Pokémon Spotlight

[kyeugh]

Welcome to Pokémon Spotlight​

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Welcome to the Pokémon Spotlight. This thread will receive intermittent threadmarked updates featuring a new pokémon. Feel free to reply to the thread sharing your lore and what role that pokémon plays in your story and world. Don't be afraid to respond to the posts of others, too!

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Not sure what to post? Here are some prompts to get your mind going.

• What kind of environment does this pokémon inhabit in your headcanon? How does it interact with that environment and other members of it?
• What kind of caretaking considerations must trainers make for this pokémon?
• Are there any myths or legends surrounding this pokémon in your headcanon?
• What non-combat uses does this pokémon fulfill in your headcanon's society?
• If you're a PMD writer, what is this species of pokémon known for in your world? Where can they be found, and what kind of culture do they have?

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Feel free to post your own Pokémon Spotlight prompts as well, but be sure to follow these guidelines:

• Wait a couple days since the last post in the thread before posting a new prompt.
• Try to remain consistent with the formatting of previous prompt posts in your prompt.
• Reach out to kyeugh, either by forum DM or Discord message, in order to have your post threadmarked.

 

[kyeugh]

Pokémon Spotlight: Mew​

Let's start where it all started—progenitor of all pokémon, the original mythical, source of many tales of glitches and overturned trucks. What's the scoop on Mew?

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#0151: Mew​

The New Species Pokémon
Psychic Type - Ability: Synchronize​

It's very intelligent and can use an incredible variety of moves. Many believe that all other Pokémon are descendants of this one.

This mythical Pokémon is said to be extinct, but sightings of it are still being reported to this day.

 

[IFBench]

Places Super Mystery Dungeon in its entirety here.

In all seriousness, though...my PMD Mew is pretty much the same as canon PMD Mew. Summoned a human 3000 years ago to help defeat Dark Matter, then reincarnated themselves to erase their own memories to find a better way. Their reincarnation is a Chikorita named Leviene.

Leviene has evolved in the time since Super Mystery Dungeon, and is now a Bayleef-Mew hybrid, which I've included a reference of below.


(Art by @bees-among-the-okami)

Since Mew was reincarnated into Leviene, another Mew has come into being to fill the gap left by them. They mostly just do their own thing, but have recently joined Team Travelers alongside Leviene, and Ayueg, the human summoned by the first Mew 3000 years ago. They don't really have a name for themselves other than Mew, but that's mostly just because they're a legendary.

It's said that the first Mew came from the first leaf of the Tree of Life. Whether this is true or not is unknown.

 

[Flyg0n]

So the one thing that came to me recently is that while in my HC Mew is supposedly regarded as a sort of 'creator' god/legendary, this is a mistranslation/misunderstanding.

Mew is actually the legendary embodiment of Creativity

Most legendaries are the guardian of some concept, aspect or place, the way Yveltal is to Death, and Palkia to Space, etc, and embody that aspect.

Mew is apparently almost spontaneously came into existence in response to the concept of ideas in its purest form. In the beginning of creation, energies of all kinds existed without purpose or order, then when Arceus hatched from the egg within the Primordial confluence of energies, Mew came shortly after.

Mew is the living embodiment of creativity and thus helped Arceus create most living beings as we know them today, in the pokemon world. This is also why it can transform into almost anything. Some fringe scientists suspect that even now it periodically creates something new...

 

[kyeugh]

Mew is a one-of-a-kind pokémon endemic to the region of Holon, a tropical and mostly forested landmass largely uninhabited and unexplored by humans on account of its many dangerous pokémon. Many of the sapient pokémon societies of Holon revere Mew as a life deity, simultaneously symbolizing birth and old age/undying. It is typically gendered as female, and is alternately depicted as a mother goddess and as a shape-shifting trickster.

Early communications between human explorers and indigenous Holonites resulted in the attribution to Mew of immortality-granting or resurrective abilities. This prompted a number of ill-fated expeditions into the heart of Holon in search of the fabled pokémon. As a consequence, Mew became an icon associated among humans with the exotic, mythical riches of the tropics. Eventually, Mew was written off as a purely mythological figure, and became popular among children as a story character thanks to its cute appearance and supposed magical powers. Supposed sightings of the pokémon were discarded as mirages or hallucinations.

Mew was captured by chance in the late 20th century by a team of researchers stationed at Holon Research Center, the sole human settlement on the landmass. The circumstances of its capture remain unclear. It was held in captivity for some months, during which a number of physical samples were taken. These samples were of critical importance to the development of the RKS system. The only credible observations of Mew's physiology and behavior were recorded during its captivity and observation at the HRC.

Its "natural" form resembles a feline with smooth pink skin and a very short, translucent coat of hyper-sensitive vellus hairs. It is an obligate carnivore and appears well-adapted to killing small prey; its short arms and tail are used to hold pray close as it delivers killing slashes with the claws on its large, paddle-like feet and lethal throat bites with its pointed canines. It exhibited a tendency to toy with its living prey before killing and consuming it. However, Mew demonstrated extraordinary transformation abilities exceeding those of ditto and would often transform into other species—most frequently oddish and bulbasaur, pokémon also found natively in Holon—in order to metabolize other food sources, including sunlight via photosynthesis. Mew demonstrated trivial mastery over all elemental energy signatures, but preferred to use psychic moves. It was quite playful towards its caretakers and enjoyed being pet and snuggled, but was also quite mercurial and would occasionally subject them to intense psychic torture, which it also seemed to regard as play.

A few months after its capture, the HRC was raided and Mew fell into the possession of Team Rocket, who performed genetic experimentation on it in order to produce the infamous superclone Mewtwo. Following Mewtwo's destruction of the Cinnabar Lab, Mew escaped captivity and no credible sightings have been reported since. It's thought to have returned to its home in the heart of Holon. In human society, it remains a symbol of the harsh, untameable powers of unspoiled nature.

 

[Cresselia92]

Alright, then! Time to crack down on some deep lore about the first Mythical Pokémon, Mew.

Mew in the Meaningverse

​

A popular theory among the people who believe in the existence of this extremely elusive species is that this Pokémon is the ancestor of all Pokémon. After all, with its ability to use all kinds of moves and transform into all kinds of Pokémon, it would make sense to hypothesize that this could be the missing link.

