>>52823798Being rare is one thing, being an entire continent away is another. Dratini in Red/Blue was only obtainable through the Game Corner (grind coins) or Safari Zone (try your luck with the bait/rock/ball nonsense), which works to make it feel rare while still having it available in the first half of the game.
Gen 2 got rid of Safari Zone but there was still the Game Corner, swarms, time of day, out of the way routes and more they could've hidden Dark/Steel types behind. Having them be common in Kanto while scarce in Johto would've made them actually feel rare and not like they were forgotten.
