Where to start?

[Johnikyu]

What pokémon game would you recommend to someone which had very little (or none) experience with the community?

 

[Mab]

Play Black or White and then Black 2 or White 2! Black and White are kind of a reset in that they don't have any older Pokémon available, so it's easier to come to terms with a smaller group, though the sequels add some older Pokémon. They're also the best four games in the series imo and perfectly beginner friendly (though pretty much all Pokémon games are).

 

[pkmin3033]

If you can get your hands on them (or even if you can't I suppose, because emulation is a thing) then definitely HeartGold/SoulSilver - they have the most content of any of the games, and aren't bogged down by the absolutely terrible narrative that is present in every game from then onwards. Literally - every game from Gen III onwards has Gen III's plot.

Honestly, if you've played one Pokemon game, you've played them all. It doesn't matter where you start because the gameplay is basically identical in every title. But do bear in mind that if you start with later titles, it will be difficult to go back and play earlier ones, which won't have the QoL improvements you'll take for granted (most noticeably, they'll run a lot slower) which could make the difference between enjoyment and a painful slog.

 

[Nah]

You can kinda start with almost any of them really, but to narrow it down a bit you'll want to look at remakes and what we often refer to as "3rd versions". Typical release pattern for Pokemon main series games has been to put out a pair of games as the first ones of a generation, then roughly a year later release a 3rd game that's basically a slightly better version of the previous pair, meaning there's little reason to get the first pair. Remakes give you a way to experience the original games if they're not available to you and are a little more up to date.

The exceptions to this are Gens 5, 6, and 8, as Gen 5 gave us a sequel pair instead of a 3rd version (and no remake game), Gen 6 never got a 3rd version or a sequel (but has a remake game), and Gen 8 seems to be replacing 3rd versions with DLC content.

So those games would be: Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, Black/White, Black2/White2 (play Black/White before these), XY, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Sword/Shield, Fire Red/Leaf Green, Heartgold/Soulsilver, and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

From there you can narrow it down further based on what gaming systems you have available and which of those games you can reasonably get (sometimes Pokemon games can be hard to find working copies of for not stupid prices), and any other things that might sway you towards any particular game.

 

[DragonKing48]

Play them all. From the beginning lol. First 6 games are available for 10 each on the 3DS virtual console-and apparently Crystal now offers a legitimate in-game Celebi.