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I first saw this ad in Disney Adventures. I still remember the little misconceptions I had based on this picture (Blastoise had a spiked helmet and threw grenades - and that his shell behind him was a separate Pokémon, like a stubby bipedal robot with a cannon for a head.)
Later I got to see it on TV - the first episode they aired wasn't actually the first episode chronologically, but the one where they're stuck on a submarine. As an experiment, I guess. Then they started from the first episode.
Our family was too poor for video games at the time, but my mom still got us the Player's Guide for Pokémon Red, bless her. I wish I knew where that ended up.