I had no information on third-generation Pokémon at all when I first began playing Ruby; when I'd encountered Latios for the first time, I immediately thought that it was an alternate form of Lugia, or at least related to it in some way. It was definitely intriguing. After doing some research, however, I was able to figure out that it wasn't. As far as Latias goes, it was pretty exciting to encounter. I mightn't have been as hyped, but it was still a fun experience nonetheless! Did manage to get a hold of them both at some point, but it took me a long, long time.