You know that feeling when you finally complete a Pokédex, but there’s still that nagging empty space at the end? That’s the Mythical curse.
Basically, Pokémon all Mythical Pokémon exist in a weird legal and digital limbo. Unlike Legendaries—which you can usually find just by playing through the story and reaching a certain cave or mountaintop—Mythicals are "event-only." They are the ghosts in the machine. They’re the monsters that, for decades, required you to physically walk into a Toys "R" Us or a GameStop just to get a serial code or a wireless distribution. If you missed the three-week window in 2012? Tough luck. You were looking at a blank spot in your digital collection for the next decade.
The Mew Glitch and the Birth of a Legend
Let's talk about Mew. Honestly, Mew is the reason we have this category at all. Back in the Red and Blue days, Satoshi Tajiri and the team at Game Freak didn't actually intend for players to find Mew. It was shoved into the remaining space on the ROM at the very last second after the debugging tools were removed. It was a secret. A literal Easter egg.
Then the rumors started. Remember the truck in Vermilion City? We all spent hours trying to use "Strength" on that pixels-heavy vehicle, convinced a Mew was underneath. It wasn't. But the fact that Mew did exist in the code—and could be accessed via the famous "Long-Range Trainer" glitch—created the blueprint for every Mythical that followed.
What's wild is that the distinction between "Legendary" and "Mythical" wasn't even a thing in the West until Generation V. Before that, we just called them all Legendaries. But in Japan, they always held the Maboroshi no Pokémon (Illusionary Pokémon) title. They are the rarest of the rare.
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Pokémon All Mythical Pokémon: A Generation-by-Generation Breakdown
Gen 2 gave us Celebi. If you played the original Gold and Silver, you likely never owned one. Unless you lived in Japan and had the Mobile System GB adapter, Celebi was a myth. It wasn't until the 3DS Virtual Console release of Pokémon Crystal that Western players could finally trigger the GS Ball event naturally. It took nearly 20 years for that to become "standard" gameplay. That's the level of gatekeeping we're talking about here.
The Chaos of the Hoenn Trio
In Generation III, things got weird. We got Jirachi and Deoxys.
Jirachi was tied to the Pokémon Colosseum Bonus Disc in the US, or Pokémon Channel in Europe. If you didn't have the right hardware, you were out of luck.
Deoxys was even cooler because it was the first "form-changing" Mythical. It felt alien. It felt dangerous. Interestingly, Deoxys is the only Mythical to "lose" its status in a way; in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, you can catch it at the end of the Delta Episode.
Does that make it a regular Legendary now? The community is still fighting about that one.
The Sinnoh Bloat
Generation IV went absolutely overboard. Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, and Manaphy.
This was the peak of "Action Replay" culture. Everyone knew these Pokémon were in the game files, but the items needed to find them—the Member Card, Oak’s Letter, the Azure Flute—were never officially released for years.
Arceus, the literal God of Pokémon, was never officially "found" in the original Diamond and Pearl via the Azure Flute because Nintendo thought the item was too confusing for players. They literally coded a whole event and then just... left the door locked. It wasn't until Legends: Arceus in 2022 that we finally got to play that sequence the way it was intended.
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Why Getting These Today is a Nightmare
If you’re trying to collect Pokémon all Mythical Pokémon right now, you’re basically a digital archaeologist. Most of them are locked behind "expired" events.
- Meloetta and Genesect: Mostly stuck in Gen 5 or 6 distributions.
- Diancie and Hoopa: Rare as hens' teeth. If you didn't get the 2014/2015 distributions, you're looking at trading away your literal soul on the GTS—and even then, it's probably a "genned" or hacked Pokémon.
- Zarude: The most recent addition from Sword and Shield. If you didn't sign up for a specific newsletter or go to a movie theater in certain regions, you don't have it.
The Pokémon Company has shifted lately. They’ve started putting Mythicals into Pokémon GO. That’s how a lot of modern players get their Meltan or Melmetal. But transferring them from a mobile phone to Pokémon HOME and then to a console game feels... less magical, doesn't it? There's no secret cave. There's just a loading bar and a Bluetooth connection.
The Mythical Tier List of Complexity
Not all Mythicals are created equal. Some are just "gift" Pokémon. You talk to a delivery man in a Pokémon Center, and he hands you a god-slayer in a Cherish Ball. Boring.
The best ones—the ones that actually earn the title—have lore.
Victini lives on Liberty Garden. It has a backstory tied to the themes of victory and energy.
Volcanion is the only Steam-type (Fire/Water) in existence. It has a unique ecological niche.
Marshadow hides in the shadows of others, which is why it was so hard to find in Alola.
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When Game Freak puts effort into the location of the Mythical, it works. When they just email you a code, the "Mythical" status feels like a marketing gimmick rather than a world-building element.
How to Actually Complete Your Collection
So, how do you get them now? You can't just grind. You can't just be "good" at the game.
First, keep an eye on Pokémon HOME mystery gifts. They occasionally drop "Shiny" versions of Mythicals to celebrate new movie releases or game launches.
Second, play the "special research" tasks in Pokémon GO. It is currently the most reliable way to get Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Victini, though the tasks are incredibly tedious (looking at you, "Catch 400 Magikarp").
Third, look for "save data bonuses." If you have save data for Let's Go Pikachu on your Switch, you can just go to Floraroma Town in Brilliant Diamond and a guy will give you a Mew. No glitch required.
It’s a different world. The "Mythical" aura is fading as they become more accessible through cross-promotion, but for the purists who remember the 90s, these will always be the 151st entries that felt like magic.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Mythical Collector:
- Audit your save files: Check if you own Legends: Arceus, Sword/Shield, or Scarlet/Violet DLC. Many Mythical encounters (like Keldeo in the Crown Tundra) are now permanent additions if you own the expansion pass.
- Set Google Alerts: Use terms like "Pokémon Mystery Gift" or "Mythical distribution 2026." These events usually only last 2-4 weeks and are rarely advertised inside the game menus until it's too late.
- Verify Legitimacy: If you're trading for a Mythical on the GTS, check the "Ribbons." Real Mythicals almost always have a Classic or Event Ribbon that prevents them from being traded on the open market. If you see a Mew on the GTS for a Pidgey, it's 100% hacked.
- Sync with Pokémon GO: It is the only way to get Meltan. Open a "Mystery Box" by sending a Pokémon from GO to HOME. This triggers a 30-minute spawn window for Meltan. Repeat every three days.
The hunt for Mythicals isn't about skill; it's about being in the right place at the right digital time. Stay vigilant, because once a distribution ends, the window usually stays shut for a long, long time.