SoulSilver was my first game.
99% of my memories from my childhood are faded, but for some reason, playing SoulSilver for the first time is ingrained in to my head. Walking around with Cyndaquil in New Bark Town, finding a shiny Hoothoot on Route 29, reaching the Lake of Rage and evolving Quilava into Typhlosion then dropping my DS and losing hours of progress, catching Lugia, headbutting a tree on Route 27 and catching an Exeggcute and trading it to my sister, beating Lance and reaching the end credits, are all memories that I remember so vividly. I never did make it to Kanto unfortunately, I just ran around Johto with a Level 60 Typhlosion until I got bored and moved on to Gen 5. I even remember his moveset of all things: Cut, Swift, Flamethrower, Eruption.
HGSS was the peak of Pokémon, to be honest. It was all downhill from there.