However, things go a bit further than that.

What Mew actually is the incarnation of the Infinity Energy, the quintessential power that flows within every Pokémon species, which is what defines a Pokémon's elemental type (or types), what gives them access to Abilities and Moves, and also what allows them to evolve. So, Mew basically represents the true and original essence of all Pokémon.

This is seen in its uncanny ability to be able to shift its own aura to use every single move currently known to mankind, as well as shift its own type and appearance through extremely rare moves (Reflect Type and Transform). Mew is also the only species known for being able to learn one of the strongest aura-boosting moves, Genesis Supernova.

The connection with evolution is mostly seen through an experiment performed on Cinnabar Island, after the scientists found a sample of its DNA in a fossil found on Faraway Island. The resulting clone from that DNA is one of the few species that can perform the ultimate form of Evolution -- the Mega Evolution.

Other than being incredibly complex and mutable, Mew's DNA reacts strongly to the energy that flows through the Earth, which is a big reason it tends to seclude itself in deep jungles and locations where it can hide from creatures with malicious intents (which it can detect thanks to its immense psionic powers). Among the few known locations there are Faraway Island, some reported sightings in Floaroma Town, the Olive Jungle in Fiore, the Rainbow Cloud and Founja Jungle in Lental, and the Sky Pavillion in the PokéPark.

It's believed that such a connection to nature is what grants its tremendous healing powers, as moves like Life Dew can show. Its healing powers can also affect nearby species as seen with the case in New Island, where a boy named Ash was brought back to life by a union of Life Dew from all present Pokémon.

The connection to nature and plants seems to be a common trait in all Mew from across all universes, as the Mew from the PMD world is also the guardian of the legendary Grass Cornet and is one of the protectors of all forms of life in that world (who went as far as defying Dark Matter itself), who supplied its own powerful Life Dew to create one of the few methods to turn a Pokémon back to normal -- the Luminous Water.

The Pokémon Comprehensive Laboratory sought some of this DNA to work on the ultimate miracle drug, but the Mew's cells have never been delivered and were instead replaced with Mewtwo's genes. As it turns out, despite being a clone of Mew, a Mewtwo's DNA loses most of its healing properties. There is currently no way to extract anything curative out of a cloned DNA, but the strength-boosting Berserk Gene is another potential product.

Mew's strong connection with nature can also have its downside, however -- whenever the Earth itself is ill, then Mew itself ends up succumbing to the same illness as well. This is what happened to the Mew residing in the Tree of Beginning, who needed to be healed with a great amount of life force to be able to restore itself and the ecosystem of the tree.

Another similar accident happened in Holon, albeit with a less destructive result. Two specimens of Mew had their DNA severely altered after being affected by delta waves, resulting in a light blue Mew with the Water-type and a light red Mew with the Fire-type. There is no current record of what they can do with those altered auras.

While not completely related to Mew, there is also a report of a Mewtwo being affected adversely for supposedly similar reasons. This was the case in Ferrum, where a Mewtwo ended up corrupted by the shadow energy of a Shadow Synergy Stone, hinting at some strong connection with the powers of nature as well. While there is no way to prove it, it's theorized that a Mew under the effects of shadow energies could become the strongest and most aggressive Shadow Pokémon.

 

[Ambyssin]

Why you don't want to be a mew in Path of Valor

Every planet is different, but there are a select number of life-bearing planets across the universe where pokémon and humans evolved from Mew. On Earth, Mew is believed to be the first living creature in recorded history. The first mew gave rise to a number of mew offspring, jokingly referred by grade school students the world over as mewtosis. Eventually, the population of mew began to evolve and differentiate to better suit their habitats. Thus all life, even pokémon powerful enough to have legends crafted about them, arose from the original mew.

Mew became shockingly rare as time marched on. Some researchers were able to capture sketches and, later, photos of mew. They also found fossilized remnants of the original mew's offspring. Although degraded, these fossils had DNA extracted, showcasing a remarkable lack of stability compared with humans and other pokémon. This led many scientists to hypothesize (without any concrete proof) that the original mew still existed and could be discerned by DNA that is even more unstable than its offspring.

Such is the good fortune that befell one Wataru Fuji as he traveled the jungles of a faraway region following the death of his daughter, Amber, and the subsequent collapse of his marriage. He happened to obtain a strand of mew fur and DNA analysis showed a different profile than the partial ones obtained from fossils. Instantly believing he had a way to bring his daughter back, Fuji began cloning experiments, injecting embryonal stem cells with mew DNA in an attempt to create a mew within the lab. The instability of the genetic material, however, resulted in a number of failures. The organisms were too unstable, turning into piles of slime moments after awakening.

The DNA needed an anchor to provide stability. Unsure how to proceed and out of government funding, Fuji reached out to private investors. He eventually earned the attention of the Viridian City gym leader, Giovanni, who offered him both needed funding and a research partner in Cinnabar's gym leader, Blaine. The only conditions were that Fuji had to use Giovanni's DNA as the anchor and he needed to create a clone of mew for Giovanni to have as a pokémon. Fuji eventually realized his new sponsor headed the criminal syndicate known as Team Rocket. He convinced Blaine to substitute in his DNA. With this, the clone, Mewtwo, successfully achieved stability. All the remained was to allow it time for its mind to develop, as Fuji believed its intelligence could exceed that of humans with proper time and care. He was also able to successfully begin to incubate a clone of his late daughter.

Giovanni caught wind of this deception, however. Team Rocket raided Fuji's lab, capturing Mewtwo within a device known as a Master Ball and destroying Fuji's research. Mewtwo became Giovanni's weapon, aiding him in his bid to expand Team Rocket's criminal and political empire. As part of this effort, Giovanni had Mewtwo attempt to locate the original mew from which it was cloned. It eventually proved successful, locating Mew on Birth Island and engaging it in a battle that it soundly won. However, before Giovanni could capture Mew, a series of wormholes warped it away to safety.

The culprit was a giant dragon of light, working alongside a young, mute human with a pikachu partner. Seeing the dragon's power, Giovanni ordered Mewtwo to attack. It was a losing effort, as the dragon impaled Mewtwo's shoulder with a fragment of crystal and tossed Giovanni into Cinnabar's volcano. Its fury still not quelled, the dragon sank Cinnabar Island and fled the planet. Not long after, the planet-devouring entity known as Eternatus descended upon Earth and absorbed the planet into its collective.

