Gen 2 really did have a lot of good Pokemon! And Crystal was a great game! (never played Silver) I just wish the remakes were as good as the originals... Anyway, I also know what you mean by 'playing them a little too young', my first experience with the series happened when I was like 3 or 4 when my cousin gave me his old GBA and a copy of Yellow along with it as a hand-me-down. I legitimately thought that Attack/Defence lowering moves lasted forever, so I ended up with an almost full team of Rattatas and Pidgeys just bumbling around the first few areas forever. I don't even think I battled Brock once... I ended up trading it and a few other games in for something else years later... Around 13/14 I decided to give the series another try though, and got lucky finding a copy of Rire Red in a pawn shop! Loved the series ever since.
Have you ever tried a challenge run or a Nuzlocke of a Pokemon game?