Mew, The New Species Pokémon. A Pokémon of South America that was thought to have been extinct. It is very intelligent and learns any move. So rare that it is still said to be a mirage by many experts. Only a few people have seen it worldwide. A Mew is said to possess the genes of all Pokémon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people. Because it can use all kinds of moves, many scientists believe Mew to be the ancestor of Pokémon.
Overview
Mew, the Pokémon of endless possibilities. It gets every TM and HM in the game, as well as every 3rd Gen tutor move and a bunch of really nice moves from level-up and XD. With Base 100 stats across the board, it really can viably do anything. Needless to say, all of this gave it an immediate ticket to the Uber environment.
Being sent up to the Uber environment is a bit of a curse for Mew however. When Mew is stacked up against other Ubers, it doesn't come off looking too good. In an environment where everything hits hard and fast with gargantuan move-pools, Mew has difficulty fitting in. Its defences aren't big enough to stand up to the meaty offensive stats of its fellow Ubers and Mewtwo outclasses it as an offensive threat.
However, despite its inferiority complex to Mewtwo, Mew is still very viable. The generation shift gave it Baton Pass, making it the sole Uber to have Baton Passing capabilities. Added with this, Mew also gets Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Rock Cart, Barrier, Amnesia, Bulk Up and Calm Mind, so it can pretty much Baton Pass anything it wants. Baton Passing versatility alone is enough to earn it a place on some Uber teams, and when it isn't Baton Passing, it still has almost every move under the sun to play around with.
Trait
Synchronize: bounces opponent's status attacks back at them, or to be more precise, it bounces Burn, Paralysis and Poison back at any opponent who inflicts it on Mew (barring immunities or if the opponent is already statused). There are better traits out there, but it has some uses, especially if you're using a Mew set that won't be hindered by a status.
Move Sets
Nasty Plot Baton Passer
- Nasty Plot
- Baton Pass
- Hypnosis
- Taunt / Dark Pulse
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
The first of the main stats that Mew can Baton Pass. Nasty Plot gives a very nice boost to Special Attack, and I'm sure Mew can find a recipient who will be more than willing to put it to use. Hypnosis (courtesy of XD) gives it an opportunity to set-up the stat boost whilst providing some support for its team by shutting down an opponent.
Taunt is very nice for the final move-slot. It keeps Deoxys (Defence) and Blissey from slinging Thunder Wave its way and prevents any attempts to Haze, Roar or Whirlwind away its Nasty Plot boost, however using Taunt leaves Mew without any offence of its own. Dark Pulse is just an example of one of the many offensive moves it could possibly use in Taunt's place.
Swords Dance Baton Passer
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Hypnosis
- Taunt / Shadow Claw
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
You have the same deal as above, only with the Attack boosting Swords Dance in Nasty Plots place. Pair it up with a Pokémon (or several Pokémon) who'll happily receive the boost and you're set to go. Shadow Claw once again serves an example of one of the many moves Mew has its disposal if you wish to have some offence on the move-set.
Rock Polish Baton Passer
- Rock Polish
- Baton Pass
- Hypnosis
- Taunt / Dark Pulse
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Speed is probably the least useful stat Mew can Baton Pass, but it can Pass it nonetheless. An Uber with Rock Polish will probably outrun everything it faces with an adequate EV spread.
Speaking of EV spreads, Mew doesn't need to go charging around with Max Speed when it has Rock Polish. Enough to outrun Scarfed Jolly Rayquaza should suffice, since that would also outrun Jolly/Timid Deoxys (Attack) and Adamant/Modest Deoxys (Speed). This would only require a 238 Speed stat (which would double up to 476 after the Polish boost).
Special Sweeper
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Item Attached: Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
A nice Special Sweeper option for Mew. Nasty Plot gives it a nice heavy punch, and an even heavier punch if it has a Life Orb boost backing it. If things start to turn sour, Mew can also Baton Pass out to a team-mate and let them take over sweeping duties.
Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball are just two examples of viable Special moves to run with this move-set. They're a nice example since the pair of them combined hit every Pokémon in the game for at least neutral damage. Aura Sphere gets a nice super-effective hit on Blissey, Darkrai, Tyranitar and Dialga. Shadow Ball racks up a lot of super-effective hits since the Uber environment is littered with Psychic types (as well as Giratina).
