If you want a Vita, I would say get one. Even accounting for a substantial price drop in the next 12 months, this will be your best opportunity to get one.
However, I would strongly recommend the 3DS as well/instead, especially because you never owned the DS. Even if you just use the backwards compatibility (remember DS games are region free and as a whole have fallen in price) for the Pokemon RPGs, it justifies it. As you love Pokemon and Mario, the Mario RPGs are a must as well.








