The urban legends about Mew: how popular culture fooled hundreds of Pokémon players

Pokémon Red and Blue appeared in the world in the late 90s, just as the Internet was arriving. An Internet that was still prehistoric, where forums were still in their infancy and there were only a few blogs out there. But somehow, there was a rumor that we all came across in one way or another, whether it was through the web, word of mouth, or because we read it in a magazine: catching Mew in the game is possible, but they had hidden it very well in the code.

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My A-mew-go

Why wouldn’t we believe it? It’s not like, for example, the rumor about MissingNo sounded real and there it was, a glitch that appeared when doing a trick in the Safari Zone (which could ruin our game, by the way). So, when we heard that Mew was under the truck next to the S.S. Anne, we believed it blindly. There was just one problem. You needed a Pokémon to teach the HM “Surf”… and it wasn’t possible, because the ship left before players could obtain it.

However, it was possible to obtain “Surf” in several ways: for example, by trading a Pokémon for another one that had learned the ability, or by losing a battle on the ship after obtaining the move, sending you back to the port next to the St. Anne. Then, all you had to do was use “Strength” to move the truck, and underneath it was Mew. And if you’re a 90s kid, you’ll know perfectly well that it’s a lie as big as a temple and there was absolutely nothing under the truck.

The truck didn’t belong there at all, but of course, it sparked the children’s imagination, who began to invent all kinds of malicious rumors, from Bill’s “secret garden” to a place where only Charmanders could be caught, which was supported by specialized magazines. However… There was actually a way to get Mew! In those times, in various places around the world, they gave away Mews if you appeared at a specific time of day, but now it’s obviously impossible. Or is it? The truth is that you can catch Mew in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow through a glitch. However, it is not easy to obtain it.

Let’s get started then. Get yourself several Pokéballs (if possible, with higher efficiency) and leave some space free so that Mew doesn’t go to Bill’s PC. Oh! And put an Abra in your team and a low-level Pokémon so that Mew doesn’t faint easily in the first attack.

Now fight against all the trainers on Nugget Bridge. Capture an Abra and, before that, do not engage in conversation with the trainer hiding in the grass to the left on Route 24. Then walk towards him, stand in front of him, but out of his line of sight. When he sees you, at that precise moment, press Start and use Teleport with Abra. From that moment on, your menu will not work.

Go to Route 25 and confront the young trainer at the beginning, but avoid fighting anyone else except for the hiker, whom you must battle as far as possible. It is impossible to avoid him: go back to the young trainer you faced earlier. Confront him from a distance, do not approach him and now, defeat his level 17 Slowpoke. Return to Route 24: at that moment your menu will appear, when you press “B” to cancel the menu you will immediately enter a battle against a level 7 Mew. You already know the rest.

Easy, right? Well, at least you have the consolation that popular culture didn’t completely lie to you: there is a way to catch Mew, it’s just incredibly complex and you have to take advantage of Game Freak’s internal programming errors. That being said, we can assure you that the truck, at least, was useless… until the remake a few years later. Nothing goes to waste here.

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