How to Get Mew in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

By Yanna Ferrera

You can get Mew by trading it with someone who has it. Mew can only be caught in Pokémon Emerald through a Nintendo event that isn’t being held anymore, so there is no way of catching Mew in FireRed or LeafGreen.

Mew’s Origins

Mew is tagged in the Pokédex as a New Species Pokémon.

*Mew’s description in the FireRed version of the game. In LeafGreen, Mew is even tagged as a mythical, mirage creature due to how rare it is.*

Its name sounds familiar thanks to Mewtwo, which is a Pokémon resulting from a recombination of Mew’s DNA. Unlike Mewtwo which can be found and caught in-game, Mew can only be traded in from Pokémon Emerald.

*Mewtwo can be found and caught in the game in Cerulean City’s cave.*

Mew’s only location in Emerald is on Faraway Island in the Hoenn Region. This area is not readily accessible, however, as players would need to attend an in-person Nintendo event to get the Old Sea Map. The Key item is then given to Mr. Briney in Lilycove City, which enables the player to access the island through the S.S Tidal.

Since there aren’t any live Nintendo events anymore, there is no way to get the map and gain access to Faraway Island to catch Mew. The only way to get Mew into FireRed and LeafGreen is to trade with a friend.

You can trade with a friend who plays Pokémon Emerald and has Mew. Link up with a cable to start the trade by talking to the receptionist at the farthest counter of any Poké Center’s 2^nd floor.

Choose which Pokemon you will exchange for Mew. There’s a little cutscene on the trade happening, and then you’ll now have Mew in your party. Mew’s Pokémon info under Trainer Memo tags it as “met in a fateful encounter”.

It is said that Mew possesses the genes of all Pokémon, which is why it has the ability to learn any and all moves. This includes moves from the Move Tutor and all Technical Machines (TMs) and Hidden Machines (HMs). The Mew you will get from trading will always have a unique move set depending on how its previous owner had trained it.

*Mew using the move “Transform” which enables it to take the form of its foe and use its attacks against it. With the exception of Mew, this move is exclusive to Ditto.*

Some of the moves Mew can learn by leveling up include Psychic at Level 40 and Ancient Power at Level 50, but you can teach it any other move you want.

While Mew is a really strong and rare Pokémon, there is no other way of organically getting Mew in the game, unless you use cheats and exploit glitches. Trading is the only formal way of getting Mew into your Save File, but that is only if your friend is willing to hand over their one and only Mew.