First partner Pokémon

Artwork featuring the player's starter Pokémon through Generation IV

Generation V starter Pokémon, as seen in the anime

Anime artwork of the Generation VI starter Pokémon

At the beginning of their quest, Trainers are given a starter Pokémon (Japanese: はじめてのポケモン Beginning Pokémon or さいしょのポケモン first Pokémon; known as 御三家 the big three among Japanese fans). This Pokémon will be used to battle the first wild Pokémon that the Trainer encounters.

Once another Pokémon is caught, the starter Pokémon may be retired, but it is often with this Pokémon that Trainers learn friendship and trust. As such, even advanced Trainers may still use their starter Pokémon, and they will often be the most powerful Pokémon on their respective teams.

In the games

In the main games, each starter Pokémon is at level 5, armed with one damage-dealing move and another that affects stats. Trainers can choose a Fire-, Water-, or Grass-type Pokémon (with one exception). The Trainer that will be designated as the player's rival will always choose or have the Pokémon of the starter trio that has a type advantage over the one the player chooses, though it may not be the case that they remain the true rival.

The following is a list of starter Pokémon by region:

Starter Pokémon

Main series

Kanto

In Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen, Professor Oak will bring Trainers to his lab to give them one of the following to begin their journey:

Bulbasaur		Charmander		Squirtle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Ivysaur		Charmeleon		Wartortle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Venusaur		Charizard		Blastoise
Grass	Poison	Fire	Flying	Water

The player's rival will then pick the type-advantageous starter Pokémon, and the remaining Pokémon will sit in its Poké Ball on Oak's desk for the rest of the game.

Professor Oak offers one of this trio of Pokémon to the player in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver after the player has defeated Red, making reference to the fact that he gives them out as starter Pokémon in Kanto-based games, suggesting the player will be able to make it to the next town with one of these Pokémon by his or her side.

In Pokémon Yellow, due to being based on the anime, Oak instead gives out:

Pikachu
Electric

The rival will be given:

Eevee
Normal
	Vaporeon		Jolteon		Flareon
Water		Electric		Fire

The Pikachu is the same one that attacked the player when they ventured onto Route 1 that Oak caught, which will be the only choice the player gets. Another notable change here involves the player's rival's Eevee, which will evolve into one of its three Generation I evolutions depending on the outcome of the battles between the player and the rival. During the adventure, the player will be able to get the original three Kanto starter Pokémon through special events not present in the earlier games. It remains to be the only main series game to allow the player to obtain all three starter Pokémon from a previous game legitimately without trading. The Pikachu received from Oak will also refuse to evolve into Raichu by use of a Thunder Stone unless it is traded away to do so.

Johto

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, Professor Elm will have an errand for the player to run, and will give them one of the following for protection on this errand, which they will then keep after completion:

Chikorita		Cyndaquil		Totodile
Grass		Fire		Water
	Bayleef		Quilava		Croconaw
Grass		Fire		Water
	Meganium		Typhlosion		Feraligatr
Grass		Fire		Water

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player character not chosen will have:

Marill
Water

After the player meets with Mr. Pokémon and receives a Pokédex from Professor Oak, Professor Elm will call the player to tell them that a thief has taken a Pokémon. As the player returns to New Bark Town, he or she will encounter the thief, who will have the stolen Pokémon with the type advantage over the player's own. From this point onward, the thief will be the player's rival, while Professor Elm keeps the Pokémon that was left behind by the thief on his desk for the remainder of the game (in HeartGold and SoulSilver, the last Pokémon mysteriously disappears at some point).

In Generation II, the Pokémon will be holding a Berry when received from Elm, though the rival's stolen starter Pokémon will not.

In Pokémon Emerald, after the player has caught all Pokémon in the Hoenn Pokédex with the exception of Jirachi and Deoxys, Professor Birch will offer one of these Pokémon as a reward.