Eventually, the mew left on Earth suffered the same fate as the mew of other planets absorbed by Eternatus. They were captured by the troops serving Eternatus' ruler, Deoxys Paradox, subject to experimentation, and finally broken down into cells and DNA to be harvested for use in Paradox's "mewgenics" program, an initiative aimed at quelling any potential threats to his rule by offering people personalized medicine and the opportunity to augment themselves in any way they can imagine using the purified mew DNA.

After this policy began, mew went extinct as a species within months.

Long after these events, rumors started to swirl of a powerful, shadowy mew-like creature with a crystal in its shoulder leading a small, disorganized rebellion against Paradox's forces...

 

[System Error]

DISCLAIMER: Subject to change

In a story where one of the main characters is a priestess of a major religion, you might think that I would have an answer to what exactly Mew is. After all, writing is writing and just about everyone else has their deep and definitive lore about the supposed progenitor of all Pokemon.

Oh, how dead wrong you would be.

Religion in Nora/Prema, much like in the real world, is wildly varied. Science has stuff to say about the relevant Pokemon, but in terms of mythology and history, there are only disagreements. The Pokemon in question aren’t telling, and of course, one has to consider that they are capable of lying.

In Science
Mew is not a unique Pokemon, just really rare with multiple specimens. Exact behavioral patterns are unknown. They are consistently playful in the wild and in captivity, but their motivations vary. Many specimens exhibit a childlike innocence, but others pull cruel or malicious pranks on those they consider below them. Many Mews seem to be self-superior, although rarely to a hostile degree.

Their DNA is similar to that of felines. Their fur much more closely matches modern ones than the likes of saber toothed tigers, etc, making scientists theorize that Mew itself came into existence much later than some believe. The connection to Ditto and other Pokemon with Transform is unknown. There are theories that go both ways: i.e. that Ditto are some devolved form of Mew, or Mews are very strong Dittos. However, their DNA has little in common beyond that seen in all Pokemon. Similarly, there is no known connection between the abilities of Mew and Smeargle. However, both seem to have very similar limitations on what they can copy, which is anything involving additional powers beyond those “built” into Pokemon. There is no scientific evidence that Mew is the ancestor of Pokemon.

In Religion
Before this, we must first discuss the concept of “prime” Pokemon. Most in science and religious fields agree that no Pokemon appears to be unique. Some are even capable of reproduction. However, many of the latter and even a few of the former believe that many of these are weaker spawn or not from the world, and the true/original ones are far more powerful. With these in mind, let's take a look at various religious and more theoretical aspects of Mew in my metaseries.

Mew has a varied place in faiths that worship many gods, such as the Kodo and Gautama faiths. In some, it is one of many in the pantheon. In others, it is just another Pokemon. In at least one faith, it was considered the creator’s first creation. In the Mitsutri faith, it is known as the Great Progenitor, the herald of Uxie who bestowed knowledge unto lesser Pokemon. In the Kannagi faith, it was not originally part of the pantheon. But they’ve always been an adaptive religion that evolves and paves paths. However, disagreement about how it should be defined led to a bit of splintering. The main branch has kept interpretation open, although many believe in the God-Fragment Theory below.

Most monotheist these faiths tend to dismiss Mew as just another Pokemon at best, and a false god at worst. There were protests in the western world over initial claims that Mew was the ancestor of all Pokemon. Ceutholic faiths in particular consider it a Demiurge. There are a select few, however, that do consider Mew to be that God.

Many South American tribes have murals depicting Mew on them. It is believed that they worshiped Mew as a creator deity. Similar ruins were uncovered in Egypt; Mew was one of their many gods. Cards depicting them were uncovered in the tombs of ancient pharaohs. There are records of sightings in Japan dating back to 1615, when a scholar theorized it was another form of the Eon Mirages based on its ability, but there has been no indication of any worship until 1908 when it was formally discovered.

A new opinion on Mew has started to become popular as of two decades prior, called the God-Fragment Theory. The theory goes that the Original One divided himself into many fragments of his power, and what is known as “Arceus” is but a hollow shell like Kyurem. Many of these Pokemon were all worshiped as gods in their own right at some point and have powers like no others. In this, Mew is said to be the Mind of God, explaining their ability to use all moves. Others in this group include Arceus (the body or avatar), Regigigas (the arms, sometimes the right specifically), Zygarde (the eyes), the entity Magearna is fashioned from (the soul or the heart), and the entity that destroyed Orre half a century ago (the spirit - distinct from soul - or the left arm).

Mewtwo
In the 1960s, an expedition team based out of Cinnabar Island traveled to South America with a goal of being the first to capture a living specimen of Mew. Thanks to heat-detection technology, Pokemon with sensitive hearing, and the innovation of the Master Ball, this was a success. The Mew proved uncooperative when speaking with a Healer of Tokiwa, telling a mix of truths, lies, and half-truths when questioned, but showed no desire to escape. With their help, an artificial egg was created, but either due to the Mew’s capriciousness or the process being imperfect, the resulting Mewtwo did not turn out as expected. Furthermore, DNA from the embryo was stolen one night. Since then, more have been appearing. At least some appear to be naturally born.

The existence of these Mewtwos is a point of contention, to say nothing about the religious aspects of creating a new species. Depending on who you ask, it is either proof that Mew is a deity or proof that it is not one. What is far lesser known is that modern cloning attempts are far more reliable; fossil regeneration technology is based off this early work. No further attempts have been made to clone Mew since then, but there have been attempts to alter Mewtwo. Some of these are further genetically modified (these are the Megas which aren't Megas in this world).

One thing is clear: Mewtwos have been shown to have a much wider range of emotions and personalities than Mews. At least one of the latter has dismissed them as abominations, which only added fuel to the fire of the debate about just what a Mew is. Like many mysteries of the Pokemon world, there may not ever be a clear answer.

In Battle
There are few Mew trainers in the world and even fewer of them are professional. Their attitudes and rarity make them very difficult to deal with.

Mews are capable of using most moves. However, most of these abilities lie dormant. The Mew requires external sources to unlock their true potential, such as human-made TMs. There are limitations as mentioned: basically, anything that requires some sort of secondary power is something Mew cannot copy.

