Mew is a pink, bipedal Pokémon with mammalian features. It has a rounded, wide snout, triangular ears, and large, blue eyes. It has short arms with three-fingered paws and large hind paws with oval markings on the soles. Its tail is long and thin with an ovoid tip. Its fur is so fine and thin, it can only be seen under a microscope. Mew is said to have the DNA of every single Pokémon contained within its body, and as such is able to learn any attack.
As demonstrated by its behavior in the first and eighth Pokémon movies, it shows signs of intelligence, curiosity, playfulness, and even selflessness. Mew is incredibly adaptable, able to travel freely in the air or underwater. As seen in Pokémon Snap and the Super Smash Bros. series, it can create a green, yellow, or pink orb of energy around itself for protection, although only the pink orb is seen in the latter.
Reports found in Cinnabar Island's Pokémon Mansion note scientific expeditions that have sighted Mew in Guyana, South America, the place where it was first discovered. Since Mew can make itself invisible at will, very few people have knowingly seen it, leading some scientists to declare it extinct and most to assume it to be a mirage. It will only show itself to a person who is pure of heart.
Mew is the only known Pokémon capable of using the exclusive Z-Move Genesis Supernova.
In the main series
Major appearances
Mew debuted in Mewtwo Strikes Back, where it fought its clone Mewtwo to stop it from destroying the world. Afterwards, it made cameo appearances in anime works related to the movie, such as The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin and Mewtwo Returns.
Another Mew appeared in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, where it was the guardian of the Tree of Beginning.
Other
A Mew appeared in PK14.
A Mirage Mew appeared in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, where it helped interfere with the plans of Mirage Master.
Minor appearances
A Mew appeared in the opening sequence of Destiny Deoxys.
A Mew made a brief cameo in the opening sequence of The Rise of Darkrai, where it was seen being attacked by Mewtwo.
Mew made its main series debut in the boss fantasy of A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine!. As of this episode, every Generation I Pokémon has appeared in at least one episode of the anime.
An image of Mew appeared on a computer screen used by Mewtwo's creators in Genesect and the Legend Awakened.
A Mew made a cameo appearance in the ending credits in Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade.
A Mew made its physical main series debut in Alola, Kanto!, where it was seen flying around near Professor Oak's Laboratory. This is the latest main series physical debut of any of the original 151 Pokémon.
In Pokémon Origins
A Mew briefly appeared at the end of File 4: Charizard, being the only Generation I Pokémon that Red had not caught by the end of the mini-series.
Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros., Mew will sometimes appear out of a Poké Ball. When summoned, it will use Fly to leave the arena. In single player, the summoner is awarded the "Mew Catcher" bonus, worth 10,000 points.
After unlocking every character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a 1 in 251 chance of Mew appearing from a Poké Ball. The thrower of the Poké Ball receives the same "Mew Catcher" bonus.
Mew returns again as a rare Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the chance of it appearing is 1 in 493 this time. Like the other "secret" Pokémon, it drops rare items instead of just flying away. In Mew's case, the items are CDs. However, once all the pick-up CDs are obtained, it will drop Stickers instead.
Mew returns in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and comes out of a Poké Ball (rarely) and/or Master Ball (rare, but less rare than a Poké Ball).
Mew returns yet again in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, once again as a rare Poké Ball summon.
Throughout the Smash series, Mew, much like Mewtwo, is roughly akin to its portrayal in the first movie, especially having Kōichi Yamadera reprise his role.
Melee trophy information
Mew is an extremely rare Pokémon that has been seen by only a few people. Information on every Pokémon in the world is contained in Mew's cell structure, so it has the ability to use any and all TMs and HMs. Some Pokémon scholars believe Mew to be the ancestor of all existing Pokémon, but the idea is debatable.
Brawl trophy information
"A New Species Pokémon. An extremely rare Pokémon that contains the DNA of all other Pokémon, it is thought by many scholars to be a Pokémon ancestor, considering the wide range of moves it can use. On top of being able to make itself invisible, Mew can also transform into any opponent Pokémon and use characteristics and moves in exactly the same way."