Hoenn

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, after Professor Birch is rescued from a Poochyena^RS or Zigzagoon^E, he allows the player to keep the Pokémon they chose to rescue him with, either:

Treecko		Torchic		Mudkip
Grass		Fire		Water
	Grovyle		Combusken		Marshtomp
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water	Ground
	Sceptile		Blaziken		Swampert
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water	Ground

Wally, with the help of the player, will catch:

Ralts
Psychic
	Kirlia
Psychic
	Gardevoir
Psychic

The player's neighbor, Brendan or May, already has his or her starter Pokémon, which is always the one with the type advantage. What happens to the starter not selected is unknown. By the end of the game, it seems that the player's nominal rival, the son/daughter of Professor Birch, has stopped being a Trainer, and Wally is actually the true rival, facing the player before he or she can leave Victory Road and staying there to rebattle the player later.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Steven Stone offers one of these Pokémon to the player after he or she has defeated Red.

Sinnoh

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, when two Starly attack the player and rival at Lake Verity, to which they travel upon hearing reports of a red Gyarados, they will choose one of the following from Professor Rowan's briefcase, which he left at the lake:

Turtwig		Chimchar		Piplup
Grass		Fire		Water
	Grotle		Monferno		Prinplup
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water
	Torterra		Infernape		Empoleon
Grass	Ground	Fire	Fighting	Water	Steel

The player's friend and rival Barry will choose the starter Pokémon that has a type advantage against the player's choice, and the NPC who is the other-gender choice (Lucas/Dawn) will have the Pokémon weak to the player's choice, and therefore strong against Barry's. After fighting off the two Starly at the lake and returning the briefcase to Rowan, the professor will allow the player and Barry to keep the Pokémon they used.

In Pokémon Platinum, the player and the rival are stopped by Professor Rowan just as they are about to run through tall grass to get to Sandgem Town to ask the Professor for Pokémon. After some questions about the player and the rival's love for Pokémon, he decides to entrust them with one starter Pokémon each.

Unova

In Pokémon Black and White, Professor Juniper leaves a gift with the player's mother in Nuvema Town to give to him or her, containing the following three Pokémon:

Snivy		Tepig		Oshawott
Grass		Fire		Water
	Servine		Pignite		Dewott
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water
	Serperior		Emboar		Samurott
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water

The player's friend Cheren will choose the Pokémon that is strong against the player's choice, while the player's other friend Bianca will choose the one weak to the player's choice. The choice of starter Pokémon affects which of the Gym Leaders of Striaton City will be battled; players who chose Snivy will face Chili, a Fire-type specialist, players who chose Tepig will face Cress, a Water-type specialist, and players who chose Oshawott will face Cilan, a Grass-type specialist. Also, the choice affects the Pokémon given to the player in the Dreamyard. Choosing Snivy gives the player a Panpour, Tepig a Pansage and Oshawott a Pansear.

In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Bianca takes three starter Pokémon to Aspertia City on Professor Juniper's behalf and offers one of them to the player. The player's friend, Hugh, will have the Pokémon that is strong against the player's choice, having raised it from an Egg. The player character not chosen will have the starter that is weak to the player's choice, but in its second form.

Kalos

The recently announced Pokémon X and Y will feature these three Pokémon as starter Pokémon, which the player will receive with their friends, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and Serena/Calem. The starter Pokémon's final evolutions have not yet been announced.

Chespin		File:Fennekin.png Fennekin		Froakie
Grass		Fire		Water
	Quilladin		Braixen		Frogadier
Grass		Fire		Water

Professor Sycamore will give the player a choice between one of the Kanto starter Pokémon, whom, upon reaching their final stages, will have access to Mega Evolved forms, given the prequisite Mega Stone.

Bulbasaur		Charmander		Squirtle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Ivysaur		Charmeleon		Wartortle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Venusaur		Charizard		Blastoise
Grass	Poison	Fire	Flying	Water

Side series

Orre

In Pokémon Colosseum:

Espeon	Umbreon
Psychic	Dark

A first for the Pokémon games, these starter Pokémon come as a pair as to represent the double-battle system, and are also different in that they are in the player's possession right at start of play. Umbreon is at level 26, knowing the TM moves Taunt and Snatch, as well as Bite which is otherwise only available through breeding at such a level. Espeon is at level 25, knowing the TM moves Return (while also starting with maximum friendship) and Reflect. Both are always male.

