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However, Shigeki Morimoto, one of the game designers at Game Freak, secretly programmed Mew into the game and revealed Mew to colleagues just prior to the release

1\1\1 This is accurate and funny

The best Kyurem cards feature this unique Dragon-type legendary Pokemon in all of its forms, switching from black to white, to its normal Ice-type version

Before its release, players anticipated cards like Ho-Oh and Cleffa having an impact on the meta, but as more cards have been revealed, that seems less likely

My following comments are speculation, but: The card designs could have been approved around the same time period as the first wave of 1996 cards, the contract could have enforced the release date of 1997 to stagger product hitting the market, the contract could have stipulated mew was to be withheld until approved, or indefinitely, or permission triggered by some other event such as a sales target