Other useful possibilities include (but are not limited to): Grass Knot (for Kyogre, Groudon and Tyranitar), Flamethrower (for Metagross and Bronzong) and Ice Beam (for Groudon, Rayquaza, Giratina, Lugia and the Lati Twins).
Physical Sweeper
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Baton Pass / Explosion
Item Attached: Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
The physical equivalent of the above. Aside from Earthquake and Stone Edge, Mew's physical move-pool is generally inferior to its Special move-pool (Brick Break and Ice Punch don't look too impressive when compared to Aura Sphere and Ice Beam), but Mew boasts no Special equivalent of Earthquake and Stone Edge. At Base 100 each, both with very nice coverage, they probably are Mew's best physical options, but they are replaceable placeholders nonetheless. Shadow Claw is a good example of an alternative, with its nice type coverage against Psychics.
Ignoring the offensive end of things, Mew still has the option of Baton Passing when things look bleak. The other option however is to Explode, much to the delight of everyone except your opponent (unless they have a Steel, Rock or Ghost type, in which case they will be very delighted). Discounting the aforementioned resistance types, Swords Danced Explosion really should be KOing anything in its way, so you can be assured that Mew's sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.
EVs and Nature:
Generally speaking, Mew's most important stat will be its Speed. It isn't fragile, but it isn't bulky either, and having a good Speed stat puts it ahead of a few heavy hitters. For the most part, its Speed stat should be maxed. It doesn't want to run the risk of falling behind a Jolly Rayquaza (317), or a Timid Kyogre (306), or a Modest Latias (319), so the nature boost is quite useful. Other than that, its EVs can be dedicated to an offensive stat or its defensive stats, depending on what other moves it has access too.
Other Options
Roost, Softboiled, Hypnosis, Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Calm Mind, Bulk Up, Barrier, Amnesia, Substitute, Transform, Trick Room, Stealth Rock, Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard, Roar, Counter, Me First, Trick, Choice Band, Choice Specs, Choice Scarf and a seemingly endless plethora of offensive moves.
Roost and Softboiled get first mentions because they are Mew's two main healing moves. Softboiled is a 3rd Gen tutor move, whilst Roost is the new TM. Both have the exact same effects, so there's no actual difference between them (aside from name of course).
Mew gets access to four status inflicting moves. Hypnosis has been mentioned before but it gets mentioned again because just about any Mew move-set can benefit from its presence. Double-status sets are possible, sling Hypnosis at one Pokémon and then hit the next with a different status. Individually, the statuses are still good anyway. Will-o-Wisp and Thunder Wave are really nice 'anti-sweeper' status moves whilst Toxic will make defensive Pokémon cringe (like Lugia and Deoxys (Defence)).
Calm Mind, Bulk Up, Barrier and Amnesia could have non-Baton Pass sets centred around them and a healing move, or they could be Baton Passed to another Pokémon.
Substitute has a multitude of possibilities. Mew can reach 404 HP, for the magic 101 HP Subs that can't be penetrated by Blissey's Seismic Toss. Possible sets for Substitute include: Sub and Focus Punch, Substitute Baton Passing and Sub with steady use of Bulk Up or Calm Mind. Additionally, Substitute blocks status attacks, has some stalling possibilities (combined with a recovery move) and provides a helpful buffer between Mew and its opponent. With Uber Pokémon having massive move pools, it never hurts to have a Sub to scout what move they're going to sling in its direction.
Transform is a neat little trick that Mew can pull on its opponent. It'll copy its opponents stats (except for HP, if I recall correctly) and its opponents moves. The advantage of this is Mew can do some setting up beforehand, for example placing a defensive screen, using a stat-boost, firing off a status attack, using Taunt or anything else it chooses. It can also leave Explosion on its move-set, so at a later stage it can blow itself up.
Trick Room is a possibility, although some other Pokémon do it better. A Mew with bad Speed IVs and a Speed lowering nature can be pretty slow though, and a team designed for Trick Room could benefit greatly from it.
Mew can set-up Stealth Rock, Reflect, Light Screen and Safeguard. It can also use Roar. That generally covers its possibly utility roles, but they're generally better served on other Pokémon.