In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness:

Eevee
Normal
	Vaporeon		Jolteon		Flareon		Espeon		Umbreon
Water		Electric		Fire		Psychic		Dark

This starter Pokémon is also in the player's possession right at the beginning. It is at level 10, knowing Bite which is again unique for this level. At an early point in the game, the player is offered one of five evolutionary items, Water Stone, Thunderstone, Fire Stone, Moon Shard and Sun Shard, to make the Eevee evolve into any of its (then) evolutions.

In Pokémon XD, if the player completes the Mt. Battle challenge and beats all 100 Trainers without quitting or switching Pokémon, Battlus will give one of the Johto starter Pokémon as a reward.

Pokétopia

In Pokémon Battle Revolution, the player's starter Pokémon are determined by the gender specified on their Rental Pass or Custom Pass. They are all at level 50.

Male players start out with the following Pokémon:

Grotle		Monferno		Prinplup		Luxio		Gabite		Staravia

Female players start out with the following Pokémon:

Ivysaur		Charmeleon		Wartortle		Dragonair		Rhyhorn		Pidgeot

Starting Pokémon

While not actually starter Pokémon, these are the first Pokémon available in each of these games.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

Main article: Player character → Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

Pokémon Ranger series

Main article: Partner Pokémon

Pokémon Rumble series

Main article: Player character → Pokémon Rumble series

PokéPark series

Main article: Player character → PokéPark series

Pokémon Conquest

Eevee
Normal
	Vaporeon		Jolteon		Flareon		Espeon		Umbreon		Leafeon		Glaceon
Water		Electric		Fire		Psychic		Dark		Grass		Ice

Pokédex 3D

In Pokédex 3D, all players begin with these Pokémon.

Snivy		Servine	Serperior	Tepig	Pignite	Emboar	Oshawott	Dewott
Samurott		Audino	Scraggy	Minccino	Emolga	Foongus	Axew	Hydreigon

In the anime

Upon their tenth birthday, youths can register for a Pokédex and pick up a starter Pokémon from the local Pokémon Professor or Pokémon Center free of charge. Starter Pokémon are usually raised specifically to be easy to train.

Like in the games, the specific starter Pokémon available vary from region to region, but are the same in each region as the games. That is, Kanto Trainers can only choose Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle, Johto Trainers can only choose Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile, and so on.

In A Mudkip Mission, it was shown where starter Pokémon come from. Each region has special breeding grounds for starter Pokémon. The Pokémon League sends these breeders the Pokémon Eggs for them to hatch at secret breeding grounds. The breeders then hatch, care for, and raise the young Pokémon until they are ready to be proper starter Pokémon for new Trainers. As these young ones are virtually defenseless, the locations of breeding grounds (or even the knowledge of their existence) is a secret unknown to most in the Pokémon world. This is likely to guard against unscrupulous individuals or groups (such as Team Rocket) from poaching the young Pokémon.

Other rookie Trainers may receive their first Pokémon from a friend or relative instead. Others, on the other hand, may befriend a Pokémon in the wild. These mean that Trainers can, in fact, start with any Pokémon.

A poster on Ash Ketchum's bedroom wall, depicting the Kanto starter Pokémon
Vincent, Marina, and Jimmy with their starter Pokémon
The Hoenn starter Pokémon; owned by Brock, Ash, and May from left to right
A postcard from Professor Rowan, depicting the Sinnoh starter Pokémon
The Unova region starter Pokémon in Professor Juniper's laboratory

