Mew

Mew is an ultra-rare first generation promotional Pokémon that was entirely unavailable to be caught in the wild in Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, making it the rarest Pokémon of all, since you couldn't encounter it during the normal course of gameplay. The only way (without using a cheat device like a Gameshark to encounter Mew is to use the "Mew glitch".

Mew is an extremely rare Pokémon, traditionally thought to be a mirage and a legend. It was discovered in South America by a group of scientists who later brought it back to their laboratories on Cinnabar Island in the Kanto region. Its unusual ability to learn any TM, and its compatibility with all move tutors is its best-known quality among Pokémon players.

Ideally, a team of six Mew, bred with carefully selected moves and natures, would be tempered to handle any type of Pokémon and Pokémon combination, making it potentially the ultimate team.

Mew was previously "given away" at Toys 'R' Us stores across North America to promote the release of the eighth Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Players of Pokémon Diamond Version and Pearl Version once saw plenty of these Mews on the game's Wi-Fi Global Trading Center, however Mew (and other uncatchables like Celebi and Jirachi) were soon no longer able to be traded via this service.

Characteristics
Mew appears as a pink feline-esque Pokémon with long feet, large blue eyes, and a long tail. Its skin is covered with a layer of fine pink hair. Mew also somewhat resembles a fetus. In the 3D games, it is shown to be white with pink points on its feet, tail, and head with the same blue eyes. It seems to be genderless as well. The Cinnabar Mansion Journals (4 diaries found in Cinnabar Mansion) state that Mew 'gave birth' to Mewtwo, Mewtwo was genetically altered by the author (probably with the aid of his fellow researchers) of the Cinnabar Mansion Journals diary. This is explained in both the plot of Pokémon: The First Movie and Mewtwo's Pokedex entry.

By nature, Mew is known to be a playful and kind Pokémon. Its DNA is said to possess the genetic composition of all existing Pokémon species at the time. If its DNA does contain all the genetic compositions of every other Pokémon, it is safe to say that Mew may have been the first Pokémon species and they evolved over time to today's modern species, excluding: Mewtwo (being a modified Mew clone), Arceus (being the Alpha Pokémon), Dialga and Palkia (being stems of Arceus' power), Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf (being stems of Arceus' spirit), Porygon, Porygon2, PorygonZ and Castform (being man-made), Deoxys (being a recently mutated alien virus), Entei, Raikou, and Suicune (they having been created by Ho-oh) and Giratina (having presumably come from a different dimension). It is seemingly capable of using all known Pokémon techniques. In addition to its wildly variable techniques, Mew can also transform into another Pokémon in the same manner as Ditto. It is also capable of instant teleportation, summoning giant pink bubbles of psychic energy (which serve various purposes), and making itself invisible. Some people also believe that Mew actually knows all moves at once, instead of it learning them. As well as the ability to learn every TM and HM ever invented, rumors also have stated that Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon, created Mew at the beginning of time.

Availability
This Pokémon is very difficult to obtain, in spite of having been available since the first generation of Pokémon games. Because of this, many players turn to cheating devices such as a Gameshark or Action Replay due to the fact that you must go to an event which many players don't have access to, as well as the fact that events don't last long enough for everyone to attend/people waiting in line to receive one (a problem extremely evident in other event giveaways, such as the Rainbow/Mystic Tickets) making these devices the only viable option for many players. Although Mew can actually be caught in the Red, Blue, and Yellow games without any hardware device through a glitch known as the "Mew glitch", which causes the game to modify the hexadecimal values used to determine what Pokémon will appear in the wild, and can be used to capture any Pokémon programmed into the game.

In Pokémon Blue, Red, Yellow, LeafGreen and FireRed players could read "diary extracts" in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. These extracts had no significant value to the game as they were not involved in the process to catch mew or in the game's storyline. If owners of a Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen, or Emerald version went to a Toys "R" Us store in the United States on September 30, 2006, a Mew was transferred into their game pack. The Mew received in this promotion came at level 10 and had the moves "Transform" and "Pound", eventually learning moves like "Mega Punch", and "Ancientpower". The name of the OT (original trainer) is listed as "MYSTRY" in the status of the Pokémon page, likely to do with the movie it was given out as a promotion for, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (compare to Jirachi's OT being listed as "WISHMKR" on the Colosseum bonus disk), or could be a reference to Mew being mysterious.

The only official method of capturing Mew in the English language version of the first generation of games (Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow) was to receive one from Nintendo personnel at special events called Pokéconventions where they were handed out to the cartridge-owners that came. Outside of the USA, there have been times where players could send their cartridges to certain authorized personnel (such as local Nintendo importers) who would then transfer Mew to the cartridge. These transfers have sometimes also been accompanied with printed certificates that also have the Mew’s ID number.

Red/Blue/Yellow
Mew cannot be obtained without having attended a Nintendo Event. However, you can still use the "Mew glitch".

