This is the first sensible counter point anyone has made, although it's still not related to the point I'm debating.*Splinter, first off, if you're the kind of nerd who needs to buy multiple versions to get everything, having a single version that locks you out of some of the content (like Squirtle and the fossils) doesn't actually do anything to change that. Instead of buying two versions to get everything, you buy two copies of one version to get everything. You still have to get one copy for Omanyte and another copy for Kabuto.
I'm not trying to downplay trading here. It's just not what the thread is about.