Hello, brian. Welcome to the Poke'community forums, mate. ;D
Well yeah, HG/SS has surely been a quite a rage these days. But yeah, after all the fanbase the metal generation had and the huge hype the remakes had, it's quite obvious. I've played the jap version and they felt quite awesome.
Well, like Chiku said, remember to go through the rules and don't forget about the FAQ either. I'm sure that they'll help you.
So, have fun around the forums, buddy. 8D