Pokemon Sword & Shield: how to catch Mewtwo, and how to get Mew via Mystery Gift

The release of The Crown Tundra expansion for Pokemon Sword & Shield brings with it great news for Pokemon hunters - a bunch of returning Legendary Pokemon, including Mewtwo. If you're after Mew, however, you're out of luck.

On this page, we'll explain how to get Mewtwo in Pokemon Sword & Shield and explain why you can't catch Mew in Sword & Shield. These pair are legends in their own right, and a perfect example of the distinction between Legendary and Mythical Pokemon.

How to get Mewtwo in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Mewtwo originally appeared in Pokemon Sword & Shield as part of a max raid, but it was only a boss. You could fight it, but not catch it. Now, however, you have a chance - with the addition of The Crown Tundra DLC, Pokemon Sword & Shield now has a reliable new way to catch a wide variety of Legendary Pokemon: Dynamax Adventures.

Dynamax Adventures are essentially four-player raid battles where players work through a Pokemon Den, fighting challenging Dynamax Battles against a range of Pokemon, working your way through the Den. You have the opportunity to take one of the Pokemon you defeat and catch away from the Dynamax Adventure as a permanent catch.

At the end of each Pokemon Den awaits a Legendary - and Mewtwo is one of the classic legendary Pokemon that can appear as a potential final boss of a Den. 

Which Pokemon awaits at the end is random, so you'll just have to keep running raids and hoping for Mewtwo. 

Pretty much every H Legendary Pokemon that wasn't already in Sword & Shield is on the list of legendary Pokemon that can appear in Dynamax Adventures, including the original, non-Galarian forms of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. 

For a full list of the Legendary Pokemon obtainable through the Dens, check out our Dynamax Adventures & Pokemon Dens guides. 

How to get Mew in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Wondering how to get Mew in Pokemon Sword & Shield? Well, despite the addition of modes that are built around legendary hunting in The Crown Tundra, there isn't a way to catch Mew as a standard feature in Pokemon Sword & Shield. There's a reason for this, however!

Returning Pokemon available in Dynamax Adventures like Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Zygarde, and others are Legendary Pokemon. Mew is a Mythical Pokemon.

Mythical Pokemon are typically only made available via Events - which means you can expect to not find new ways to catch Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, or even the more newly added Meltan in the new Sword & Shield DLC. Legendary hunt to your hearts' content - but you won't be mythical hunting. You'll have to wait for events. 

With that said, there is still one method to get your hands on Mew in Sword & Shield - but it requires a specific accessory.

How to get Mew via Mystery Gift in Pokemon Sword & Shield

You might already be familiar with Pokemon Sword & Shield's 'Mystery Gift' feature. This has been a series standard for a while, and is basically a way for you to get your hands on special, limited event Pokemon - which Mew and the other mythical Pokemon typically are. In the last two generations, Mew has been made available consistantly in one form: inside a Poke Ball Plus.

The Poke Ball Plus is a special accessory that was released alongside Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee a few years ago. It's a one-handed controller for those games in the shape of a Poke Ball, but also doubles as a Pokemon Go Plus. 

Each Poke Ball Plus has a Mew inside it when your purchase it - a bonus, if you will. Each Mew can be downloaded from a Poke Ball Plus only once, ever. This download can be either into Let's Go or into Sword & Shield. If you've already downloaded into Let's Go, you could eventually use Pokemon Home to transfer it to Sword & Shield. If your Mew is still inside the Poke Ball Plus, however, you can download it straight into Sword & Shield.

To do this, simply select the 'Mystery Gift' option in the menu that you open with the 'X' button, then select the option to 'Take a Stroll with Poke Ball Plus'. Once connected to the Poke Ball Plus, you'll be able to recieve your Mew.