3DS/Wii U trophy information
NA: Mew is a Pokémon previously thought to be extinct but rediscovered by Dr. Fuji. This Legendary Pokémon doesn't often show itself to humans, so it is considered quite lucky to see one. In Smash Bros., Mew will appear and then use Fly to sail away, leaving behind a gift. Thanks, Mew!
PAL: Mew was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered by Dr. Fuji in Guyana. This Mythical Pokémon doesn't often show itself to humans, so it's considered very lucky to see one. In this game, it will float upwards and leave a present behind. If only Mew would turn up more often, eh?
Mew appears in the seventh course, Rainbow Cloud. Although the game is not combat-oriented, the difficulty of photographing Mew effectively makes it the game's boss. Mew floats in a bubble that turns opaque when the zoom is activated, so players must throw a series of Pester Balls or Food at it to break the bubble so Mew will come out for a clear shot. Photographing Mew gets an automatic bonus of 2500 points, making it the highest ranking Pokémon in the game with a highest possible score of 10,000 points with perfect positioning, size and pose.
- Despite being a clone of Mew, Mewtwo appears before Mew in the Pokédex.
- Mew was the only Pokémon of the first 151 to be left out of the original version of the Pokérap.
- In Generation I and II, due to technical limitations, New Species is labeled in game as NEW SPECIE (and in early versions, labeled as NEWSPECIES).
- Mew was a little-known secret when Pokémon Red and Green were first released in Japan. Even Nintendo was not initially aware that Shigeki Morimoto had programmed it into the game.[1]
- In Generation III, Mew is the only Generation I Pokémon that cannot be encountered in FireRed and LeafGreen, as well as the only Generation I Legendary or Mythical Pokémon that can be encountered in Emerald.
- Mew is tied with Mewtwo for the most anime opening appearances of any Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, with seven in Japan.
- Mew is the only genderless Pokémon able to learn Captivate; however, when used by genderless Pokémon, this move will always fail.
- In Super Smash Bros. it has a chance of 1 out of 151 to appear, in Super Smash Bros. Melee, its chance to appear is 1 out of 251, and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, its chance to appear is 1 out of 493. This is a reference to how many Pokémon were out during the release of each game (151 in Generation I, 251 in Generation II, and 493 in Generation IV).
- Mew shares the move Transform with Ditto, along with also sharing the same Shiny coloration and the same weight. In addition, in Pokémon Yellow, Ditto can be encountered in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island, where diary entries on Mew can be found.
- The US release of Mew as an event for HeartGold and SoulSilver happened on the ten-year anniversary of the original release of Gold and Silver.
- Mew was voted the most popular Pokémon in the Pokémon Power Bracket, which included all Legendary and Mythical Pokémon from the first four generations.
- Mew started the trend of every generation (through Generation V) introducing a Mythical Pokémon with a base stat total of 600 and a stat distribution of 100 all around. Others that follow this trend include Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Land Forme Shaymin, and Victini.
- The only way to legitimately obtain a Shiny Mew is via the Old Sea Map on a Japanese copy of Pokémon Emerald.
- Mew is one of two Pokémon to have the shortest English Pokémon name, Muk being the other.
- Mew is the only Generation I Pokémon that grows medium slowly and has no three-stage evolution family.
Origin
Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:
Mew is similar to a vertebrate embryo. It shares many traits with cats. Its morphology is also vaguely similar to a jerboa, having large hind legs and a long skinny tail. It is believed by scientists to be the last universal common ancestor of all other Pokémon, which, along with its resemblance to an embryo, may be a reference to the recapitulation theory.
Moreover, Mew's design was based on Mewtwo. It was made simpler than Mewtwo's so that it would take up less space on the cartridge.[2]
Name origin
Mew may be derived from 妙 myō (strange/unusual), or mutant (myūtanto), or it may be a combination of mystery and new (considering that it is mysterious and "newly" discovered).