List of starter Pokémon in the anime

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Ash received a Pikachu from Professor Oak.
Brock received an Onix from his father that now belongs to his brother, Forrest, with whom it evolved into a Steelix.
Misty began her journey with Goldeen, Staryu and Starmie, however it's unknown how she got them or which one she acquired first.
Gary received a Squirtle from Professor Oak that evolved into a Blastoise.
James's first Pokémon is his pet Growlithe named Growlie. However, he left it at home when he ran away.
Through her life Jessie had many temporary Pokémon belonging to her former partners, she even befriended one prior to joining Team Rocket, but her first officially is an Ekans she received as a birthday gift.
Sakura started with an Eevee. In order to complete the Eeveelution pattern set by her sisters, the Eevee evolved into an Espeon.
Casey received a Chikorita from Professor Elm that evolved into a Meganium.
Jimmy received a Cyndaquil from Professor Elm that evolved into a Typhlosion.
Marina received a Totodile from Professor Elm that evolved into a Feraligatr.
Vincent received a Chikorita from Professor Elm that evolved into a Meganium.
Harrison received a Torchic from Professor Birch that evolved into a Blaziken.
May received a Torchic from Professor Birch that evolved into a Blaziken.
Nicholai started with a Mudkip.
Tommy's first Pokémon is a Mudkip, that he evolved into a Marshtomp. He lost it on the Abandoned Ship, where it evolved again into Swampert. They were later reunited.
Stephanie (Having a Wailord of a Time) received a Mudkip from Nurse Joy at the Slateport City Pokémon Center.
- Stephanie's father received a Treecko at the same time.
Xander's (Caterpie's Big Dilemma) Caterpie was implied to be his starter Pokémon in the episode, as he mentioned that his Caterpie was his first Pokémon, albeit it was "not caught".
Gilbert (Journey to the Starting Line) received a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak.
Dawn received a Piplup from Professor Rowan.
Yuzo said that he started his Pokémon journey with a Starly.
Paul's starter Pokémon is a Torterra received as a Turtwig.
Kenny's first Pokémon is a Piplup that evolved into an Empoleon.
Tyler (Thief That Keeps on Thieving!) received a Piplup, which he nicknamed Pippy, from an unknown location in East Sinnoh.
Zoey's first Pokémon is a Glameow that she raised after it was abandoned. It is her signature Pokémon.
Max intends to begin his journey with the Ralts that he met in Do I Hear a Ralts?.
Khoury started with a Totodile that evolved into a Croconaw.
Barry's starter Pokémon is currently unknown, but it was hinted in Stopped in the Name of Love! that his starter might be his Empoleon he received as a Piplup.
Trip received a Snivy from Professor Juniper in In The Shadow of Zekrom!.
Iris's first Pokémon is a Drilbur that she saved from falling off a cliff when she was a little girl.
Bianca started with her Pignite which she likely had since a Tepig.
Emmy was given her Druddigon from her father when she started her journey.
Virgil's first Pokémon is an Umbreon, that he evolved from an Eevee.
Nanette started with a Tepig she received from Professor Juniper.

Several characters have also captured Pokémon in the wild that are, in the games, only available as starter Pokémon.

Ash Ketchum captured a Bulbasaur, a Charmander, and a Squirtle in quick succession in the Kanto region. Of the three, only Charmander evolved, becoming a Charmeleon, and later a Charizard, both of which were very disobedient to Ash until an incident in the Orange Archipelago, after which it served Ash as it had when it was a Charmander. Bulbasaur was also going to evolve, but decided itself against becoming an Ivysaur in Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden.
Ash also captured the three Johto region starter Pokémon, Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile, of which Cyndaquil and Chikorita evolved, into Quilava and Bayleef, respectively.
Ash captured as well a Treecko in Hoenn, while Brock captured a Mudkip. Treecko evolved twice, becoming Sceptile before Ash left it at Professor Oak's lab, while Brock's Mudkip evolved into Marshtomp. Along with May's Torchic, the traveling trio had the three starter Pokémon of Hoenn.
May captured a Bulbasaur midway through her journey in Hoenn, and was given a Squirtle by Professor Oak when she journeyed to Kanto. Bulbasaur evolved all the way into Venusaur and Squirtle evolved into Wartortle during May's travels through Johto.
In Sinnoh, Ash repeated himself by capturing Turtwig, which has since evolved into a Torterra. His rival, Paul owned a Chimchar that was confirmed to be caught in the wild. It was released, recaught by Ash, and is now an Infernape.
Dawn hatched a Cyndaquil during her journey in Sinnoh. It later evolved into Quilava.
Ash reused his pattern from the original series of capturing all starter Pokémon in Unova, Oshawott, Tepig and Snivy. However this time around he caught them in reverse of the Pokédex order rather than following it as he did in the original series, and Oshawott was in fact a starter Pokémon that Professor Juniper allowed Ash to have after it ran away to be with him. Of the three, only Tepig has evolved, becoming a Pignite.
Gary Oak had an Eevee at least since Ash was traveling in the Orange Islands. As it was revealed to be under his ownership before his Blastoise, it caused many to hearken back to Pokémon Yellow, where the player starts with Pikachu, like Ash, and the rival starts with Eevee. Either way, it was disproven that this was the case when Gary finally revealed his Blastoise to Ash. His Eevee eventually evolved into Umbreon.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

