What games feature Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander as starter Pokemon?

I am a big noob to the Pokemon games, having played them years ago on one of my old mate's Nintendo DS and I have no idea which game it was.

I am considering buying a DS to reignite my love for Pokémon. My question is:

What games have the choice between Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur as my starters?

Solution 1:

Generations are basically the series of games on a given console. Gen 1 was on gameboy, gen 2 on Gameboy color and so on.

Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle were first available in gen 1, Red and Blue for the original Gameboy. These got remakes for the Gameboy Advance as FireRed and LeafGreen. They're also available in X and Y for the 3DS system as secondary starters you can choose after reaching the games' main hub city. Since you mentioned getting a DS, I'd recommend FireRed or LeafGreen since the DS (not DSi or 3ds) has a gba cartridge slot built in.

Solution 2:

The games in which you can choose Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle as starters:

• Pokemon Red, Blue and Green (Generation 1)
• Pokemon Yellow (Generation 1). They are not obtained as starter Pokemon but all 3 are obtained whilst progressing through the game
• Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (Generation 3). These are remakes of Pokemon Red and Blue
• Pokemon X and Y (Generation 6). They are not chosen at the start of the game.
• Pokemon Let's Go Eevee and Pikachu (Generation 7). These are remakes of Pokemon Yellow. They are not obtained as starter Pokemon but all 3 are obtained whilst progressing through the game
• Pokemon Go, alongside Pikachu.

Note that none of the games on the list are Nintendo DS Pokemon games. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are Gameboy Advance games and as such can be played on a Nintendo DS but not a Nintendo DSi, 3DS or 2DS. Pokemon X and Y are 3DS games and thus work on a Nintendo 3DS or 2DS. Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow, whilst old Gameboy games, can be obtained on the 3DS by download from the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

EDIT: Heart Gold and Soul Silver, a 4th Gen game on the DS, does let you choose them as starters, but only post-game after beating Red.