It has an ability to manipulate waves. This manifests in aura abilities and bending light waves to become invisible. However, there seem to be limits, as even an invisible Mew can consistently heard, sensed, or felt.

In-Fic Role
Mew plays no role in the Nori/Prema metaseries thus far.

 

[Venia Silente]

As per usual, subject to further revisions. Mew does not feature in Suocéverse onscreen materials to this date, but its clone, Mewtwo, can be seen in Overlord. Everything else ATM is supplemental material.

Mew — Like a Cat but Better​

Mew is a Psychic-type Pokémon, an ancient species that has tremendously stable genetic material and survival capabilities, with current scientific research suggesting it has been remained unchanged for as much as twelve to twenty million years.

Mew are known for their potent psychokinetic capabilities, being capable of hovering, levitation and teleportation with a high degree of energy efficiency to the point that they can offhandedly teleport away from incoming attacks even when their perception would be strongly impaired, such as by poison or Dark-type energy. Their other most notable capability is a transformative ability similar to that of Ditto, that allows them to assume the form of most of any known Pokémon.

Folklore​

Those who ask around or consult historical record will find Mew is describes as a trickster or a mischievous Pokémon, one that would appear at random places to test the limits of people and of the systems they build. It is recognized as a symbol of playfulness and curiosity — and of the dangers that accompany them. Its feline-like appearance, with a long tail and other features reminiscent of house cats, has over the years only contributed to this impression.

Records of close encounters indicate a curious personality and a willingness to participate in various kinds of ludic engagement and experimentation. Like many Psychic Pokémon, Mew seem to recognize any sort of exchange or trade as a kind of game.

Various cultures share tales of a Mew showing up at nurseries or schools and join children in their plays for a moment while supervisors were not looking. There are even old reports of famous scientists or artists who returned to their workshops only to find a Mew rummaging about their most recent work: be it a new stunning cubism-inspired artistic piece, or a new theory on the Typed Matter Exclusion Field applied to higher dimensions.

As science has progressed, various attempts have been made to find live Mew and hold long-term interaction with them. Encounters are short and difficult to record and most researchers agree that those Mew who have been found, mostly charitably laugh at humans' attempts to interact with them, as if thinking it was yet another game.

Mew are so confident in their own abilities, that at least one record exists that suggests a Mew in the land of Rota even went about taking the guise of some of the local Legendaries, without suffering any known contestation.

Sometime near yr. 3730 of the Present Era, local Kanto gang "Team Rocket" managed to secure two special items: a copy of the theory documents of Project Digimon which was used by various sources for creating artificial Pokémon like Porygon, and a sample of Mew genetic material viable enough to use as body building material. With those, TR's most ambitious endeavour was kickstarted: Project Iso, with the stated goal of creating a wholly new Pokémon chimera with both human and Mew genetic material, that would be subservient to Team Rocket.

Information on the running progress of Project Iso is known to only the innermost circle of Team Rocket, but knowing Mew, they are likely aware of this development and keeping close track on it, wondering what kind of hijinks would humans come up with in their ongoing effort to play with Mew, and presumably awaiting eagerly for a new friendly feline creature that would play both with them and with the True Leader of Team Rocket.

Species History​

Mew have existed since long before humans, or any species, could keep records of them, so the information in this section is of unconfirmed validity other than taking part in some creation myths, or would be unknown to most characters in-universe other than Mew themselves and most long-lived or otherwise eternal beings, such as some higher-tier Legendaries.

Mew have existed since times immemorial. When the Lake Trio started experimenting with giving various creatures sapience, in their eyes their "finest work", they needed a means to skip the long (Darwinian) evolutive process to determine what features made species viable to thrive and what would they do with sapience and the power to alter their world to their bidding. Mew were presumably created with unchallenged transformation powers and hard to sate curiosity in order to test the designs evolution had come up with across various worlds, and even to create or bootstrap new species.

However, as they served the Lake Trio directly and enjoyed unparalleled abilities, they were also sent in as the vanguard of the Lake Trio's purges of the species whose continuation they found to be displeasing, which might have probably included the purge of species such as those of Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza, that left only one specimen of each surviving until current times.

Once the Lake Trio were satisfied with the evolution of Pokémon, the original task of Mew as a species was deemed complete, and they were left to live freely in the many world inhabited by the same Pokémon they had helped design, emulate and test. Whether Mew themselves know or care about this inheritance is only a guess, as they wander around the world appearing to mostly be focused on finding the next secluded puzzle or challenge to engage with.

 

[AbraPunk]

Mew: The Creator of the Lesser
(or just the lesser creator, that’s fine too)


When the world was first made, it was only Arceus. The land was desolate, barren, dry… no life anywhere.

Arceus quickly became bored and created several other beings to inhabit the world. These would be known as the first-generation gods [out-of-universe note: basically all the box legendaries (minus gen 8/9 because screw em lmao) plus a few oddballs (shaymin, celebi, rayquaza, zygarde, calyrex)], and their immense power (along with their shimmering golden blood) would set them apart from every other being soon to come into existence. Among the first gods was Mew.

Mew was one of the most playful of the gods, constantly seeking attention and always trying to get the other gods to participate in his antics. Most declined.

So Mew got bored. Bored of everyone being so lame, bored of looking at nothing but an ashen sky and dead lands, bored of… everything.

So Mew decided to create. And create he did.

Mew made several more gods, but since he was not Arceus, these gods were considered “lesser” than their progenitor. They would soon come to be known as the second-generation gods. [Out-of-universe note: this group is basically every other legendary/mythical that isn’t part of the first group lol. Also they have silver blood because uhhh silver is second-place to gold]

Mew also decided to make… things that weren’t gods at all. Things that came in all shapes and sizes, all sorts of bizarre creatures…

Mew made every species of regular, mortal Pokémon.

And Mew decided that still wasn’t enough, so he brought true life to the earth, created the trees and the clouds and the oceans and everything that is nature.

Centuries later, Mew’s final act of creation was to make… humans.

Silly little fragile things that feared the gods and hid away in their caves until, eventually, they evolved on their own and progressed into modern society.

In current times, Mew tends to be rarely seen by any, but when he is, he tends to be snarky and degrading, often dismissing any concerns and worries of others. [basically he’s a chaotic gremlin bastard]

Maybe someday, Mew will eventually come to the aid of the world he helped create, but until then… he remains a mystery.

