Oh heck, why wait until next week? Presenting one of the most powerful Legendary Pokemon, and perhaps the cutest Pokemon of them all, number 151 in the Pokedex, Mew.
Yes, the image I used for this post is the screenshot I used for the background image of this world. But I’ve yet to find a cooler image of Mew than this one (except maybe that trading card picture of Mew on a lily pad). Anyway, Mew is known as the New Species Pokemon, but it might as well be known as the Mirage Pokemon due to its rarity. In the beginning many people doubted Mew even existed because so few people had seen it, and even then they were but mere brief glimpses. It’s not surprising since Mew can turn invisible and shape shift into other Pokemon using the move, Transform.
But Mew’s existence was hinted at strongly in the Pokemon Mansion journal entries on Cinnabar Island. And then with the debut of the first Pokemon movie, Mew’s existence had been established. Mew was said to be the ancestor of all Pokemon, though that theory seems to have been discredited somewhat with the discovery of Arceus, who is said to be the first Pokemon in existence and a sort of creator god. Still, Mew does seem to possess the genetic traits of all Pokemon, which is why it can learn every TM and HM move, and probably why it can use Transform. Unlike its genetically altered clone, Mewtwo, Mew is a very friendly and playful Pokemon and often very curious.
Hangout: Here’s where things start to get a little bit complicated. I supposed the easiest place to start it the hangout Mew has in Generation Three. In Pokemon Emerald, Mew can be found on a place called Faraway Island. Faraway Island can only be reached after obtaining an item called the Old Sea Map, which can only be obtained through a special Nintendo event. One thing that can be seen on the island after getting off the boat is an old sign with faded writing. The sign is implied to be a message left by the scientist that discovered Mew and created Mewtwo in the games, hoping that the next person who sets foot on the island is a kind-hearted person.
So it seems that Faraway Island is some sort of South American Island in the Pokemon world, as the Pokemon Mansion journals said that Mew was discovered in Guyana, South America. Anyway, upon entering the island’s tropical forest, Mew notices the player and runs off to hide in the long grass. At this point the player needs to play a game of hide and seek with Mew before being able to battle and catch it. This seems fairly easy to do, especially since there aren’t any other Pokemon on the island besides Mew. Once Mew is found, the battle begins.
So that’s Mew’s hangout in Generation Three, but what about in Generation One? Well, in the days when the Generation One games had first come out it was widely believed that Mew was only available through a special Nintendo event (or by using a Game Shark). But the reality was that Mew had always been in the first generation games right from the time they hit store shelves, and at that time Nintendo didn’t even know about it. After the game’s debugging software was removed, a sneaky Game Freak programmer named Shigeki Morimoto snuck Mew into the game as sort of hidden character that would not be available though normal game play, but could be encountered by using a glitch in the games (who cares if it’s cheating?).
For a time, Mew’s existence in the game was secret among the Game Freak staff, but it was soon leaked to the general public. Rumors and theories began to buzz about how to obtain Mew in the games. I remember hearing quite few from people I knew and even came up with one or two theories of my own. But by the time Generation Two rolled around though, it seemed that the only ways to get Mew were through a Nintendo event or the use of a Game Shark. But then a few years back a hacker discovered the glitch to encounter Mew and it became public knowledge.
The glitch works by using Teleport of Fly right when a certain character challenges you to a battle, and then battling and defeating another character. This will cause Mew to appear at a certain point not long after the battle. There are at least three Mew Glitches that I’m aware of, but with the first two the encounter with Mew takes place at the intersection of Routes 24 and 25. So you could say that Mew’s hangout in the Gen. One games is that intersection. Rather appropriate when you consider that the location is very close to Cerulean Cave.
The Mew Glitch: When I first learned about the Mew Glitch back in the summer of 2008 I decided to try it out for myself. I didn’t entirely believe that the glitch actually existed since I found out about it from Wikipedia, and we all know how reliable they are. But then the information on Bulbapedia seemed trustworthy enough. So I tried it out and it worked, and so I thought I’d end this post with my own instructions on how to activate the glitch and catch Mew. Now before you attempt this you’re going to need a few things.
- A Pokemon that knows a good paralyzing move. Thunder Wave usually works best in my opinion.
- One Pokemon that is at or near level seven.
- About 30 to 50 Pokeballs, which I know is a little expensive so early in the games but doable if you don’t buy Potions for a while. Keep in mind that you’ll need to restock every now and then.
Now, this form of the glitch is intended for capturing Mew at the earliest point in the game, which might be best considering Mew’s low level. So first of all, do not battle the guy swimming in the water in the Cerulean City Gym, otherwise you’ll screw up the glitch. Also, do not battle the guy hiding in that long patch of grass near the water on Route 24. He’ll be needed to activate the glitch. But I’ll get to that in a bit.
Okay, the first thing you need to do is capture an Abra. This part might take awhile and you’ll probably need to restock your supply of Pokeballs afterward. But keep in mind that you can sell that Nugget you win at the end of the Nugget Bridge on Route 24 for a lot of cash. I suppose you could try capturing a Jigglypuff before Cerulean City and using Sing on Abra to keep it from teleporting away long enough to weaken it, but just throwing Pokeballs each time you encounter an Abra works too. If you’re playing Pokemon Yellow, the Abra have been moved to Route 5, so you’ll need to get to the Sea Cottage and get the S.S. Anne ticket first. If that’s the case, do not battle that kid who’s facing the rock wall on Route 25, he plays an important role in the glitch.
Once you have your Abra, go back to Cerulean, restock your Pokeball supply, and get Abra out of the PC if necessary. It’s also best that you make sure to use the Cerulean City Pokmeon Center to heal your Pokemon so you can teleport back to it, that’s necessary for this. Next, head back to Route 24 and save your game, because now comes the actual glitch. Once you’re at Route 24, begin to walk directly towards the guy hiding in that long patch of grass I mentioned before, and the second he comes on the screen press the Start Button and use Teleport. This part requires some precise timing, so you might have to do a few resets. But you’ll now it worked when you see the exclamation mark above the guy’s head just before you Teleport back to the Pokemon Center.
At this point you won’t be able to access the menu screen for a while. The next step is to head back to Route 25 and avoid battling anyone else until you reach that wall of rock I mentioned earlier. Walk against that wall or else the game will freeze. That kid facing the wall will then challenge you to a battle. Defeat him and then begin walking the exact same path you walked before. If you don’t, the game will freeze and you’ll have to start all over.
When you get to the intersection of Routes 24 and 25 the menu screen will appear. When that happens, press the B Button, NOT the Start Button, the B Button. When you do that, Mew will suddenly appear at Level 7. Paralyze it, weaken it, and then start throwing Pokeballs until you catch it. Mew’s level is low enough that normal Pokeballs will work on it. Once Mew is caught, save your game, teleport back to the Pokemon Center (or you could just walk), get Mew out of the PC if necessary and heal the little guy. After that it’s a good idea to stick around Cerulean City for awhile to train Mew and raise its level, which goes pretty quickly if you teach Mew the TMs for Bubble Beam or Water Gun (which can be found in Mt. Moon).
That pretty much covers it for this week. If you want to know about the other forms of the Mew Glitch, consult Bulbapedia. But I wouldn’t try Mew Glitch number three if I were you because that one seems to cause a lot of problems. For next week I’ll be covering more of Johto’s Legendary Pokemon, so until then stay tuned.
