A small defensive lab
Three pieces are enough to start: a hypervisor, one Linux guest, and Wireshark on the machine where you read captures. The rest can wait until a lesson names it.
A hypervisor
Use the virtualization your own computer already documents: Hyper-V, VirtualBox, VMware, or UTM. The brand matters less than an isolated network. The guest should not have a route onto the network your other devices use.
Take a snapshot before you change the guest. A snapshot is how you return to a known state. It is not a backup of anything you care about outside the lab.
One Linux guest
One current Linux install is the machine you practice on. The Linux workbench is the command line, the logs, and the permissions. You read what the system already recorded. You do not need a second guest whose job is to attack the first.
The lesson on lab environments is the longer version of the same rule: a lab is an isolated place where failure is expected, and it is still not permission to touch a system you do not own.
Wireshark on the host
Install Wireshark where you will open a file, which is often the host, not inside the guest. A capture you were given and a capture from a lab switch open the same way. The workbench starts at the three panes: who talked, which protocol, and whether the payload is still visible.
Record traffic only on a machine or a network you are allowed to monitor. A capture can hold more than you meant to keep. Store it with the lab notes, and delete it when the exercise is over.
What can wait
A second virtual machine built to throw traffic at the first one can wait. So can a pile of extra tools. The first week on this site is scope, a header, and a packet you put in order. Those run in the browser. They do not need another install.
When a later lesson needs tcpdump, Zeek, or a disk tool, it says so, and it says to use a file you already have or a system you own. Add that tool then. Do not collect installers in advance. A scanner is not part of this install. If a lesson asks for one, confirm the scope first.