Summary
MythicalPokémonare incredibly rare and special species, in both the games and the anime alike. Few are more iconic than Mew, the original Mythical Pokémon, and the Pokémon anime’s director confirmed how they managed to capture the elusive creature’s traits when it came time for Mew to make its anime debut inMewtwo Strikes Back.
In-universe, Mew is an incredibly rare Pokémon that wields tremendous psychic power, and is said to be the genetic ancestor of all Pokémon, enabling it to use a wide variety of attacks. Mew’s DNA also served asthe basis for creating Mewtwo, who was the star of the aforementioned firstPokémonmovie. Mew almost had to appear in such a movie due to their close connection, but little had been decided about Mew at this very early juncture in the franchise.
So, when it came time to figure out Mew’s personality and behavior, the anime team decided to make it as unlike Mewtwo as possible.
Mew Is a Pokémon Force of Nature
Mew’s Power Makes It Detached from Humanity
Inan interview with director Kunihiko Yuyama from 2023, as translated by Serebii.net forum moderator Dephender, Yuyama was asked about how they developed Mew and Mewtwo’s characters for the original movie.Yuyama immediately describes Mew as “a trancendent kind of creature that exists beyond the very human values of right and wrong.“He goes on to elaborate, stating that, like the ocean or the mountains, this beautiful thing can also be terrifying and become dangerous at a moment’s notice. Mew is intended to be a capricious representation of nature, in contrast to Mewtwo’s human origins.
This is very consistent with Mew’s depiction in the movie; while it is often curious about humans and what they’re up to, Mew is just as easily entertained by itself, and it seems to think nothing of clashing with Mewtwo. Even when Ash is turned to stone by their fighting, Mew is initially quite ambivalent, until it sees the other Pokémon beginning to mourn. Had that not happened, Mew likely would’ve been perfectly fine leaving Ash to his rocky fate to keep fighting.
This also likely explains why Mew doesn’t speak, while Mewtwo does (telepathically, at least). Mew doesn’t view humans as particularly special, and sees no real need to communicate with them, so it simply doesn’t. Mew was likely capable of communicating with Ash and friends, but it just chose not to. Since Mew has no conception of human morality, it can makeMew come across as crueland uncaring, marking a significant contrast with its cutesy appearance.
In that sense, Mew’s Mythical status does make it almost something akin to a god, a powerful being that exists well beyond the bounds of what human morality and philosophy dictate. While some later Mythical Pokémon take being a god very literally, this proves that even as early as Mew, Mythical Pokémon were already being regarded in that manner by the creatives behind the anime. Mew is more than human, and perhaps even more than just aPokémon.
Pokémon
Cast
Pokémon follows Ash Ketchum on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, accompanied by his loyal Pikachu. Released in 1997, the series explores Ash’s travels through various regions, where he encounters new friends and challenges, underscoring the themes of adventure and teamwork.