The Mew Glitch
A glitch in the original 1st generation games made it possible to catch Mew without the use of cheat devices. Here's how:

There is another method of acquiring Mew in the first two generations of games without help from promotional events or cheating devices. In Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Yellow there exists a multi-step process called the Mew glitch, although the "glitch" does not ruin the game in any way. Since the games only had a single memory region for battle data (because it was assumed that only one battle could occur at any given time), the player could overwrite the original trainer battle data by battling other trainers or wild Pokémon. By creatively choosing opponents, the player could fill the battle data memory region with the data of his or her choice. Returning to the area where the player first flew or teleported away would cause the game to interpret the crafted battle data as genuine, triggering a battle with a wild Pokémon at level 7. Typically, players chose Mew as the Pokémon, as it could not normally be captured. As a Pokémon in battle, Mew rivals its genetic counterpart Mewtwo as a strong, capable Psychic-type Pokémon, especially in the first generation of games when competition against Psychic-types was minimal due to a somewhat imbalanced elemental system; Mew, Mewtwo, and Alakazam (the strongest non-legendary Psychic-type at the time) often dominated the competition. Each of Mew’s base stats are at a very strong 100, just like fellow secret legendary Pokémon Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy and Shaymin. How to Catch Mew in Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow Yes, believe it or not, it can be done without a GameShark or other cheating device. Here's what you'll need to do:

Restart your game and play until you get HM02 Fly from the house west of Celadon City (Teleport from an Abra works as well, but fly is easier to use). Do not fight the following trainers: The Youngster with a Slowpoke (Level 17) on the road to Bill's house (Route 25). He is the fourth trainer after you cross Nugget Bridge, standing directly above a female trainer and facing north. The Gambler with two Poliwags and a Poliwhirl (all Level 22) between Lavender Town and Saffron City (Route 8). He is standing just east of the entrance to Saffron City, facing north toward the door of the Underground Path. Carefully follow the series of steps illustrated below.

Make sure you have a Pokémon that knows Fly. On Route 8, stand in front of the door of the Underground Path. Save your game, since saving after this point will disrupt the procedure. Walk down one step and immediately press Start. If you succeed, the menu will pop up before the Gambler "sees" you. Go to the Pokémon list and fly to Cerulean City. The Gambler will see you just before you fly away. Your Start button will no longer function. Go north across Nugget Bridge and head east until you find the trainer in this picture (he's the Youngster described above). If you walk right up in front of the Youngster, the game will lock up, so you'll have to let him see you and walk up to you. Defeat his Slowpoke (afterwards, your Start button will work again), then fly to Lavender Town. Head west into Route 8. As soon as you enter the narrow path, the menu will pop up by itself. Press B to exit...

...and look who it is! Mew will be at Level 7 and its only attack will be Pound. Poké ball, go!

This also works west of Nugget Bridge near the grass area with a trainer. Step into position until 1 step means battle, then do the same thing like above. Walk up Nugget Bridge and battle the Slowpoke trainer. Teleport (or Fly since Start works now) back to Cerulean City and walk up Nugget Bridge one more time. The Start button should appear automatically if done right. Press B and prepare to receive a Level 7 Mew!

Pokémon Emerald Version
In Pokémon Emerald Version, Mew can be caught on a new island called Faraway Island. To get to the island, a player must have downloaded the item "Old Sea Map" from a Nintendo Event or have been given a one time passage from an action replay system. The code only works if used right away and is without the old sea chart. If you use the Nintendo event method, the Old Sea Map acts as a ticket to the island, and a ferry at either Lilycove or Slateport will take the player to Faraway Island. Once there, the player will find Mew in a clearing filled with tall grass. Mew will attempt to hide in the grass, and the player will have to chase it and corner it to battle it. However, the only event for it has been in Japan, for those who pre-ordered tickets to Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

A good way to tell whether a Trainer's Mew was legitimately captured or not is whether it's obeying its trainer. If it isn't, then the Pokémon was obtained via a cheating device.

Pokémon Snap
Ah, Pokémon Snap. Mew was the "final boss" of Pokémon Snap, the only Pokémon in the very last level. It floated around the screen tauntingly, surrounded by a bubble that blocked all of your pictures. You had to continuously aim and lob Pester Balls at the bubble to get it to pop before you could snap a good photo.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mew rarely (1 in 151 chance) appeared out of a Poké Ball and simply gave the player the bonus of Mew Catcher.

In both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a small chance that when a Pokeball is thrown, Mew will appear out of it and quickly fly away. Getting Mew from a Pokeball will give the player who opened it 10,000 bonus points.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
When Mew appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl it drops a CD.

