>>41590569G1 had so many rumors and glitches that it was impossible to tell which ones were real and which ones were fake. Promo material for movies with upcoming G2 Pokemon didn't help (remember when we called Marill Pikablu?). Then you had THETRUCK, Pokegods, Ho-Oh from the first episode of the anime, etc
Then, MissingNo turned out to be a legitimate glitch that also duped your items. Once the bullshit roundabout way to find him was found, that opened the floodgates of "But what ELSE could be real?"
Late 90s Pokemon on the Internet was truly a time to be alive.