[oh and mewtwo exists somewhere in the world but he was only made with an approximation of mew’s DNA so. He’s one of the very few “third-generation gods” [the Regis, minus Regigigas, make up the rest of this tier of deity. Also they have bronze blood] because he technically wasn’t directly made by any god at all.]

 

[BossCar]

Mew's appearences and mentions have been through worldbuilding/lore, which will be the case for nearly all Legendary and Mythical Pokemon.

Mew's role in the story of the world varies on who you ask. It is confirmed that one of the heroes of Galar had befriended a Mew, whereas Mew was considered a deity by the Ancient Osirians and the Ishtarians. The Ishtarians even believe Mew created everything, including other legendaries and mythicals. Mew appears prominently in both the writing and in their art of Ancient Osiris and The Ishtarian Empire.

Many searches for Mew have occured, two prominent example being the search conducted by the Cyralians (Spartans) and the search for a shiny one ordered by King Mordred VIII of Galar's Tudor dynasty. In History of the Pelennessian War, Thrasius (518 BCE-448-BCE) wrote that this search for Mew led to Cyralia crossing paths with Syramos, who were also searching for the elusive Mew.

In art, Mew has often been depicted as mysterious and/or mischievous. Take this painting housed the Lilycove Museum:

The second work is based off of historical accounts of, and by, Sir Aaron Loudain. He was a thirteenth-century noble who went in search of Mew with his Alakazam and Lucario. Wright has him sitting in a room, his eyes following the inscriptions on an Ancient Osirian stele. His Alakazam provide invaluable assistance in deciphering the text. A second stele of Horus II with a Talonflame, Corviknight and a lotus flower lies on a trestle table and Lucario's gazing at it. It’s an indicator that this relief is related to the Ancient Osirian creation myth. The Talonflame and Corviknight, said to be the size of Eternatus, are the embodiment of the sun and the moon.

While it is not shown here, the Ancient Osirians (Egyptians) did view Mew as being one of the creators of the world they lived in. Occasionally, Mew may appear as a symbol. Such a painting can be found in Musée d'Illumis:

A Man with Mew has a rather peculiar story behind it, making it his favorite among the twenty present. The long-haired man in the portrait is Sir Henry Hawksworth, a diplomat and passionate lover of the art. He looks like he's about to pop out of painting with that Mew. Giant marble sculptures of Zacian and Zamazenta provide an imposing background. Surely something so lifelike must have been there in person, right? Not quite and it's a rather amusing story.

Valen's explanation several lines later:

"…Alright." He takes a deep breath. "Henry Hawksworth wanted a Mew in the photo—he thought such a presentation would impress the court of King Galahad I." His gaze darts back towards the Alkmaardian section and he points to a history painting of Galar's heroic duo by Rembrandt. "Hawksworth picked Mew because he wanted to be loosely depicted as Alberion, one of the two heroes in Galarian history. Alberion had also befriended a Mew, hence why one was added."

The mystery element has also been tied into the exotic element, best seen in paintings of Faraway Island. The island was first explored in the 16th century and has captivated the imagination ever since. Great artists from Caravaggio to Turner capitalized on the mystery to give the world depictions that range from Caravaggio's "idgaf about your personal barrier" style to Turner's lush and colorful landscapes.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Mew's not in irref directly, but there will be mention of a book about them once Ch2 gets out of Revision Hell and into something serviceable, which combined with needing Mewtwo wb means I do have Mew wb. Too much of it, really, there was kind of a side-minific idea brewing for a bit even though I knew I didn’t have energy for a new project. Here it is:

Mew is among Arceus' earliest creations, and the absolute first to have anything resembling conventional biology. They're the precursor to all life that naturally occurred in their world (things from Ultra Space are unrelated) and was tasked with overseeing the process of intergenerational evolution. However, they aren’t literally genetically the common ancestor of everything. Mew occupies a space somewhere between conventional cellular automata and an aural (spiritual) consciousness bound to inorganic matter. Their body is cellular, but that component is incomplete on its own: what makes Mew Mew is the aural consciousness integrated into that body in the way a claydol does its doll, or a honedge its sword. This lets them keep their mind intact when transforming in a way that something with a consciousness tied to their body's physical brain wouldn't be able to.

Most of the original creations have learned to be leery of humans. Not necessarily for negative reasons, but more than that, interactions between humans and the primal forces of the world simply aren't something to be taken lightly. Mew's transformation abilities make them an exception to this rule, as they can walk freely among humans in any form they please. The only thing that could give away Mew is that, to the psychically sensitive, they retain a very high-frequency vibe when transformed. This willingness to interact with humans has lead to Mew becoming the legend with the most stories surrounding them, though that did not make them the best understood as the credibility of these stories varies wildly. Mew is generally understood cross-culturally not to directly interfere much in the course of human civilization or culture directly, so many of the more popular tales surrounding them are instead of their children, of which they've been said to mother or father on occasion. Post-Cinnabar understanding of Mew has come to show that accounts of children of Mew going on to possess spectacular transformative or psychic powers are unlikely to be based in reality, but these remain in the popular culture conception of Mew nonetheless.

Most concrete knowledge of Mew is quite recent, stemming from the Cinnabar Island incident. It begins with what, in retrospect, is the only known footage of Mew. It’s security camera footage in Celadon City. An androgynous young adult in a long jacket and over-ear headphones is shot in the back with a dart pistol by someone in a dark outfit. The camera lens is telekinetically shattered but the recording continues. It is almost impossible to make anything out, but one thing that is clear is that the victim disappears from the shot almost immediately afterwards, on account of teleportation. The footage baffled law enforcement at the time, but it is now understood to be related to the collection of the genetic sample used in the Cinnabar incident.

Cloning Mew in and of itself doesn’t work. The result is a clone of the biological shell without the aura possessing it. In so many words, a perfect genetic clone of Mew is essentially a vegetative ditto. This led to efforts to create a viable weaponizable alternative. The result is more well-document than the original Mew: a clone with human DNA spliced in to fill in the gaps preventing it from functioning independently. (In a point of characteristic egotism, the man responsible for the project insisted his genes be the base the edits were extracted from.) The end result had to sacrifice the ability to transform for numerous reasons, but wielded the frightening degree of psychic power required for one’s first public appearance to go down in infamy as The Cinnabar Incident.

