In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, you’ll gain access to a couple of Mythicals, with one of them being Mew. With the Generation 3 Kanto games becoming available for Switch devices, players will likely get curious as to how they can add this familiar Pokemon to their Pokedexes.
Mew is known as the New Species Pokemon, and since its DNA is said to contain the genetic codes of all Pokemon, it is capable of learning a multitude of moves regardless of the type.
While Mew’s stats aren’t optimized for hardcore battles, catching one remains a dream for many Trainers, especially those who grew up playing Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Game Boy Advance.
This post will give you a straight answer on how to get Mew in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, specifically for players who purchased the game for the Switch 1 or Switch 2.
Key Highlights:
- Mew is not catchable in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Switch versions at the moment.
- Players can possibly get Mew once FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch become compatible with Pokemon HOME.
- Nintendo could consider introducing Mystery Gifts for Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, potentially including Mew. However, this remains highly speculative, as the company is currently focused on other Pokemon titles.
Is It Possible to Catch Mew in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch?
Right now, Mew is unobtainable in the Switch versions of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. Mew, like other Mythical Pokemon, is event-locked, which means you can only get it in events.
During the GBA era, Trainers could obtain Mew by going to Nintendo-sanctioned events where they could get Mew as a Mystery Gift.
Since such events don’t exist anymore, and GBA is a different system from Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, getting Mew by normal means isn’t possible.
Does this mean Trainers should lose their hopes in having the cute pink cat? Of course, not.
We can see two ways Mew can become available in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen via Switch. These are:
- Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen become compatible with HOME.
- Nintendo somehow updates the games so that they can drop Mystery Gifts on them.
Compatibility With Pokemon HOME
The Pokemon Company already confirmed that FireRed and LeafGreen will both become compatible with HOME in the near future.
Once this happens, you can simply put the Mew you’ve captured from other games like Pokemon GO to HOME and transfer it to either FireRed or LeafGreen.
In the case of HOME compatibility, it’s just a matter of when and what are the rules for using it for players of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Modern Mystery Gift
Unlike in the past, when players had to physically attend events, Nintendo Switch owners can now occasionally claim Mystery Gifts online for various Pokemon games.
These are typically distributed during franchise celebrations or major announcements, such as those featured in Pokemon Presents livestreams.
We do not think Nintendo is incapable of supporting its older GBA titles, especially since even non-professional ROM hackers have been able to improve them in various ways.
With that in mind, fans can only hope that Mystery Gift functionality could one day return to Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
If Mystery Gifts were ever introduced for Switch players of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, Mew would likely be one of the first Pokemon distributed through them.
Read more:
- How to Speed Up Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch
- How to Do the Nugget Bridge Glitch in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen
- How to Solve Vermilion City Gym Puzzle in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
The “Forbidden” Methods
There are also other ways of getting Mew in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, but for Switch owners, this will force you to do some actions that other players or Nintendo itself won’t like, so we’ll only share some tidbits about them.
If you want to learn more about them, you will need to do your own research. However, be warned: they are often referred to as “forbidden” for several reasons, which may include the risk of getting your device banned.
The first is by using a tool called PKHeX. If you know how to use it on your Switch, you’ll likely be able to get Mew in your game.
The second method is safer, but it is still considered cheating, as it relies on exploiting an in-game glitch. A YouTube video by zDarko98 provides a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
Final Thoughts
It’s kind of disappointing that right now, you can’t get Mew legally if you’re playing Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch devices.
We can only hope that Mew will be readily available in the future, especially once it becomes compatible with Pokemon HOME.
All other methods mentioned in this post are provided for informational purposes only. We do not recommend using them, and if you choose to proceed, you do so at your own risk.
We hope this article sheds some light on whether or how you can get Mew in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen as a Switch user. For more guides like this, check out our other articles here at PokeCoders.
