Best characters for new players

Hey guys, picked this game up over the weekend and as the title says wondering which characters to avoid or prioritise when learning the game.

Ultimately I'm sure I'll get to the point where I'll pick characters based on feel and flow but I don't want to make things too hard for myself while developing basic competency.

I know some people have said to avoid characters like Gengar and Weavile on this subreddit while still new and prefer fighters like Lucario and Pikachu - anyone care to expand on this?