I was 11 because I recieved Diamond for my 11th birthday along with a DS. This was three months after the NA release. As 11 year olds are obsessed with cheats and otherwise exploiting video games, I used the hell out of my Action Replay to catch every Legendary I could think of.
At this time, I got hooked on internet forums and subsequently, Pokemon chat rooms to Wi-Fi battle. After years of offline gaming and struggling through link cables, Wi-Fi and wireless connection seemed like a miracle to me.