The complete history of Mythical Pokemon events

One of the most common criticisms of modern Pokemon is its handling of Mythical Pokemon. Though the recent Mochi Mayhem DLC in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is a welcome exception, several important Mythical Pokemon have drawn attention for their distinct lack of backstory. Otherwise well-designed creatures like Diancie, Volcanion, Zeraora, and Zarude are somewhat notorious for doing absolutely nothing in the games they were introduced in. Today, we’re going over all the interesting Mythical Pokemon events the games have had to offer and coming up with new ones for the Mythical Pokemon that didn’t receive one.

Which Mythical Pokemon received events?

Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi were some of the first Mythical Pokemon to ever be distributed. That being said, we’re not focusing on distribution events here – we’re focusing on events where you actually have to set out and capture the Pokemon yourself. The very first instance of this was actually Deoxys in Pokemon Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen. An item called the Aurora Ticket was distributed to these games in late 2004, and it allowed players who beat the game to visit Birth Island. The actual event wasn’t too involved, though – in essence, you simply board a ship, complete a small puzzle, and then catch Deoxys. If you’re looking to Shiny hunt this Deoxys, we actually have a very specific guide on how to do just that if you’re interested! Mew was also available on Birth Island in these games, but the event never made it to America.

Though Deoxys was technically the first Mythical Pokemon with an in-game event, many players associate Generation IV’s Mythicals with these. Though the event is coded into Diamond and Pearl, Darkrai was only ever legitimately available to American players of Pokemon Platinum via the Member Card item. With this item, players could fly over to Canalave City and stay the night in an otherwise-abandoned hotel room. During their stay, the player would dream their way to Darkrai’s home at Newmoon Island. Once there, the player has a chance to battle and catch Darkrai. The Member Card was also distributed to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in early 2022.

The Mythical Pokemon Shaymin was distributed exclusively to Pokemon Platinum in 2009 via the Oak’s Letter item. With this, players can travel to Route 224 and give thanks to a person of their choice. Once they do so, the extremely long Seabreak Path opens and gives players the opportunity to catch a Level 30 Shaymin. Oak’s Letter was available in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in early 2022 as well.

What other Mythical Pokemon events were there?

Arceus is actually quite a unique case, because its initial event is actually unused. The Azure Flute is an item coded into Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. When it’s in the player’s inventory, they can travel to Spear Pillar and use the flute to summon a heavenly staircase that takes them straight to a Level 80 Arceus. This item was never distributed, however, as the developers thought this might be too complicated for players. Instead, Arceus itself was distributed to players at Level 100. This kind of began the trend of “Mythical Pokemon as gifts” that we still see to this day (with a few small exceptions). Fortunately, the Azure Flute is permanently obtainable in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. That said, you can only receive the item if you have a Pokemon Legends: Arceus save file on your profile that has captured all 242 Pokemon in the game.

Event Arceus in Generation IV can be transferred to HeartGold and SoulSilver to activate an event at the Sinjoh Ruins, which are accessed via the Ruins of Alph. During this event, you wind up meeting the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia and choosing to create a new Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina that you will receive at Level 1. This is one of the only cases where a Mythical Pokemon activates an event separate from the one you obtain it in. It’s a really neat feature, and we certainly hope to see more content like this in the future.

On the subject of events in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a Celebi was distributed in 2010 and that activates a special event in Ilex Forest. Take Celebi to the shrine, and you and your friend (Ethan or Lyra) will be sent back in time. Though the event isn’t long, you wind up overhearing a conversation between your rival and his father, Giovanni, and how the two have a strained relationship over the rival’s refusal to join Team Rocket. You eventually have the opportunity to battle Giovanni himself before being sent back to the time period you came from.

In Pokemon Black and White, players could also receive the Liberty Pass to travel to Liberty Garden. Once there, they’d encounter and battle Team Plasma, eventually chasing them off the island entirely. From there, you can enter the island’s lighthouse for an opportunity to catch a Level 15 Victini. Meloetta, Keldeo, and Genesect, the other Generation V Mythical Pokemon, have smaller events that let you teach Relic Song, teach Secret Sword, and obtain Drive items, respectively – nothing as major as Victini’s event.

Finally, the last Mythical Pokemon event is a rather recent one – Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Mochi Mayhem Epilogue. Many players probably have fond memories of the Darkrai and Shaymin events, but Pecharunt’s corresponding event is by far the most involved of any Mythical Pokemon. It tacks on somewhere around an hour and a half of additional play time with plenty of battles and character interactions to be had. Though this part isn’t available in-game, the Pokemon Company even posted a Pecharunt backstory video on their official YouTube channel. Between that video and the considerable amount of playtime Mochi Mayhem adds, the way Pokemon handled Pecharunt is a fantastic step in the right direction.

What about the other Mythicals, then?

