my adversary was pointing out and what I was mentioningLets review the starter stats vs the end game stats. I am going to reveal the average and total points rather than each point in each area. Bulbasaur - total = 253 / average = 50.6Charmander - total = 249 / average = 49.8Squirtle - total = 250 / average = 50Venusaur - total = 425 / average = 85Charizard - total = 425 / average = 85Blastoise - total = 425 / average = 85 [1] So note my adversary is right when he says bulbasaur has a slightly better start with base stats, but as he also states this is a comparison about what they offer to the game as a whole. The starter stats dissipate after playing the game for 5 minutes so his contention about bulbasaur having higher base stats is a non sequitur.Now when we look at their fully evolved forms, we can see all the stats are exactly even. So who has the highest stats at this point is a non factor since all the stats are distributed evenly among different categories like hp and speed. We have to look at who would win in versatility. Let's review how a typical person would see a starter match up. Examine Red for example and his starter pokemon when he counter picks you. Venusaur (grass) > Blastoise (water) but looses to Charizard (fire)Blastoise (water ) > Charizard (fire) but looses to Venusaur (grass)Charizard (fire ) > Venusaur (grass) but looses to Blastoise (water) This is the typical idea of how a match would play out. They each have a counter. What this does not take into account is what abilities they can learn. Blastoise can learn water, ice, ground, and normal attacks. He is compatible with fissure (one shot ability gained from beating Geonvoani) [2]. He is also able to learn both blizzard and ice beam and can even learn hyper beam.So when you review this it goes like thisBlastoise > Venusaur due to Ice MovesBlastoise > Charizard due to Ice and Water MovesBasically Blastoise can score super effective on both of the starters while they are only capable of scoring one. C2) Versatility in GameThere was recent studies done to show that squirtle is the best starter all around from a versatility perspective. Meaning when you review each gym leader, their weaknesses, and what starter can score super effective or will be hit by super effective squirtle and his evolutions come out on top by far [3][4] This essentially means that squirtle has a better chance of completing the game due to him being more effective against a majority of gym leaders and the elite four. This is not even contested because it is proven over and over again. View the chart above to confirm this. I also want to state this chart only shows this from a water perspective. It does not account in for squritles ice moves, if the chart accounted for ice moves he would have about 5 more super effectives added to the chart. Just with his base moves alone though, he comes out on top of the other starters. Add the ice elemental moves that he can learn and this is not even a fight. C3) Ability to learn more HMSThis is also what makes Blastoise superior to his other starters. He can learn more HMS, more TMs, and more abilities in different elemental moves than both of them combined. He can learn things like Mega Punch, Ice moves, hyper beam, Water moves, Ground moves. His high ability pool and his compatibility with a vast amount of TMS makes him overly effective in most gym battles and helps him adapt to whom he is facing. ConclussionBecause of his ability to learn a vast amount of TMs, His effectiveness against a vast majority of gym leaders and the elite four, and his ability to shut down and be super effective against both Venusaur and Charizard he is by far the best starter. He brings more to the table than his other two starters and you stand a chance at being more successful in beating the game. His ability pool and TM compatibility give him a vital edge in most battles. He is far superior to both other starters. Having the ability to learn fissure is also a vital part in understanding Blastoise. If he comes against an adversary he is weak against, one fissure would be enough to knock them out of the battle. It is a gamble but still a one shot ability that can dispose of almost anything he is weak against. Then having Ice, Ground, Normal, and Water moves in his arsenal makes him a viable contender for almost anyone in the Gen 1 Games. [1] http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net...(Generation_I)[2] http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net...(move)[3] http://www.escapistmagazine.com...[4] http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...