Counter is a nasty little surprise Mew can pack for opposing physical attackers. After losing HP it can either recover it with Roost or Softboiled or it can take an opponent down using Explosion. All in all, a very good move.
Me First is yet another nasty little surprise Mew can pack for an opponent. Provided Mew is faster, it bounces the opponent's move back at them, at 1.5x the power. In some cases this is worthless since the opponent resists the move they were throwing at Mew (such as Tyranitar with Crunch). In some cases it'll devastate them (such as Rayquaza with Outrage).
Trick is a neat little move that switches items with the opponent. The obvious application for this would be to pair it with a Choice item and send a useless Choice item to the opponent, or to send a Speed lowering item (like an Iron Ball) to them. This move, like Hypnosis, is also brought to you courtesy of the XD Move Tutor.
With its massive move-pool and good Base Stats, Mew can use any Choice item effectively, although in most cases it'll perform as an inferior Mewtwo with them. The main thing differentiating it from Mewtwo is the aforementioned Trick, as well as a couple of offensive moves that Mewtwo doesn't get.
Onto its offensive move-pool, you really do have near limitless options to mix and match.
Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball are very useful. 7 of 15* Ubers take super-effective damage from it. They cover the same types, but Dark Pulse is resisted by Fighting types and Normal types are immune to Shadow Ball. Shadow Claw is the most viable physical alternative.
*Counting Deoxys only once and discounting Arceus and Wobbuffet entirely.
Flamethrower, Fire Blast and Overheat are nice for hitting Steel types, and they get a nice boost from Groudon's Drought. They mainly cover Metagross and Steel Arceus. Fire Punch is the only physical alternative, and it's none too impressive.
Ice Beam is nice for the large number of Dragons, as well as Groudon. Blizzard is only worth looking at if you can get some reliable Hail support. Ice Punch and Avalanche are the physical alternatives. Again, their power is far from impressive, although Avalanche has some nice power if Mew takes a hit before using it.
Thunderbolt is nice for Lugia, Ho-oh, Manaphy and Kyogre. Thunder is a usable alterative if you can guarantee some Drizzle support. Charge Beam generally isn't worth the effort, not when Mew could be using Nasty Plot or Calm Mind. Thunderpunch is the only physical alternative, and again, it doesn't match up impressively.
Surf is an okay move, with Waterfall as its physical alterative, but what would you use them for? A lot of Pokémon resist them, Groudon will cancel out the super-effective hit with Drought. The only Uber of note who takes a super-effective hit is Ho-oh, who can be dealt with by other moves.
Aura Sphere is good for hitting Dialga and Darkrai, as well as several non-Ubers who poke their heads into the Uber environment, such as Blissey and Tyranitar. Focus Blast is generally too inaccurate to be worth going for. Brick Break and Drain Punch are the physical alternatives, both of which have inferior power but some nice side effects. Focus Punch, when used with accurate prediction (or Substitute), is really nice for taking big chunks out of opponents.
Dragon Pulse is nice for hitting the Dragons. The main reason to use it instead of Ice Beam is for the additional hit on Palkia. Dragon Claw is its physical alternative.
Grass Knot does really nicely in the 'heavy' Uber environment. Super-effective Base 120 hits on Tyranitar, Groudon and Kyogre are nice, and it also gets a Base 120 hit on Arceus (who may take super-effective damage, depending on its plate). It hits Palkia at Base 120 as well, although Palkia will never take a super-effective hit from it. Energy Ball probably isn't worth it. The power loss is too great and the only extra coverage you'd get is a hit on Manaphy. Solarbeam is worth a glance with Drought support, but there's always the risk that Tyranitar or Kyogre could switch in and ruin your fun.
Earthquake is a staple physical attack. Super-effective hits on a lot of types is nice, most notably it'll be hitting Tyranitar and Metagross, as well as many other Rock and Steel types. The only special equivalent is Hidden Power, which is significantly weaker.
Stone Edge is also a staple physical attack, although its unreliable accuracy is unfavourable. Low PP can also be problematic in an environment containing several Pokémon with the Pressure trait. Rock Slide is a lower power, higher accuracy and higher PP alternative. Rock attacks get a super-effective hit on Flying types, notably Lugia, Rayquaza and a very nice 4x hit on Ho-oh. Ancient Power and Hidden Power are the only Special alternatives, and they are significantly weaker than Stone Edge.
