I was in primary school for the Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow stuff. Got into Pokemon Blue the most, as I bought that on release day (along with one other person from my school), and then sometime later it became super popular with the cards, cartoon, etc. I have the official Mew. As in, I went to an event at a mall to get it.
After those first few games, I tried getting back into it with the GBA and DS one, each time thinking "POKEMON IS BACK!" playing a a few hours and quitting out of boredom. I did it again with Black and White, but I wised up before wasting money.
Also, at that aforementioned event, I played pokemon stadium (prerelease version) against some hefty twenty-something and he was pissed after I wrecked his shit. That's what he gets for playing a child's compulsion tool.
Pokemon Snap, though, is still kick ass.