I first saw it in school in 98 (i was in year 7 or 8)I think Everyone was out on their gameboys playing it- I bought it later that year, one on a holiday trip to denmark had Pokémon red and I tried it(got lost in mt moon) lol and when i came home I bought myself the blue version. my best friend had the red version but she never came around to trade her Pokémon with mine duh.
So I'd say it is still oldtimey enough. not long after the gold and silver roms came about(well came out in a symbols/english remix ;) ) Bought the Pokémon silver a day before it was officially released , which meant I didnt have money any more for the birthday present for my parents (whose birthday was 1 and 2 days after respectively) lol
they were not happy....
Anyway. thats how it went ;) (my mother confiscated the gameboy for half a year or so...)
my grand ma bought me a gameboy color(it was drastically reduced in a shop near hers, it only costed 50 DM the equivalent of what would have been 25 € which is now the equivalent of 30$ about. (also got pokemon tcg from some boys who were selling some of their stuff in the shopping centre.)
I bought crystal myself when it came out, and subsequently sapphire(although a bit later than its release date didnt have money on hand then) and sometime I sold my sapphire to play emerald (I liked sapphire better in the end.) (yeah - I also played sapphire in english jap symbol version before it came out. ) Next one was diamond, soulsilver, and black.
(I also had a firered version , but what I didnt know when I boguht it it was still the times when there were probably more bootlegs on ebay than real ones. only saw it when it came that it didnt look like the real thing- i played through it, but the battery fainted soem time after I finished.
(wasnt ready in the shops anymore by the time got it)
Somewhen along hte way(about time of sapphire or so)Got myself a Pokémon green (japanese original) and red version from the flea market which was at the japanese school which is in my area.
Also played lots of G/S /rb hacks in the time . and some ruby ones too but never as mucn as the G/S hacks <3