[6] In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon.

He created Mew with the intention of having a "character that exists but doesn't appear" that would be the subject of rumors, which Tajiri considered exciting for players.

[10][1] Mew was added at the very end of the development of Pokémon Red and Blue by Morimoto after the debug features were removed, which freed up just enough space to add the character despite being told not to alter the game any further at this point by Nintendo.

He disliked the fetus-like aspects of Mew's original in-game sprite and revised the design into its modern-day appearance.

[14] Morimoto designed it as a pale pink feliform creature with somewhat large eyes and a long, thin tail that broadens at the end,[15] though the shiny version is blue and rarely distributed.

It was designed as a simpler version of Mewtwo, being visually much smaller in terms of both size and sprite, with less detail on its body, so it would take up less space in the game's data.

[14] In Red, Blue, Yellow, and their remakes, the player can find journal entries in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island stating that Mew was discovered deep in the jungles of Guyana, South America, on July 5 of an unspecified year, named on July 10, and that it "gave birth" to Mewtwo on February 6.

[22] In the video games, it is possible for Mew to learn any move that can be taught to it via several in-game mechanics, such as tutoring and "Technical Machine" items.

[14][15] Due to its high overall statistics and vast move pool, Mew is regarded as one of the strongest Pokémon in Red, Blue, and Yellow.

[23] In the anime, it is capable of flight, teleportation, shapeshifting (via the move Transform), rendering itself invisible, and summoning bubbles of psychic energy.

[25] At the time of its introduction, Mew could only be legitimately obtained in the Pokémon video games via Nintendo promotional event distributions.

[27] Mew is also obtainable in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl if save data exists on the console for one of the Let's Go games.

[28] In Pokémon Sun and Moon, a special "Z-Crystal" item was created for Mew, which allowed it to use a powerful attack only it could use, known as "Genesis Supernova".

[29] A special event in which players could obtain Mew and use it to battle a boss Mewtwo took place in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for a limited time.

He ends up joining a group named "Project Mew" which seeks to find and capture the Pokémon.

Mew, also known as the "Phantom Pokémon" in the manga, appears in the first chapter when the criminal organization Team Rocket tries to capture it.

[42] In following chapters, it is revealed that Team Rocket wants to have Mew's DNA to finish the creation of Mewtwo, and Red and the character Green—at this point an antagonistic figure to Red—join forces to save it from being captured.

[48] The reveal and distribution of Mew through organized events has been noted as a major reason for the series' success in Japan,[45][48] with a promotion in the April 1996 issue of CoroCoro Comics called the "Legendary Pokémon Offer" offering twenty winners the opportunity to send their cartridges in for Nintendo to add Mew to their games.

[9] Players who missed the in-person events had to unlock Mew with cheat devices such as the Pro Action Replay.

[57] In September 2006, in celebration of the release of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, players with a copy of Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, or LeafGreen could go to a Toys "R" Us store to download the creature for free.