Back in March, Niantic finally added the mythical Pokémon Mew to Pokémon GO with the introduction of research quests. These come in two different forms: Field Research and Special Research, and provide you with regular rewards for completing objectives.
A Mythical Discovery was, at the time, the only Special Research quest available in Pokémon GO, and it's the quest you have to complete to get your grubby little mitts on Mew. Completing it requires you to work your way through a series of eight different objectives, which can prove pretty time-consuming.
In this guide, we're going to try and make this as easy as possible for you. We'll list all of the requirements for each stage to help you to plan ahead. Certain steps you can only perform when you unlock them, but there's many that you can prepare for ahead of time.
How To Catch Mew In Pokémon GO
To catch Mew in Pokémon GO, you have to complete the Special Research quest A Mythical Discovery. This is located in the same place as your Field Research quests. Tap on the binoculars icon, then visit the 'Special' column.
Complete all of the objectives for the Special Research Quest and you'll collect Mew at the end. Now, here's how Special Research Quests work in Pokémon GO.
Special Research Quests Explained
Special Research are story-driven quests that require you to perform eight different stages of objectives, which generally cover all aspects of the game from evolving Pokémon to battling in raids. They aren't to be confused with Field Research quests, which offer quick-fire daily quests for a little reward.
While you have to complete objectives at the point you unlock them, you can prepare for certain tasks ahead of time. Good examples of these are earning medials, reaching a certain level, or evolving certain Pokémon.
To help you prepare, we've got a list of every single objective, organised by stage, below. So go ahead and check what you have to do to beat the quest. We'll pop an asterix (*) by the quests you can work on ahead of time so you can instantly recognise them.
Pokémon GO - A Mythical Discovery Walkthrough
Stage One
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Spin Five PokéStops | 500 XP |
| Catch 10 Pokémon | 500 XP |
| Transfer Five Pokémon | 500 XP |
| Completion: | 10 Great Balls / Incubator / Three Lure Modules |
Stage Two
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Earn Two Candy While Walking Your Buddy | 1,000 XP |
| Make 10 Great Throws | 1,000 XP |
| Hatch Three Eggs | 1,000 XP |
| Completion: | 2,000 Stardust / Three Incense / 20 Great Balls |
Stage Three
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Reach Trainer Level 15* | 1,500 XP |
| Battle In Two Raids | 1,500 XP |
| Battle In A Gym Twice | 1,500 XP |
| Completion: | Fast TM / Charge TM / Two Star Pieces |
Stage Four
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Earn The Kanto Silver Medal* | 2,000 XP |
| Evolve 20 Pokémon* | 2,000 XP |
| Earn Five Candy While Walking Your Buddy | 2,000 XP |
| Completion: | 4,000 Stardust / Three Lure Modules / 20 Great Balls |
Stage Five
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Catch Ditto | 2,500 XP |
| Catch 10 Ghost-Types | 2,500 XP |
| Perform 20 Great Throws | 2,500 XP |
| Completion: | Premium Raid Pass / Lucky Egg / 15 Revives |
Stage Six
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Reach Trainer Level 25* | 3,000 XP |
| Evolve A Magikarp | 3,000 XP |
| Perform 10 Raids | 3,000 XP |
| Completion: | 6,000 Stardust / Five Rare Candies / Three Incense |
Stage Seven
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Catch 50 Pokémon Using A Berry | 3,500 XP |
| Earn A Kanto Gold Medal* | 3,500 XP |
| Perform An Excellent Curve Throw | 3,500 XP |
| Completion: | 8,000 Stardust / Five Great Balls / Mew |
Stage Eight
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Catch Mew | 4,000 XP / 10,000 Stardust / Super Incubator / 20 Mew Candy |
This article is part of our Pokémon GO walkthrough and guide series. We have articles that take you through the basics, covering , How To Redeem Pokémon GO Promo Codes, How To Check A Pokémon's IVs Using An IV Calculator, How Trading Works, How To Track Pokémon Using Maps And Trackers, What Star Pieces And Stardust Do And How To Get Them, How Player Vs. Player Trainer Battles Work, and How To Complete Field Research And Research Breakthroughs And All Rewards.
We cover regular weekly and monthly Pokémon GO events, such as Spotlight Hour Times And Bonus Hour Times, and Community Days. We also have charts, including a Type Chart With Effectiveness And Weakness For All Types, an , and a Buddy Chart Explaining How To Earn Candy.
Elsewhere we cover Friend Code And Sharing Them For Easy XP and Which Pokémon GO 'Auto Catch' Companion Device Is The Best, plus more advanced tactics and info such as All Fast Moves And Charge Moves, How To Get TMs, And How It All Works, Shiny Pokémon And How To Catch Them, Glacial Lures, Magnetic Lures, Mossy Lures in Pokémon GO (And Their Exclusive Evolutions), How To Get Lots Of Candy Fast, , How To Catch All 27 Regional Pokémon, the Best Attackers And Best Defenders, All Raid Bosses And Best Counters Listed By Tier, What EX Raids Are And How To Get EX Raid Passes, What A Super Incubators Does And How To Get One, and How Get Mega Energy.
Pocket Monster-wise, we have specific guides for How To Get Pangoro, Sylveon, Glaceon, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Sirfetch’d, Galarian Cofa*grigus And More, How To Get Sylveon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, Espeon, Vaporeon, Jolteon And Flareon, How To Evolve Wurmple Into Silcoon Or Cascoon, How To Get Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan And Hitmontop, How To Use The Weather To Get Each Castform Form, How To Catch And Evolve Into Galarian Slowbro, How To Catch Smeargle, How To Find And Evolve Burmy, How To Catch Spinda, Where To Find Unown, How To Catch Ditto, and The Rarest Pokémon Including Wild, Shiny, Mythical And Regional Catches.
We also cover timed research and special events, including Mew's 'A Mythical Discovery', Jirachi's 'A Thousand-Year Slumber', Celebi's 'A Ripple In Time', and Regigigas' 'A Colossal Discovery'. Other (past) event guides include Twitch Codes List - Pokémon World Championship 2022, How To Battle A Challenger (World Championships 2022), How To Battle Fashion Challengers, 'A Spooky Message' Spiritomb Quest, Kanto Event FAQ, and the Summer Tour 2018 Chicago GO Fest And Dortmund And Yokosuka Safari Zones.
Finally, there's our WIP Pokémon GO Pokédex, which currently goes up to 400 Pokémon: #1-50 | #51-100 | #101-150 | #151-200 | #201-250 | #251-300 | #301-350 | #351-400.
