Genuinely the best start to gaming I could have had. But also so infinitely repayable that I still play it 10 years after I first started it which was already 10 years after the game was released. The gameplay is captivating and this really sets in stone that Pokemon did have the best grasp of turn based combat. All 151 pokemon are relatively easy to catch but the gym system while tough at first are easy later on with no real need to do grinding outside of normal trainer battles. The ice puzzle sections in sea foam islands were Gold then and Gold now.