When it comes to video games I have always been an "I need it all" mindset. There is no benefit I see to limiting my options, so why should I? 😛
1. Emulation of ALL sorts whether via mini consoles, pc, raspberry pi, etc. etc. I too have been a fan of emulation since the mid 90s with Dave's Video Game classics etc. and of course I like to maintain a (nearly) full MAME setup on any PC I have. These days I mostly play emulated games on the Switch or Steam Deck.
2. Any and all original Hardware to CRT, which includes Flashcarts or ODEs as well as original carts & cds.
3. FPGA consoles by Analogue or the MiSTer.. either out to a modern display or CRT as needed.
So I love and use it all.. HOWEVER the bells and whistles of emulation especially with easy save states and rewind functions make me use them quite often.. even moreso than original or FPGA consoles. Of course regarding lag, obviously it doesn't matter on a ton of games (e.g. Zelda, or Pokemon as mentioned by OP) But even on games that it sort of matters I still will often emulate. For example I like playing stuff on the TG16 Mini even though the lag (for both input & sound) is noticeable, but it doesn't matter because I use save states to finally finish a game like Dragon Spirits and have a ball, which is all I'm looking for. I do concede that for a games like Battletoads or Mike Tyson up to 1:30 definitely demand a situation of CRT + original or FPGA console. But how often do I play those? And for games like SMB, I'm simply not that expert of a player where a little bit of lag messes up my button pressing which is not pinpoint accurate anyway.
That said, The Analogue Pocket + DOCK is an awesome thing.. to be able to play any game handheld, and whenever you get the feeling.. to pop it onto the dock and boom you're in TV mode. That's a great thing.
Also the MiSTer out to a CRT is also a thing of beauty.. to have so many of the consoles I care about from the 5200 to the Genesis etc. looking and playing perfectly crystal clear on the CRT and being able to jump between them within seconds was the stuff of dreams not all that long ago.
fwiw, there isn't much of a learning curve for the MiSTer.. the majority of the difficulty is the cost these days (which unfortunately has gone up), and assembling the hardware really. After that thought the scripts basically turnkey everything for you.
Now the RASPBERRY PI on the other hand.. That has a big learning curve! I don't even try to update mine anymore once I got it set up for fear I'll mess it up and have to go through the ordeal of figuring it all out again.