As a stupid 7/8 year old I couldn't figure out how to catch pokemon on red/blue. I just figured that if I kept playing the game I'd eventually acquire pokemon(similar to the anime). I wound up playing the entire game with a charizard and nothing else.
It was brutal. Imagine my surprise when my friend showed me his team of 6 pokemon.
I think I may have gotten the Lapras as a gift? Or maybe it was a magikarp as a gift. I honestly can't remember, but I distinctly remember only having Charizard in the Elite 4.