Best way to play as many of the games as possible?

I haven't played video games much recently and have not been keeping up much. I've got about an hour commute for work and figured maybe I should try out a 3ds/switch/rpie. I can see myself playing Mario Odyssey and Kart and Smash and Zelda and stuff like that so I was thinking Switch but I also feel like Switch is better to play with a bunch of people and I usually don't have people over at my house. I only know 3 or 4 other people with Switch so I can't really play with others. Plus, I'll be on the subway for half my commute and I don't know how it works without internet. The other thing is, I mostly play wanna play Pokemon. I tried Black or White on an emulator years ago and stopped before the Elite 4, I believe. That is the most recent game I've played. I want to try to play as many of them as possible. Would 3DS be my best option? Is there any way to buy the older ones and play them on 3DS? I know modding is an option and I dont mind trying that as well. Can Switch be modded to play them? I know there is a pokemon game coming out/already out for switch, but that is more like pokemonGo, right? Is there going to be a new game releasing for 3ds or Switch (or a new system) soon? Any suggestions would help. Thanks