Game Freak couldn't fit Johto onto the cartridge until Satoru Iwata, then at HAL Laboratory, wrote compression tools so efficient that there was room left over to include the entire Kanto region as a post-league bonus. Sixteen badges, shiny creatures, a day-night cycle, and breeding: the most generous sequel the medium has ever produced. Iwata would go on to become Nintendo's president, and this technical feat is a central part of his legend.
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