This glitch is very simple to do. Here's a screen shot to prove this isn't fake:



Note: I am positive that this works in Gold/Silver, but I haven't tested it in Crystal.

1. Make a new file and save before going in the lab.
2. Choose any Pokemon. It doesn't matter which.
3. Catch another Pokemon. Again, it doesn't matter which.
4. Deposit your starter in a box.
5. Change the box. When it says 'SAVING... DON'T TURN OFF THE POWER,' do just that and turn off the power.
6. Now, go in the lab again and choose a Pokemon different from the last one you picked.
7. Repeat steps 3-5.
8. Finally, choose the last available Pokemon.
9. Go to the box in which you put your Pokemon in. If you did this correctly, the other two Pokemon should be in the box.
10. With draw the two Pokemon, and congratulations, you have all 3 starter Pokemon in Pokemon Gold/Silver.

Thanks for putting this on! I did this on the original cartridge, but forgot how to do it. One final thought, if you use Cyndaquil more than the others, make Totodile your final Pokémon, so your rival has Chikorita. This will help down the road. Just choose the Pokémon that is strong against your favorite last.

patar4097 : Glad I can help, and thanks for the tip.

   I did this on an emulator and it did not work. Am I supposed to close the game or reset the game?

This cheat / glitch really works , I even did this is my game boy color .. This cheat / glitch is really awesome .

Huh. This seems like a modified duplication glitch. Never really thought of using it that way. Props to you for that one.

Only time I ever used the duplication glitch when I played Gen 2 a lot was to get a bunch of rare candies. *chuckles* Don't care if they're supposedly crap now that EV training is a thing, I don't do competitive battling much for EVs to matter.

tangyphoenix : Reseting the game should work. It works like that for me, but if it doesn't you just have to try closing out, I guess.

tangyphoenix : You're supposed to reset it. If you're playing on Vizzed, there will be a button under the screen that says 'Reset.' If you're playing on another emulator, it should be in a drop-down menu.

sonikku : Hmm, how did you manage to pull that off? I'm curious.

Pokefreak219 : Glad I could help, have fun!

I think I know what I did wrong.
I didn't save the second and third time I entered Elm's Lab. :/

tangyphoenix : Actually, you aren't supposed to. I don't know what went wrong.

ICantThinkOfName : What, the duplication of rare candies? You can give them to your Pokémon to hold. Then just duplicate the Pokémon holding it, and voila. Two of the Pokémon, two of the item. I think you can also do this with Master Balls, but I forget if Pokémon can hold those or not.

sonikku : Ah, I see.
tangyphoenix: Did you reset the game after it said 'SAVING... DON'T TURN OFF THE POWER?' Because you're supposed to reset it during the message.

I messed up so I only have Cyndaquil and Totodile

Thanks for taking the time to post this, I am not a huge fan of cheats, but it certainly is cool.