Hrmmm....you guys might have me convinced. Pokemon does sound awesome! What's the latest release for DS?

Pokemon Black & White 2 is coming soon, probably september..................obviously black & white is the previous iteration...................check it out

Black and White. You only need to pick one version. The only differences are a few version-exclusive mons. And I think Pokemon Black's plot is an iota better at points.

I'm so envious of you. You get to have Pokemon Black as your first Pokemon game!

@Funtime

Black and White. It's the new Generation V, so you probably don't have to worry about annoying things like Zubats and Magi... nope, bad memories. Anyway, their good games to start off the series with(I love them!). Though, the sequels, Black/White 2 are coming later this fall, so I reckon you start ASAP! Don't forget to check out Pokemon Conquest this June! Old-time japan(the Samurai Warriors series) and Pokemon mixed together in a tactial RPG!

Skip Black/White. Play either Heart Gold or Soul Silver, they're remakes of classics and are probably the best pokemon games currently.

I may be new here and all but I've played enough pokemon in my life to give some reasons why it can be fun even when at one point it has catered for a younger audience but can be enjoyed by all even now.

-The variety of ways the games can be played by the players really captures(no pun intended) play style regardless of your experience with Pokemon and it had a unique learning curve over the years for me.
-Aside from the playthrough, playing Pokemon competitively has been a big thing in the past few years since the release of the DS Pokemon games that would open a field of online battles and it isn't no rock paper scissor style gameplay but it still has those slim luck moments.
-Nice music here and there.
-(I had a brain fart on what else I was going to mention) but yea all and all it's a fun and open RPG series.

I beg to differ, but HeartGold and SoulSilver are good places to start too. They probably also have the most content in series history, so that's a plus. I just like B/W's style, presentation, story, and structure more.

OCD

I would start with heart gold and then black and white. u will be hooked. They are always hooked

Competative Pokemon

The amount of prediction and mind games one can do really brings it to be an amazing metagame.

It's what got me back in the series (after skipping gen 3).