This leaves a good chunk of Mythical Pokemon without corresponding events. Diancie, Hoopa, Volcanion, Magearna, Marshadow, Zeraora, and Zarude were all distributed as gifts and have next to no in-game lore whatsoever. Though each of them has made an appearance in the Pokemon anime to establish some sort of backstory, none of this carries over to the games they appear in. We thought it’d be a neat idea to come up with some small event scenarios for these Mythical Pokemon.

Despite being a Mythical Pokemon, Diancie is known to be a transformed Carbink – though this tidbit is only revealed through a Pokedex entry. A great idea for an in-game event would be a Heart Diamond item distribution. In the anime, the Heart Diamond is the core of the Carbink’s domain. In the game, players could receive a Heart Diamond and have to go a new area in Reflection Cave. From there, they could make their way through a few puzzles before reaching the core of the domain and placing the Heart Diamond in its pedestal. One of the Carbinks in the domain could then transform into a Diancie that offers to join the player after testing them with a battle and letting itself be captured.

Hoopa received quite a bit of lore in the Pokemon anime, and only a small bit in the games themselves. In Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the game’s returning Legendary Pokemon appeared through golden ring portals. These are definitely from Hoopa – the aesthetic matches Hoopa Unbound, and the very same rings are seen in its corresponding movie. That being said, there’s no in-game explanation as to why Hoopa has summoned these Legendary Pokemon. A neat event idea for these games would take place after defeating or capturing every Legendary Pokemon summoned by Hoopa. Afterward, a huge ring portal could appear in the sky that requires soaring on Latias or Latios to access. From there, you’d battle Hoopa at a high level and have an opportunity to capture it. It’s a rather simple idea, but one that would add a lot more context to ORAS’ Legendary Pokemon while making Hoopa a little bit more memorable.

Volcanion arguably was supposed to have an event that may or may not have been cut. In Pokemon X and Y, the Power Plant is a location you visit during the story to fight Team Flare. There’s actually a door above ground that supposedly leads to a secret room inside the Power Plant, but the door is permanently locked. Many players speculated that a key to the Power Plant would be distributed via Wi-Fi, but nothing of the sort ever happened, and the mystery remains unsolved. Perhaps it was meant for a Pokemon Z version that never came out? Regardless, a great way to encounter Volcanion would be to make your way through a new puzzle section of the Power Plant before battling it yourself. The idea is already there in-game, the developers just wound up not following through with it.

Magearna is a bit tougher. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, you obtain this Mythical Pokemon via a QR Code that gives you it as a gift. For a more in-depth event, a broken-down Magearna could be found in an abandoned house that requires the player to collect a certain number of pieces for the Soul-Heart, the device powering this Pokemon. They could be scattered throughout Alola in cities, with one piece on Poni Island to prevent the player from accessing Magearna too soon in the story. Once you’ve gathered every piece, you could visit a mechanic NPC who could combine all the pieces of the Soul-Heart. From there, you could return to the abandoned house to restore the Soul-Heart to Magearna, who would then come to life and join your team.

Marshadow would be a neat one. This Mythical Pokemon hides in shadows, so it could enter the player’s shadow near the beginning of the game. After defeating the Elite Four and becoming the Alola Champion, Marshadow could jump out and challenge you to a battle. During the battle, it could use its signature Z-Move, Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike. If you manage to defeat it in battle, it could then join your team as an actual Pokemon rather than just hiding out in your shadow. Alternatively, perhaps Marshadow would only enter the player’s shadow in the first place if they have a specific key item — from an event distribution or otherwise.

Zeraora is probably the most difficult Pokemon to come up with an event for. Even in the anime, Zeraora is simply the partner Pokemon of a character from an alternate dimension. In its corresponding movie, Zeraora doesn’t have much lore other than the fact that Pokemon hunters wanted to capture it. Its Pokedex entries only describe its abilities, too. Maybe some kind of event where a specific city in Alola talks about Zeraora sort of like an urban legend? From there, you can follow it into a nearby forest to earn its trust and battle it. That’s not a super creative idea, but there’s very little to work with when it comes to Zeraora’s backstory.

Finally, we have Zarude. In the anime, a whole tribe of them lives in the jungle. Similarly, you could have an event in Pokemon Sword and Shield where you enter a new section of the Slumbering Weald and happen upon a group of Zarude. Their Pokedex entries state that they’re incredibly aggressive, so you’d have to fight multiple of them at once. After proving your strength to the tribe, they could send one of its members to join your team, giving you the opportunity to capture it.

That’s about all of them! The Mythical Pokemon we didn’t mention in this section already have their own events. It’d be awesome to see Pokemon make Mythicals more accessible in the future – kind of like how Meloetta appears in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Keldeo appears in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Given the recent Pecharunt Epilogue DLC, we think Pokemon is heading in the right direction.

What kind of events would you have liked to see for Diancie, Hoopa, Volcanion, Magearna, Zeraora, Marshadow, and Zarude? Do you have any ideas for them that you think are better than ours? If so, feel free to let us know in the comments below.