In the fallout, one good thing for the scientific community happened: While the courts acquiesced to requests that Kanto’s government be permitted to destroy the Mewtwo genome on national security concerns, it refused to do so for Mew’s. This led to Mew’s genome entering the court record and becoming available to the public with a not-uncontroversial Transparency of Judicial Information request. (Though any research being done with it will inevitably be, legally or extrajudicially, very closely monitored.)

Two interesting things have come of this. There is the Devon Corporation’s Ditto. A few minimal edits can implement the decentralized nervous system present in Solosis, creating a distinct lifeform. Attempts to patent the genome have been met with limited recognition across the world, especially after wild populations established themselves. The second is the recognition within Mew’s genome of a previously-baffling gene that appears in a small and wildly different group of species- several of whom are historically involved in tales of being gifts from or direct children of Mew. There is also one human known to have had been diagnosed with a genetic condition on account of the presence of this gene- A Kalosienne gym leader who boasts no psychic powers, nor any affinity for the typing at all.

In modern pop culture, depictions of Mew have changed significantly post-Cinnabar. (Or perhaps more importantly, the identification of Mew in the Celadon footage, allowing people to put a human face to the name.) They are now treated less frequently like an abstract mythological zeitgeist, a deity, or a plot device and more often as more human character. Interpretations vary, but their headphones have cemented them in the collective consciousness as a lover of music, and humanesque interpretations tend to frame them- albeit often avoiding the term explicitly for plausible deniability- as genderfluid.

The actual Mew, however, has not been seen at all since the Celadon footage was taken…

 

[Persephone]

Don’t worry, citizens! The correct take is here!

 

[System Error]

Manaphy/Phione in Nori/Prema​

Mythics? What mythics? Like some legendary Pokemon, they're basically not to the point of being nothing special in my metaseries. Of course, that doesn't mean they're nothing to write home about. It's just the opposite, in fact.

In Science
Manaphy and Phione are variants of one another. Research has indicated they are closer in relation to regional variants rather than convergent species. The former resides in colder waters, the latter in warm waters. It was once believed that the latter was weaker than the former, but this was disproven when a Phione exhibited the ability to use Heart Swap in 2003. However, bred specimens of both species are weaker than those born in the wild.

Their bodies are mostly comprised of water. They are very sensitive to changes in the environment, moreso than other Water-types. In rare cases, they can allow others to see through their eyes, indicating some sort of psychic or empathic power.

In Religion
Manaphy and Phione are not worshiped in any major pantheons in the modern age. Most people simply consider them to be rare Pokemon. The aforementioned fact that they will breed in captivity disqualifies them in many's eyes. It is worth noting, however, that many rare and/or powerful Pokemon were once thought of as legendary or even gods as far back as the early 20th century. For example, Arcanine was revered in China, and Dragonite was thought mythical due to its rarity. So there isn't any proof that they weren't worshiped by anyone, either. Perhaps because of this, the author of the fictional Hisuian tales in particular worked them into his story as visitors from across the sea.

In Battle
They are an uncommon choice of Pokemon for trainers due to their rarity and lack of distinguishing traits outside of their unique moves. One of the more famous trainers to own a Phione is Priest Warutsu Amaya, former Dark-type Gym Leader of Celestic Town and current overseer of the original Kannagi Shrine. For Manaphy, it would be Kalos Elite Four member Siebold.

They have two moves that are extremely rare among other Pokemon. Take Heart allows them to cleanse their bodies of impurities while bolstering their special abilities. Heart Swap allows them to shift stat boosts. They can use the two together to bestow power to their allies. These moves are the most common reasons to train one for your average trainer over easier-to-manage Water-types, although the aforementioned two did so for caretaking (and to add a Water-type to his full roster in wake of his Bibarel's passing; plus Sinnoh was never strict on the whole single-type thing anyway) and the challenge respectively. They share the Hydration ability with many other Pokemon, which like Take Heart, allows them to cleanse their bodies' impurity.

Unlike other aquatic Pokemon, they are just as capable as fighting on land without special training; they are capable of filling their floatation sacs with non-flammable hydrogen. However, they have a very limited range of vertical motion and rely on latent psychic abilities to move quickly, so most owners train their Manaphy or Phione to endure attacks rather than dodging them. It is a slightly different story in water, where they can expel fluid from their sacs to move in single directions like a jet. They aren't the most capable swimmers when it comes to greater mobility, but that gives them an edge that most don't have in the water.

Due to their body composition, it has been noted they have a particular vulnerability to sludge-based attacks as a result, and heat/cold respectively are good counters. Similarly, they are resilient to their preferred temperatures. It is difficult, but not impossible, for Phione to learn cold-related moves (including Ice-type attacks) and Manaphy to use heat-related moves (such as Scald). Note that this is a restriction of Water-types in general and not necessarily limtied to them.

In-fic role
They have not appeared thus far in the metaseries, although given Warutsu having one and leaving the door open by them not being legendary/mythical, it's probably an inevitability.

 

[BossCar]

(I don't have much for Manaphy and Phione but now's a good time to add some more to my lore.)

Manaphy and Phione's habitat is unknown but it is believed to be the lost island of Atlantis. This was referenced in TNBT twice via trolling Silver.

Silver will let them exchange verbal blows—he's too busy smacking his face over yet another one of Gladion's fallacious declarations. Forget Kris, this guy's the real pain in his ass.

His annoyed expression makes way for a puzzled one. Manaphy's natural habit…wait a minute! The nerve, the absolute nerve of this edgelord! Now he's laughing, how dare he! Manaphy and Phione's natural habit is allegedly the lost island of Atlantis! ATLANTIS!

Easy, take it easy. Remember, you don't like overrated edgy bands and are far more cultured than he is.

"Like I told you before, I have a better chance of finding the lost island of Atlantis than your cover stories actually working."

"Y'all are stupid, but-" Valen plops himself onto a contour chair and flips open his book on Neolithic and Bronze Age Kasmenestian art. "Gladion's almost right."

Silver's eyes widen and his face reddens. "What?!"

Gladion's smile contorts into a wide grin. "I've won again."

"Manaphy and Phione sightings are most common in an area believed to have had an island long ago." Valen's fingers rub on the page's texture, causing a smooth rubbing sound. "Could be coincidence, could be that supposed natural habitat." He secretly gestures towards somebody in the house. "Recently, they found some underwater ruins."