In Pokémon Adventures, the starter Pokémon featured in the games are reserved for the few people who hold a Pokédex. Professor Oak produces three Pokédexes for each region, and gives out the three starter Pokémon in each region along with the Pokédex to Trainers he thinks are talented. He has colleagues and friends like Professor Birch do this for him in regions in which he isn't present. In the Unova region, two sets of starter Pokémon are given out to six Trainers, but still with only three Pokédexes. Professor Oak also gave Red's Pikachu as a special starter to Yellow. The only starter given out by professors in the game but not in the manga is Eevee. However, it is shown to be the starter of an antagonist, Karen. Karen later evolved the Eevee into an Umbreon.

Most characters in the manga do not start out with one of the Pokédex-related starter Pokémon. Instead, they usually have a Pokémon they were given by their parents when they were infants that they use as their starter Pokémon. Occasionally, it is not directly stated which Pokémon were their starter Pokémon in the manga, but in profiles of their teams, their starter Pokémon is marked with a star and is among the highest level in the party, even if they acquired more than one Pokémon at first.

List of starter Pokémon in Pokémon Adventures

Red's first Pokémon was a Poliwag he had since his childhood, which has evolved into a Poliwrath. His "starter Pokémon" was a Bulbasaur given to him by Professor Oak, which became a Venusaur in his travels.
Blue's first Pokémon was a Scyther, now a Scizor, he took to the training with Chuck. His "starter Pokémon" was a Charmander given to him by his grandfather, which evolved twice into a Charizard.
Green's first Pokémon was a Jigglypuff, now a Wigglytuff, she received from the Masked Man. Her "starter Pokémon" was a Squirtle she stole from Professor Oak, which later evolved into a Blastoise.
Yellow's first Pokémon was a Rattata that Red caught for her, which has evolved into a Raticate. Later, she borrowed Red's Pikachu, and after Red took him back, caught her "starter Pokémon", a female Pikachu for herself. Like the Pikachu in Yellow, neither evolved.
Gold's first Pokémon was his Aipom, now a Ambipom, that his mother gave him. Professor Elm allows him to keep his "starter Pokémon", a Cyndaquil, which becomes a Typhlosion alongside the other two starter Pokémon.
Silver's first Pokémon was the Sneasel, now a Weavile, that Giovanni gave him as a child. He later stole his "starter Pokémon", a Totodile from Professor Elm, as well as the first Pokédex of Johto. His starter Pokémon evolved twice into a Feraligatr.
Crystal's first Pokémon is officially her Smoochum, although she acquired many wild Pokémon that lived as a family while she was in the wild. Chikorita later ran away from Professor Elm to go with her, and became her "starter Pokémon". It became a Meganium midway into their journey.

Ruby and his first Pokémon from the left to the right: Rara, Kiki and Nana

Ruby's first Pokémon were the Ralts, Skitty and Poochyena that he received from his father, all of them having evolved into Kirlia, Delcatty and Mightyena respectively. Later, he got his "starter" from Professor Birch's Mudkip. It evolved into a Swampert from the concussive battles it underwent.
Sapphire's first Pokémon was the Aron, now a Aggron her father gave her. Later, he gave her her "starter Pokémon", a Torchic, which evolved twice under her care into Blaziken.
When Emerald arrived in the Battle Frontier he had no Pokémon on hand. Then he challenged the Battle Factory using only Rental Pokémon, nearly at the end of the challenge, he noticed something suspicious about a Sceptile so he decided to steal it from the facility and kept him afterwards, it is later is revealed that the Sceptile was supposed to be his in the first place, making it his "starter Pokémon". It evolved from its Grovyle stage in the wild, after evolving once in Wally's care.
Diamond's first was his Munchlax, and later he received his "starter Pokémon", a Turtwig from Platinum because of a misunderstanding. It has since evolved to Torterra alongside the others.
Pearl's first was his Chatot, and later he received his "starter Pokémon", a Chimchar from Platinum. The Chimchar has since evolved twice into an Infernape.
Platinum's first Pokémon was her Ponyta, now a Rapidash, and later she received her "starter Pokémon", a Piplup from Professor Rowan. It has since become an Empoleon under her care.
Black started with a Rufflet that he captured with the help of a wild Munna he had befriended, and later acquired his "starter Pokémon", a Tepig from Professor Juniper. It later evolved into an Emboar.
White's "starter Pokémon" was a Servine, which later evolved into a Serperior. This Servine was with N until Gigi, the Tepig that White employed, went to his side. It was later revealed that Amanda was a Snivy that was going to be given out to new Trainers by Professor Cedric Juniper, but was liberated by N.
Hugh's first Pokémon is a Trapinch.
Rakutsu's first known Pokémon is a Dewott.
Faitsu's first known Pokémon is a Foongus.

