Twenty CoroCoro readers were randomly selected to receive Mew in Pokémon’s 1996 promotion.
Mew was a secret Pokémon added late in the development of Pocket Monsters Red and Green. It was not normally obtainable through standard gameplay, and its existence was not widely known when the games first launched. The creature’s hidden status helped generate rumors among players.
In April 1996, CoroCoro Comic announced a “Legendary Pokémon Offer.” Readers could submit a postcard, and 20 winners were chosen at random. The selected players sent in their cartridges so Mew could be uploaded onto them. The promotion was unusual because it gave players a legitimate way to obtain a Pokémon that was otherwise inaccessible.
The campaign helped sustain interest in the games after release and contributed to Pokémon’s word-of-mouth growth. It also explains why Mew is numbered 151 even though the original games’ ordinary in-game progression emphasized the first 150 Pokémon. Mew later became one of the franchise’s most recognizable Mythical Pokémon.