The Johto region is the setting for Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal. Even decades after its creation, it is still loved by Pokémon fans around the world, and for good reason. The region is filled with interesting locales and rich history. Today, we'll be taking a closer look at the region, and discussing 10 things that you might not know about Johto. Let us know what we missed down in the comments below. Without any further ado, let's jump into the list.

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10 Built By An Ancient Civilization

1,500 years prior to the storylines of Gold and Silver, Johto first began construction. It was originally built by an ancient civilization. This group of people built what was to one day be known as the Ruins of Alph. The civilization shared a strong connection with the Unown that lived there, even basing their alphabet on the Pokémon. As time went on, this group eventually met with another group of people who originally hailed from what would one day be known as the Sinnoh Region.

9 It's Close To Sinnoh

Sinnoh and Johto share an interesting history with one another. When the two aforementioned groups eventually met, they worked together to create a temple for the Mythical Pokémon Arceus. This area would one day be known as the Sinjoh Ruins. It is easy to see why these groups worked together, as the Unown that the Johto group cherished have a connection with Arceus. The temple combined Sinnoh and Johto style in a beautiful way, honoring both Arceus and Unown.

8 There Was An Original Batch Of Pokémon

Have you met Screaming Triangle? Well, he is one of the many creatures featured in the beta of Gold and Silver. The game originally featured a completely different line-up than we ended up getting.

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While many of these beta creatures do resemble Pokémon that we currently know and love, others don't even come close to anything we have now. Chikorita barely even had legs, there were some interesting choices being made there.

 

7 Brass Tower And The Legendaries

The Brass Tower was one of two towers built in Ecruteak City. These two towers were built in order to show the connection between humans and Pokémon. Unfortunately, tragedy struck one day, and a lightning blast burnt the Brass Tower to the ground. Three Pokémon that went down in the blaze were then resurrected by Ho-Oh. The three signified the lightning that struck, the fire it caused, and the rain that ended the blaze. These three would come to be known as Raikou, Entei, and Suicune.

6 Traditional Style

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Johto's style is unlike any other region to date, which was an aesthetic choice made by the designers. As with the Kanto Region, The Johto Region is based on a real-life area of Japan, the Kansai region to be exact. The Johto Region borrows heavily from Kansai, as everything from the layout of the region to the cities it contains are inspired by the real-life location. It wouldn't be until Generation Five's Unova that we would get a region based on an area outside of Japan.

5 The Battle Castle's Caitlin

Speaking of Generation Five, the Unova Elite Four's Caitlin actually made her debut in the Battle Frontier, a location featured in HeartGold and SoulSilver. She was the princess of the Battle Castle before she became an Elite Four member. In the Johto remakes, she never actually battles herself and instead watches from atop her throne. While you do battle her butler Darach, it wouldn't be until Pokémon Black and White that you would face-off against the princess herself.

4 Kanto Connection

If it wasn't obvious, Johto and Kanto share a very deep connection with one another. The two are joined together physically, and as such, they share many facilities between the two. In fact, the two regions actually share the same Elite Four and Champion.

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As the two were the first regions ever created, it is only natural that they would share such a deep connection. However, at one time, there was another reason that Johto and Kanto were so deeply intertwined.

3 The Final Region?

Before the Pokémon franchise became one of the most important entertainment brands in history, Gold and Silver were once going to be the final games in the series. As such, the development team wanted to go out with a bang, which is why the pair of games hold up so well even to this day. Since this was supposed to be the last time we would ever see the Pokémon franchise, the team included the Kanto Region (which is nothing short of a miracle with the technology that they had at the time) in order to give fans the most complete package that they could. This led to the regions sharing many things between one another, a trait that they still hold to this day. Anytime that you see a game featuring Johto, you're likely to see Kanto right along with it.

2 Anime Locations

The Johto Region is home to many additional areas not seen in-game. These areas are exclusive to the Pokémon anime. Some of these locations include Wobbufett Village (because what else would you base your village on?), Snowtop mountain and Whirl Cup Coliseum. The latter location is actually a colosseum that resides on the Whirl Islands. The Coliseum hosts the Whirl Cup, a tournament between water-type specialists held every three years. Misty and Ash both compete in the competition, with Misty placing slightly higher than Ash in the end.

1 New Typings

Two new typings that were originally not found in Kanto were found in the Johto region, with those two being Dark and Steel. These types greatly balanced the Psychic-type, which was the dominant typing during Generation One. These new typings were highlighted not only through new Pokémon, but through trainers. Jasmine of Olivine City specializes in Steel-type Pokémon, while Elite Four member Karen has a dark-type team. Looks like we have the Johto Region to thank for fixing some of the unbalance featured in Pokémon Red and Blue.

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