"No, he's not trolling." Melanie takes a seat and crosses her legs. "I was there when he learned of this."

A famous Manaphy painting is Prince of the Sea by Sir Patrick Pierre Rubens, Vlaander's leading painter of the Baroque. It's a busy work with a bunch of Water-types crammed into it, with Manaphy itself surfing on Kyogre with Lugia and Zapdos flying overhead. Other Pokemon include Phione, Gyarados, Milotic, Quaqsire, Lumineon, and Blastoise. Pre-evolutions included. (I came up with this description off the top of my head)

Other big name painters who def. painted Manaphy include Raphael Sadoletto, Neville Poussin, Gianni Canaletto, Jackson Matthew William Turner, and Caldre Monet.

(Will be back to add more once I figure more out)

 

[System Error]

Well, I'll do a thing, then, if it's open for suggestions.

​

Let's step away from the legendaries and the mythics to focus on something a little more common - and I should suggest tweaking the topic title as needed when something new pops up. Fire or ice! Or both! Maybe even at once if you want to make stuff up. Whichever way you want your kitsune. There's a bunch of dex entries for this one, since it's been around since the beginning, look them up as needed if you haven't put thoughts together.

---

#0038: Ninetales
The Fox Pokémon
Fire Type (standard) - Abilities: Flash Fire or Drought
Ice/Fairy Type (Alolan) - Abilities: Snow Cloak or Snow Warning​

Ninetales casts a sinister light from its bright red eyes to gain total control over its foe's mind. This Pokémon is said to live for a thousand years.	Possessing a calm demeanor, this Pokémon was revered as a deity incarnate before it was identified as a regional variant of Ninetales.
It is vindictive and relentless by nature. Those who cross it even once will be cursed for a thousand years, along with their descendants.	Dwells on sacred peaks perpetually covered in snow. Said to appear to virtuous people who have lost their way on mountain paths—it then guides them back down to the mountain's base.

 

[System Error]

Well I guess I'll start us off, then. :P

Ninetales in Nori/Prema​

Ninetales isn't a particularly common Pokemon in Sinnoh, but it's still around quite a bit in my metaseries.

In Science
Ninetales is a particularly long-lived species. The oldest one on record is well over 300 years old. Both variants have soft fur and much in common with common foxes. They have a strong connection to the metaphysical planes in spite of their types not reflecting this. Some speculate that they were different in the past, but unlike the likes of Magikarp and Gyarados, no evidence let alone surviving ancient specimens have been found.

Fire-types can fall into several categories as to how they generate their flames. For Ninetales, they produce it with their mystical powers. The same applies for the ice variants and their ability to wield cold. These powers aren't something that can be explained in common science. Even the Pokemon themselves can't really explain it, just saying it's something they can do. Researchers into the occult, etc. have determined these Pokemon have a connection to the other planes and are able to draw power from it. Others speculate it is the gift of willpower manifesting.

They are capable of shapeshifting and creating illusions, although unlike Zorua and Zoroark, they cannot use their moves in this state. They can even take human shape. Attempts to teach them human languages has been largely successful, and some learn on their own, although they can't make the proper vocalizations in their usual forms. They have been an excellent source of documenting the modern Terrestial language of Pokemon (a common language most land-based ones know), although it remains too difficult for human ears and mouths, and they've never had a formal written language. Technology is at least a century off from letting any average person understand any Pokemon...

The most infamous aspect of Fire-type Ninetales are their curses. These manifest as abnormalities on the souls of their victims. Their scope is often highly exaggerated; the most common way they manifest is a tendency toward misfortune. Diviners and certain strong Pokemon (even other Ninetales) are able to remove these curses. Furthermore, if they are not maintained, such as in the event of the death of the Ninetales, it will eventually dissipate. This is how the thousand year curse thing got started, due to their mythological lifespan.

In Religion/Mythology
Ninetales are just another Pokemon in Iseuan and other monotheist religions. However, the not-Bible (may just be that) features them as tempters.

Ninetales are trickster spirits in most ancient faiths. They were revered for their long lifespans and worshiped because, well, fear is a big aspect and paying tribute was seen as a way to stop them from cursing you. Some, as the Kannagis and formerly the Mitsutris, simply took a "respect nature" stance on this. The ice variants, on the other hand, were worshiped out of genuine respect for their benevolence. Even though they were proven not to be deities, they still receive it nonetheless.

There were many tales and theories about the species in folklore, particularly tied into beliefs about kitsune, although it does not technically qualify as one. One of the stories from Japanese myth tells of humans and Pokemon living together, eating together, and even marrying each other. In its western English translation, the last aspect was censored. It's really just a fictional tale to show how not-different the two are and not an actual account. However, a Ninetales in particular was mentioned in one of these stories.

In Battle
Ninetales are agile, yet fragile Pokemon (although can be surprisingly resistant to special moves). Able to be particularly vicious, they prefer to fight at a range by shooting flames and wielding metaphysical power. They're well known for learning Extrasensory naturally, and several tricky moves like Confuse Ray, Imprison, and Disable. With training and TMs, they can use several other mystical moves, particularly Ghost and Dark-type ones. The Ice-type variants are very similar in capabilities; they are calmer but no less cunning.

Certain specimens are capable of summoning sunlight and snowy weather respectively in a burst of power. They can only do so when entirely healthy or when supplanted by the energy of a Poke Ball. It should be noted that in my fic, these are not true weather alterations but rather doing something to create a pseudo-version of them. This is how weather moves work at night, indoors, underground, during other weather, etc.

Wild ones of both variants generally enjoy disabling their foes with the likes of Confuse Ray or Fire Spin if possible before striking. When they attack physically, it's often with hit and run tactics (like with Quick Attack). Trainers of Ninetales generally fall into one of two categories. Some lean into their abilities and order them like they would fight naturally. Others like them for the decent variety of Types they can wield. Of course, there's many different ways to train a Pokemon - some even train theirs to fight up close as a rude surprise. Either way, they are relatively common, easy to train, and a popular choice of Pokemon in all regions where they are - and a loyal Ninetales is an excellent partner.

