My team is always Charizard, Starmie, Digtrio and Alakazam, you'll need to wait awhile to catch a Staryu though. Don't use any others though the second gym is just murder for Charizard users. I recommend grabbing a Bellsprout to make it a little easier.
Brock is easier since Charmeleon can learn Iron Claw and Steel beats Rock.
Golem is actually sucky now, I mean REALLY sucky. Grab Onix instead and when you beat the Elite 4, evolve the thing into Steelix.
Chancey is fantastic once you are able to evolve it. But even then its useful. Not for the main game though, more for those player vs player battles.
Pikachu is stronger than Raichu now. Give Pikachu a Light Ball to double its Special Attack. Giving the Light Ball to Raichu does nothing.