Trivia

In interviews with Junichi Masuda during 2009, he stated that starter Pokémon are the Pokémon from each game that the most work goes into, and usually take significantly more time than other Pokémon in each generation.
Two of the three Johto fully evolved starter Pokémon, Typhlosion and Feraligatr, share the position of the fully evolved starter Pokémon to have the longest name. However, they tie with the not fully evolved starter Pokémon Charmander and Charmeleon. Also, two of the three Unova starter Pokémon, Snivy and Tepig, share the position of the starter Pokémon or its evolutions with the shortest name.

In the games

All starter Pokémon in the main series besides Pikachu have a gender ratio of seven males to one female.
- Due to this, as well as the way in which gender and Shininess were determined, it was impossible to have a Shiny female starter Pokémon in Generation II, as the lowest Attack IV a Shiny Pokémon could have was 2, while the highest Attack IV a female Pokémon in that gender group could have was 1.
The starter Pokémon from Generation I are the only ones to appear in more than one regional Pokédex. They appear in both Kanto's and Johto's.
In the main series, when a starter Pokémon is first obtained, all are at level 5. Each knows one Normal-type physical move and a stat-altering status move at this level, except for Pikachu, which has ThunderShock instead of a Normal-type move.
All Grass-type starter Pokémon have the Ability Overgrow, the Fire-type ones Blaze, and the Water-type ones Torrent. Starter Pokémon may have differing Hidden Abilities.
Neither of the main series starter Pokémon that are based on birds (Torchic and Piplup) are Flying-type nor are able to fly.
Bulbasaur is the only unevolved dual type starter Pokémon.
The Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow is the only starter Pokémon that will not evolve unless traded to another game.
The Johto starter Pokémon are the only set of starter Pokémon that are a single type in all their evolutionary forms.

In the anime

For DP001, Professor Oak's lecture is about the starter Pokémon of Sinnoh. He writes this Pokémon senryū about them: シンオウで　たびがはじまる　ポケモンと Shin'ō de tabi ga hajimaru Pokémon to. "In Sinnoh, a journey begins with Pokémon."
For BW003, Professor Oak's lecture is about the starter Pokémon of Unova. He writes this Pokémon senryū about them: パートナー　みず・くさ・ほのお　まよっちゃう Pātonā, mizu kusa honō, mayocchau. "Partner, Water, Grass, Fire, I can't decide."
Ash has owned all five Grass-type starter Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig and Snivy. All of them except Bulbasaur and Snivy have evolved since then.
Each Water-type starter Pokémon obtained by a main character was not battled: Ash's Squirtle and Oshawott chose to join his team, while Ash fought and won against Misty for his Totodile. Brock did not battle Mudkip to obtain it. May received her Squirtle from Professor Oak, and Dawn received her Piplup from Professor Rowan.
Charmander and Treecko are both based on lizards (salamander, gecko). Ash had the final forms of them: Charizard and Sceptile. A real life salamander is an amphibian, not a lizard; however, Charmander is based upon the legendary creature known as the Salamander.
Squirtle and Turtwig are both based on turtles and were the starter Pokémon of two of Ash's rivals, Gary and Paul.
Torchic and Piplup are both based on birds (chicken, penguin). They were also both owned by the anime's resident Pokémon Coordinators.
Both May and Dawn have a second starter Pokémon from a previous generation with a type disadvantage to their first. These starter Pokémon are both from two generations prior to their owner's introduction, and featured in the anime likely due to the same-generation remakes.