Who would be your “non-starter starter”?

Let’s say you’re embarking on a traditional Pokémon journey and you can pick any pokemon to be your starter/partner. However, you can’t pick any of the conventional starters from the main series games (this includes Pikachu and Eevee). Who would you pick?

I would go with either Male Nidoran or Shroomish. Both evolutionary lines are just great in terms of strength and design, and I’ve used them both in playthroughs and have gotten very attached to them each time.