X-Scissor is a nice move in the Psychic heavy Uber environment, but it brings very little to the table that Ghost and Dark attacks don't. You trade in a super-effective hit on Giratina for a super-effective hit on Darkrai and Tyranitar. U-Turn is also an option, and it has the nice bonus of letting Mew switch at the same time. Silver Wind and Hidden Power are the only Special alternatives.
Psychic gets STAB, but in the already Psychic heavy Uber environment, it'll be getting a 'not very effective' hit on most opponents. On top of that, you risk giving Dark types a free switch in, as well as Metagross who may as well be immune with its 4x resistance. The only Pokémon of note that it can hit are Heracross and possibly Arceus (depending on its Plate).
Finally, there's Explosion. A feisty little move that effectively has a Base Power of 500 (it halves the opponent's defence before damaging, essentially doubling 250 Base Power to 500). When the chips are down, Mew can always boom and take a foe with it.
Generally, all of Mew's offence will be picked from some of the above. Yeah, there are a few other offensive moves, but they aren't worth mentioning, either because they have a bad type (like Flash Cannon) or because they have insignificant Base Power (like Aerial Ace).
Aside from moves, there's also several item options. Expert Belt does very nicely with Mew's great type coverage and the stat-boost Berries are relatively useful on the Baton Pass sets.
Countering Mew
One quick glance at Mew's move-list will tell any experienced battler that there is no one Pokémon that can boldly claim that it counters every possible Mew set. The most important thing when it comes to countering Mew is finding out what it's carrying, and hopefully not paying the price whilst you find out.
Pokémon that have bulky defences on both sides and few weaknesses are decent bets to throw out against it initially. Metagross, Lugia, Giratina, Deoxys (Defence), Registeel, Heatran and Arceus are reliable choices.
Pokémon who rely on statuses to scare Mew are the least favourable, since Mew might be carrying Taunt or Substitute. It'll also be able to synchronize the status back at its opponent as well. It should also be noted that Mew may very well do its job by the time you send out a 'counter'. If it fires off a stat boost the next step might just be to Baton Pass to a Pokémon that can appropriately counter your own counter.
Up against Special variants, Blissey works, although it can be out-stalled by some variants and has trouble if it gets caught by Taunt. Giratina works but its weaknesses don't do it any favours. Kyogre can manage if Grass Knot or Thunder are absent and Lugia manages if it isn't being hit by Drizzle Thunders. Deoxys (Defence) manages but it has little in the way of offence and gets shut-down easily by Taunt.
Up against Physical variants, Groudon should handle it well. Resistance to Stone Edge helps and it takes neutral damage from Mew's other physical attacks (aside from Ice Punch and Avalanche). Lugia should also be able to manage but a critical hit from Stone Edge could spell its end. Again, Deoxys (Defence) manages but has problems against Taunt. Giratina works again, but Shadow Claw or Dragon Claw might cause it some problems by picking on its weaknesses. Explosion immunity is very helpful however.
Ignoring the offensive aspect, Mew also has some dirty little tricks up its sleeve. Notably, it can throw Hypnosis in the direction of any of its counters, and assuming it lands, it'll shut them down (barring Sleep Talkers of course). It also has Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp and Toxic at its disposal. Taunt is another one it's likely to carry, stopping indirect methods to trouble it (e.g. statuses). It could also be running around with Explosion, ready to drag down another Pokémon with it. Mew could even be prepared to Transform into your Pokémon. Trick, Snatch and all other sorts of ghoulish toys are available as well.
If you want to look at flat-out KOing Mew, well there's a lot of options, and by Uber standards, its defences are fairly average.
Locations in Games
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Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Trade from Emerald (RS) Faraway Island (Emerald) Colosseum/XD Trade from Emerald Fire Red/Leaf Green Trade from Emerald Diamond/Pearl Trade from Emerald
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Animé Appearences
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Mew has had a few Animé Appearences. First it was cloned by Giovanni to create Mewtwo and thus later had a duel with Mewtwo to stop Mewtwo's path of destruction. after that, one kidnapped Pikachu to play with. After that, a Mirage version appeared to stop the Mirage Master
Origin of Mewtwo |
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