If I haven't played any versions since Ruby/Sapphire would

>>32587034
Sun/Moon

>>32587036
Does it have a lot of the older Pokemon besides the alolan forms of Kanto dudes? How long is the story gameplay roughly? And I read a bit about how you can battle online... Do you need to finish the story first to do that and can you battle without using perfect stats Pokemon?

>>32587046
>Do you need to finish the story first to do that
No.
>can you battle without using perfect stats
Yeah, just expect to lose a lot.

>>32587034
For me, I hadn't truly played a pokemon game since RBY and BW were my reintroduction to the series. This was when they had just come out, and for me it was a good reintroduction because the dex was like that of Kanto except different mons.
If you do ORAS you'll basically be playing the same game as before but with so.e tweaks. Some for the better, some for the worse.
Ultimately it should reintroduce you to the series without feeling alien and introducing you to the mechanics introduced since RSE.

>>32587034
You will be less disappointed in oras than Sun and moon but that's just my opinion

>>32587034
I would honestly say BW2, you won't get as much out of ORAS if you're familiar with RS, and SM is decent, but doesn't really capture the feeling of a real Pokemon game in my opinion.

>>32587046
Yeah, it has a lot of Kanto Pokémon and a decent mix from the other regions too. It took me around 35-40 hours to finish the story, but it might take you much less if you don't explore everything you can and actively search for optional areas in earlier parts of the game.
>Do you need to finish the story first to do that and can you battle without using perfect stats Pokemon?
It's strongly adviced to finish the story and do the post game stuff before you even think battling online, yeah.

>>32587046
Story will probably be already over by time you want to battle, or you will be stuck in perpetual tutorials

>>32587071
I got the Black 2 rom on my tablet last night and it's pretty fun so far! I might look for a physical copy so I can actually transfer the stuff I catch and train in the future.

>>32587075
>>32587060
>>32587057

Sounds like I'll probably try out Moon and maybe look for a used copy of ORAS since it seems to be full price in the Nintendo shop despite being a couple of years old... Anyway I've read some reviews about SunMoon that says it's too hand but I know people exaggerate with games often. Is is really that bad? I'm just on the fence about dropping $40 and having it suck, I played the demo and it seems neat enough but I definitely liked exploring in the old games and not being forced to watch a story with minimal inputs

>>32587151
It sucks in the first 2 hours or so, it's completely fine after that. It has more cutscenes than your average Pokémon game, but it's not that bad.

>>32587151
Note that, in XY, ORAS, and SM, the Exp Share was massively buffed. If you keep it on, those games are all super easy, but becoming pretty challenging if you turn it off (and don't grind, of course). It's even more fun to switch battle style to "set" in options, so you can't just switch out into a hard counter with no risk after beating an opponent.
I would give Moon a go. The reason a lot of people are ambivalent to it is because SM lacks replay value compared to every other game, and the postgame is pretty shit compared to things like HGSS and BW2.
Speaking of which, definitely play HGSS when you can.

>>32587171
SM is still pretty challenging with the Exp. Share on, especially for someone who hasn't played since Gen 3.
I agree on completely turning it off in ORAS though, that game's difficulty is embarassing either way.

>>32587162
>>32587171
>>32587174

Gotcha, so I'll just turn off Exp Share when I get it. I'd like to play all the versions ultimately so I will be on the lookout for Soul Silver since the original Silver was my favorite version. I guess since SunMoon are the current newest versions it makes most sense to get it since I can collect the newest Pokemon and it has online support. Thanks guys!

One last thing, if I get a non 3DS game (like I have a a Leaf Green cartridge that my nephew gave me) or something like XY can I use something to play it on the 3DS?

>>32587247
>something like XY
XY is a 3DS game though?
You can play DS games on the 3DS fine, but nothing from Gameboy Advance and down.