Pokemon Enthusiast Achieves Rare 1997 Mew in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Discover how a devoted Pokemon fan ingeniously brings the legendary Mew from a historic 1997 Nintendo event into the latest Pokemon games.
Pokemon Enthusiast Achieves Rare 1997 Mew in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Highlights

  • Mew from 1997's Space World successfully makes its way to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet after almost three decades.
  • Prior to Generation 4, Mew could solely be acquired through Nintendo events or trading with fellow players who possessed it.
  • The intricate process involves transferring Mew from an original Gen 1 game through multiple generations using specialized tools to reach the contemporary games.

An avid Pokemon enthusiast has triumphantly succeeded in transferring the rare Mew from the iconic 1997 Space World event into the present-day Pokemon Scarlet and Violet games. Within the vast realm of Pokemon, filled with rare and legendary creatures, the enigmatic Psychic cat-like Mew stands out as one of the most elusive. Despite its significant role in the lore of the original Pokemon Red and Blue games, encountering or capturing Mew in the base game was only possible through glitches or data manipulation. This remained true for all mainline Pokemon games until Generation 4's Diamond and Pearl, which allowed players to transfer it from the Wii's My Pokemon Ranch spin-off.

Prior to this development, the only legitimate means for Pokemon trainers to include Mew in their collections was through special Nintendo events or trading with others who possessed it. The inaugural physical event where Mew was available was at Space World 1997 held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan from November 21 to 24. Alongside playable demos of the upcoming Pokemon Gold and Silver games, Nintendo provided 100,000 attendees the opportunity to transfer Mew to their game cartridges using a special machine.

Nearly 27 years after the distribution of the Space World 1997 Mews, a Reddit user known as SwimJumpy8678 has managed to bring one into Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Sharing a YouTube video from Porygon's Pokedex that details the process, this achievement was previously deemed impossible until another player uncovered a Pokemon Blue cartridge containing the rare Mew. To accomplish the transfer from the old game to Pokemon Home, one must possess a Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color link cable, a Japanese version of Pokemon Blue, a card dumper, a Flash card, and all the necessary games and hardware for transitioning from Generation 3 to Generation 7.

Meticulous Steps to Transfer 1997 Mew to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Once all requisites are gathered, the player downloads a Pokemon Blue save file containing the rare Mew, archived online by dedicated fans. After downloading, the file needs to be renamed and transferred to the card dumper. Subsequently, the player uses modder Lorenzoone's Gen 3 to Gen X trading program to shift the Mew from the original Gen 1 game to their Gen 3 cartridge. Following the in-game leveling of Mew, the trainer installs the Gen 3 to Gen X program on their Flash card and executes it on their Game Boy Advance, facilitating the trade with the Game Boy Color.

Upon trading the Mew from Generation 3 to Generation 4, the final step involves transferring it across various games and platforms until it reaches Pokemon Home, from where it can be dispatched to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Through this method, SwimJumpy8678 not only successfully transferred the Space World 1997 Mew but also those from other historic Nintendo events, ensuring that almost any iteration of Pokemon's mischievous Psychic companion can be integrated into the modern games.