In Fic
Although only alluded to, Ninetales is the ace of Hinata Hanabusa, former traveling companion and Gym Trainer of Flint Donaldson. Stopped being one when he got promoted to Elite Four, but a relationship between them was suggested as starting, so she might make more appearances. It is a popular choice of Pokemon in-general. Kanto Gym Leader Blaine is one of many notable trainers who owns one.

The Alolan variant of Ninetales is one of the Pokemon employed by Sprig Acantha, as of writing one of the newest Gym Leaders in Sinnoh. He uses Fairy-types.

In Blade of the Blackout Killer, a Ninetales attacks Nori for hurting her young. But it hasn't been published yet.

Other Works
Iola Aviaticus is a Ninetales turned mostly-human (effectively a foxgirl) due to the tinkering of the right hand of the gods, Admon Aviaticus. This is in a world where shapeshifting isn't as possible. She later stopped being registered as a Pokemon after personal and spiritual growth. She serves him dutifully as a housekeeper, attendant, and later on, as a friend. It's unknown how or why she came to serve him, but she has for over two centuries. Very capable of her own, but even stronger with Admon's blessing. A common freeform RP character of mine in multiversal worlds. Showing up in the series isn't out of the question as a result.

 

[Venia Silente]

Honestly I should have touched upon this one sooner but. Ya know. Life.

Anyway, let's talk about foxxos. I'm told IRL foxxos are magical so it's only fair Pokémon foxxos are more magical.

Ninetales — A long-term player​

Ninetales are the final evolution of Mikon, but the infant form is so rare that Nintales are better known for being Vulpix's evolution. They are notoriously rare Pokémon in the wild despite their particular abilities, but they enjoy a far more notable and relaxed presence with Trainer teams.

Ninetales is a Pokémon that, while characterised as a psychic Pokémon (despite the morph not being Psychic-type), have abilities that better term it as something similar to a ghost Pokémon. Besides the elemental prowess that they show with Fire, Psychic and Ghost energies, they also show in their age possession of an array of skills in branches of magic such as clairvoyance and enchantment, or even more deeply-involved and "raw" reality manipulation.

However strange and dangerous these skills are however, the one trait that makes a wild Ninetales dangerous is their longevity. Among "mammalian" Pokémon, Ninetales are outliers in that they have a very wide lifespan range, with some specimens being suspected to be around 800 years old if not older while at the same time not being considered to have entered "elderly" years by that time.

Folklore​

Across cultures, Ninetales are regarded as adamant and treacherous creatures who stalk the wilderness in search of travelers or intruders to make them easy prey, not as food (that comes for later) but rather for the test subjects for a Ninetales' growing powers. Illusions, hypnosis, possession, remote pain, or straight out hexes and curses: all is fair game when a Ninetales needs to learn to survive for hundreds of years.

When a Ninetales finds a human of their interest roaming their territory, they'll subject this human to a series of warning signs, threats and tests, all clouded in a veil of magic besides the literal smoke and mirrors Ninetales employ. It is said that soldiers and rangers of old going into difficult forests and cliffs, would hear the distressing calls of childen or women, or would see an enemy soldier shuffling about between the trees in the distance - but when they wandered into the fog to investigate the area, they would disappear and not be heard of again, with onlookers only being witness to a half-ring of spectral flames appearing briefly in the area by the time of disappearance.

In the strangest of cases, an old Ninetales will set up traps and wait for tens of years to catch their prey — and then will play with their prey for another such period of time. A recent telling goes of a Gym Leader who fell bewitched by a Ninetales, who had illusioned the derelict house of the family it belonged to into a fancy manor and sought for a human to live there in replacement of the old owner, who died during a military skirmish.

All in all, Ninetales belong to the world of the strange and are content with staying there, building up a reputation with their age. This does not mean they are not friendly creatures, but a traveler willing to interact with a Ninetales needs to be conscious that these Pokémon interpret interest and commonality quite differently from humans. And that they might *not* be willing to let go of a perceived companion or prey.

It is said that Ninetales can live a thousand years by spending the ethereal energy stored in each tail, one hundred years per tail, but if this requires spending life energy this does not correspond with the observed behaviour of ancient wild Ninetales who, much like dragons, seem to only grow wiser and stronger per century. That said, no Ninetales has ever been recorded living past the thousand year mark, with even the oldest confirmed ones dying or disappearing sometime near the 940 years mark.

Powerset​

While a normal wild Ninetales is not much different from other wild Pokémon such as Houndoom or Arcanine in their moveset and capabilities, they become far more capable and gain access to far stranger techniques and forms of energy manipulation as they age.

Very old NInetales, around the 400 years mark, are shown to have developed powers that because of their rarity within rarity, defy the normal categorization the League sets up for moves.

With the energy stored in their tails they can enchant a target to induce any of a variety of status ailments in them, a skill that has been dubbed "Miracle Tail". They can release up to eight flames (one per tail) of eerie appearance and life of their own that will chase after an opponent. They can discard all the Fire energy they have stored in one searing blast, which has been described by some people to burn "like the very flames of Hell". When facing Trainers, some Ninetales are known to cast a strange spell that will force a Pokémon out of their Pokéball, thus denying them the refuge and healing the device can provide and allowing the Ninetales to dictate some of the terms of the fight. Formerly trained specimens can combine moves of different categories to cast what is sometimes called a "Mystery Flame" that burns both the body and the mind, inflicting Burn an Confusion at the same time.

At the pinnacle of energy manipulation, the most advanced specimens ever found on record reaching around 600 years of age, had altered their own bioenergy to the point they had become Safeguarded against the disrupting energy of Pokémon of the Dark or of the Light, or even of other Pokémon that had themselves learned to alter their bioenergy in other such ways. Other such Pokémon were found to be capable of changing the typing of their bodies or the effectiveness of their attacks, a skill that has been dubbed "Color Coordination" in comparison to a Kecleon's "Color Change". Given the kinds of opponents that a 600-year old Ninetales would draw attention from, this latter skill is presumably a highly advanced form of counter-sorcery.

Given the specificity and over-rarity of these skills, and the fact that the League is - despite decades of investigation - still not clear on whether they constitute actual moves or rather some form of straight out Magic, these skills are considered not Conference legal, and between this and their otherwise relaxed pacing of life, it is rare if not unheard of that a Ninetales will stay with a performance level Trainer beyond the age of around 200 years or so.