Last time I played Pokemon was on the GameBoy Pocket...

It was Red version and it was awesome. And I yes..I did "Catch them all".  
 
But now I'm seriously considering buying a DSI (or maybe a DSI XL) and picking up this newer one.  But I'm curious on what has changed over all these years:  

-how many pokemon are exclusive to each version? with so many in each game now, I can imagine trading between the two versions can be a pain.
-with the wifi can I connect online (to trade, battle) with anyone? or do I need a "friend code"? do I need to be so far along in the game to even have the ability to do that?
-would I be able to dig out my old version of Red and somehow trade over my old pokemon? (thats a long shot I know, but there might be a way) 
-can you mate the pokemon? (I remember around the time silver/gold came out there was the idea of breeding different genders of pokemon) 
-and most importantly....is the game even enjoyable? from a distance it seems that the game feels bloated with all the added pokemon. 
 
please tell me this game is still fun. I don't know why but I really wanna jump back in. is there anybody like me who hasnt played a pokemon game since the first ones? 
I can't be the only one.

1. With the global trading system, you can basically get all the pokemon if you put the effort in. It's still a pain in the ass though.
2. you need to register anyone you interact with in your pal pad. This does not include random people you trade with in the global trade system however. Online stuff opens up fairly quickly, you dont have to beat the game beforehand or anything.
   
3. Theres a thing called the Pal Park. It's basically a place that allows you to catch pokemon that you have on other pokemon games. I'm not 100% about how it works since I've never actually used it, but I think it may only work with GBA pokemon games.
4. Yes you can breed pokemon. You can actually get a ditto and use it as your universal breeder. That way you never have to find two of the pokemon you want to breed.
5. As someone who hasn't been playing a ton of pokemon since the Red version as well, I really still enjoy Pokemon games. Maybe I don't put hours upon hours in each day like i used to but I found beating Soul Silver to be a really fun time. I'm still not done either, got a lot of pokemon still left to catch.
   

Yeah I dont know if I can put as much time as I used to but it looks like fun. As far as Pal Park goes, I might have to see if I can find my old carts and see what I can do. 
Bah, I might just go down today since L4D2 hasn't updated yet...I need to play something!

You wouldn't be able to move Pokemon from your Red version to the newest one. It'd have to be a game on the GBA.

" You wouldn't be able to move Pokemon from your Red version to the newest one. It'd have to be a game on the GBA. "

" @crono11 said:

" You wouldn't be able to move Pokemon from your Red version to the newest one. It'd have to be a game on the GBA. "

And even that wouldn't work because the DSi doesn't have a GBA port "

I know the answer to this, but I'm gonna ask anyways....couldn't you just use a link cable? 
...gosh I'm old.

"Last time I played Pokemon was on the Game Boy Pocket". 
 
Well you're in luck, since Game Freak has been remaking the same game for 15 years now. OH SNAP

" "Last time I played Pokemon was on the Game Boy Pocket".  Well you're in luck, since Game Freak has been remaking the same game for 15 years now. OH SNAP "

" "Last time I played Pokemon was on the Game Boy Pocket".  Well you're in luck, since Game Freak has been remaking the same game for 15 years now. OH SNAP "

ok so I broke down and picked it up. 
but was wondering...could I start a new game, transfer one of the starting pokemon to the pokewalker and take it to my main saved file?
the only problem I see is having to play the game long enough to get that ability.