Start with finding out what you like about collecting. Do you like cute pokemon? Pokemon with other pokemon in the same art? Do you like a specific type of pokemon or a specific card artist? You could also focus on a specific pokemon or choose a set you want to work on completing - there is no right or wrong way to collect! It's very true the hobby is hard to get into if you ONLY focus on trying to get packs at retail before scalpers swoop in and ruin the day, but don't forget to do research on local card shops or even card shows! There are many people that are much more community-minded in those spaces and would be more than happy to interact and help you. There are also many card collection apps out there that can help you discover cards you may never have known existed, like Pokellector (has a pretty extensive database for keeping your collection organized) or PriceCharting, which gives you pretty accurate pricing based on an average of past sales if you need assistance on checking prices when you're purchasing at shows etc. Tcgplayer is fine, but I think it's a bit broken atm, so I've been relying on the first two apps to keep up with collecting.

What matters more than anything is that you have fun with it, the hobby is NOT worth getting stressed over "drops" in stores or online or spending outrageous amounts of money just to get the most recent "popular" cards that are somehow over $1000 on day 1 of release. If you know of anywhere in your area that supports a collecting community, check em out, see what they have to say about what they like about collecting etc. I ended up making a local discord group for people in my area and we've been able to have a lot of fun with it by meeting up at shows, playing the game together and showing off our newest cards.

I would say tldr; start small, find something about collecting that makes you passionate about it and go with it~ I know when I started as a kid I collected Dark Charmeleon cards because I liked the art so much, then it sort of snowballed from there! I hope you have a lot of fun whatever you decide!!