Other
Mew has compatibility with every Technical Machine and Hidden Machine, allowing for any variety of moves. Indeed, Mew can be viewed as Pokémon’s "wild card". In addition, Mew can learn any move available from the specialized tutors in Pokémon FireRed Version, Pokémon LeafGreen Version, and Pokémon Emerald Version, and in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness its movepool is extended even further. After completing that game’s main story, a man appears in Mt. Battle asking the player to show him a Mew, and he will quiz the player with some questions. If the player answers them all correctly, the man will teach Mew up to four moves of the player’s choice out of a list of 100.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mew will appear randomly between floors 36 and 98 of the "Buried Relic" Dungeon, if the player has the "Music Box" item in the toolbox. The Music Box is obtained by defeating Regirock, Regice, and Registeel on the 15th, 25th, and 35th floors, respectively, and obtaining the Rock Part, the Ice Part, and Steel Part, which makes the Music Box, when possessed in the toolbox (Don't use it) will draw Mew to the player. The player must also possess the Friend Area "Final Island" in order for Mew to join his or her team. It possesses the ability to float, so it can go over everything except walls. There is only one Mew, so trying to obtain it as soon as possible is a very common thing players do. You may only obtain "Buried Relic" after you complete story mode. To get "Buried Relic" you must ask Lombre and Shiftry about it after you see the mail proclaiming it. Turning the game off in this dungeon without quicksaving results in the loss of all your items and Poké (the money used in this game).

In Pokémon Ranger, Mew appears in a Ranger Net Mission available after beating the game's main story line and beating the other two Ranger Net Missions first. Mew is particularly difficult to catch as you must sneak up on it, or it will fly away, and even if you do get it in battle, it can flee very quickly. It also interferes with captures by teleporting away from the capture line, but a ghost Poke-Assist stops it from teleporting away from the capture disc. The place to get the Poke-Assist is at the Jungle Relic, where a Shedinja can be captured there.

Pokémon Abilities

 * SYNCHRONIZE
 * Battle: When this Pokémon becomes poisoned, paralyzed, or burned, so does the opponent. However, Fire-type and Water Veil ability Pokémon cannot be burned, Poison-type and Steel-type and Immunity ability Pokémon cannot be poisoned, and Limber ability Pokémon cannot be paralyzed.
 * Map: If the Pokémon is in the lead spot, chance of encountering a wild Pokémon with the same nature will be 50%.

Suggested Moveset
Mew is famous for being able to learn every TM Move, as well as any HM. Mew's greatest power is its unpredictability - once your opponent knows your moveset, though, its power is greatly lost. Softboiled is a common sight on Mew, being its only recovery option and simply because it CAN, since the move is typically reserved for only Chansey/Blissey. Calm Mind or Bulk Up on a Mew is a great idea. It can learn Ice Beam and Thunderbolt like its dysfunctional son Mewtwo, along with Explosion, Dragon Claw, Giga Drain, and Psychic. It has the largest move pool in the game, ignoring Smeargle.

However, as far as an all-out, 'any Pokémon goes' battle is concerned, Mewtwo can do most of the things Mew can, but a lot better. Still, Mew makes a nice surprise and can leave your opponent guessing, giving you a nice advantage.

Trading Card Game
Mew is a speciality figure in the trading card game and appears in the following sets:


 * Southern Islands (Psychic-type)
 * Expedition (Psychic-type)
 * EX Legend Maker (Psychic-type)
 * EX Legend Maker (as Mew EX, a Psychic-type)
 * EX Holon Phantoms (as Mew EX, a Psychic-type)
 * EX Holon Phantoms (Psychic-type)
 * EX Dragon Frontiers (as Mew Star, a Water-type "Delta Species" Mew)

Mew EX from Legend Maker is the Mew which (so far) has abilities which are most similar to its video game counter-part. Mew EXs Poke-body allows it to use any attack on any Pokémon in play; similar to the video game where Mew can learn almost any attack in the entire game. This version of Mew was featured primarily in the Mewtric deck, the deck that won the 2006 World Championships. Invented by Seena Ghaziaskar and Matt Moss, the deck played by Jason Klaczynski to win the title was played alongside several Manectric EX's.

In addition, Mew appeared twice promotionally in the early stages of the game, once as the Psychic-type Blackstar Promo #8 and #9, and again as the Psychic-type Blackstar promo #47, commonly referred to by fans as the "Lilypad Mew" because of its artwork.

Mew has also appeared once as "Ancient Mew" as a promo for Pokémon: The Movie 2000. The card is generally considered unusable in battle, as the card is written in Medieval Runic and must be translated before use. In addition, the reverse of the card does not use the standard design, causing the Ancient Mew to stand out conspicuously when shown face down with other cards (this altered back also makes the card illegal for play in any Pokémon Organized Play tournament). Ancient Mew's HP is 30, and its technique is "PSYCHE" which requires two Psychic Energies to do 40 damage.

A non-holofoil Mew can also be obtained in the new Pokémon movie Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.