I actually would suggest trying Heartgold or Soulsilver (the newest remakes).
New pokemon (obviously) aren't very familiar, but they are pretty fuckin' neato. At first, I felt the same way, but when I gave it a try, I started to like them. There's alot more variety now, to say the least.
Edit:
In reality, the new pokemon are just old ones, redesigned, with different stats and skills - but with the same basic idea. If you see something that reminds you of a pidgey - it's probably just like a pidgey (I'm looking at you, Starly). But I digress. You'd have to try it on your own, to know if you like it or not. I just consider new pokemon a "reason to explore".

How do you play the card game? I never understood it. o_o'