A fan playing through Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, the remakes of the very first entries to the Pokemon game series, has pointed out how the game's descriptions for the three Kanto starter Pokemon hint at how each one affects the game's difficulty. Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander make up the three starter Pokemon that players were tasked with choosing between when Pokemon Red and Blue were released way back in 1996, and have since become icons of the franchise to all players both new and old.
These Pokemon began the tradition of starter Pokemon throughout the legendary series, with players going on to choose their partners out of three adorable candidates across all subsequent titles over the past 26 years. The tradition of starter Pokemon persists to this day, with players recently having to make their choice between Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. While the process has remained relatively unchanged after all these years, fans of every generation continue to debate over which starter makes for the best companion. And although every starter Pokemon is a valid choice with its own strengths and weaknesses to consider, some of each game's early challenges can be made more or less difficult depending on a player's choice of starter.
This is especially true in the original Pokemon Red and Blue games, where the early gyms are considered to be made harder for players that choose Charmander due to its Fire-typing being at a disadvantage to the Rock-type and Water-type Pokemon that are used in the first and second gyms respectively. One fan named Mastuh_KBM on Reddit points out how this consensus is hinted at by the game's developers at the beginning of Pokemon FireRed, where Professor Oak will provide a different comment for each starter Pokemon that the player considers choosing. Oak will claim that Bulbasaur is "easy to raise" and that Squirtle "is worth raising," whereas the player "should raise it patiently" if they choose Charmander, whose type disadvantage will make some of the early-game challenges a little harder.
Experienced players will know that such Water and Rock-type gyms can be breezed through with Bulbasaur's Grass-type attacks, essentially putting the game on "easy mode" in the eyes of some players. Grass and Water moves make the traversal of Mt. Moon after the first gym much easier too, although players are given a good chance to add to their teams before they face Brock, the first Gym Leader.
This shouldn't deter fans from choosing Charmander if they wish though, as the initial disadvantage pays off with patience when Charmander eventually grows into a fully-fledged Charizard. Charmander can also learn Metal Claw in FireRed and LeafGreen as well, making him a little more capable early on. Either way, the choice of starters in any Pokemon game is a monumental one, and fans should consider more than difficulty before making their choice.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are available on GameBoy Advance.