I bought a copy of Nintendo Official Magazine, a publication that used to be sold in the UK and Ireland, back in about 1998/1999. It had a poster of the first 150 Pokémon, and you could tick each creature off when you caught them or spotted them in the anime. I hadn't heard much about the games or show prior to that, but I thought the designs and names of each creature were fascinating. Very soon after that, the TV show started to air.