So how many gens of pokemon games are there?

I think i played a bit of pokemon yellow which i think was the same as emerald IIRC, and i played fire red or one of those, which ones are the same game?

1st gen: blue/red/green/yellow/emerald/ruby/sapphire
2nd gen: gold/silver/soul silver/heart gold
3rd gen: Leaf green/Fire red

Is that right?
Now i know there's ones with names like crystal/diamond/pearl/black/platinum/black/white

What are those?
I might play another pokemon doubt anytime soon but maybe over christmas.

The generations are determined by when new sets of Pokemon are included in the game.

Red, Blue and Yellow are apart of the first; Gold, Silver and Crystal's after that; Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald come next; Diamond, Pearl and Platinum follow that and currently we're on the 5th gen -- Black and White.

And of course, there are the "refreshed" versions of early gen games, like FireRed and LeafGreen, but while those are technically set in the 1st generation, you can acquire 2nd and 3rd gen Pokemon through trading and such.

Pretty much what Savage said.

But to make it easier:

Gen 1: Red, Blue and Yellow
Gen 2: Gold, Silver and Crystal
Gen 3: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. Also Fire Red and Leaf Green (Remakes of Gen 1, with all the new Pokemon in them.)
Gen 4: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. Also Heart Gold and Soul Silver. (Remakes of Gen 2, with all the new Pokemon in them.)
Gen 5: Black and White.

Which ones are the best ones and are the remakes generally better?

The first gen will always be my favourite, followed by gen 2. Probably for nostalgic reasons. But as far as gameplay goes and all, the recent ones are the best.

So go with the remakes of gen 1 and 2.

Oh right cool yeah i think overall i prefered the gen 1 to gen 3 i played and i think i played a bit of gold way back and that one was pretty cool.

Is there any major difference between heart gold and soul silver?

Not really, just version exclusive pokemon. So just google what they are and get the version that has the ones you like better.

Always go with Silver as Lugia is way cooler than Garden tool - Oh. But I agree that the remakes are the most fun. Also platinum if you want to live in sinnoh Platinums the way to go. Hoen is horrible. Gen 3 is my least favorite. But LG and it's numbered Islands really made me enjoy the Kanto remakes.

Ace wrote:

Always go with Silver as Lugia is way cooler than Garden tool

You can get Lugia and Ho-Oh in both games, whether you have HG or SS just decides which you get first.

I know but Lugia is on the cover. And Lugia has aero blast in silver version. Is that still the same with the remakes? I don't know.