| Mythical | Gen | Type | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mew | Gen 1 | Psychic | Mystery Gift events; Pokéball Plus DLC for LGPE |
| Celebi | Gen 2 | Psychic/Grass | Distributed via Mystery Gift; HGSS gift from prof if you've cleared certain conditions |
| Jirachi | Gen 3 | Steel/Psychic | Pokémon Channel bonus disc (Gen 3); ORAS Pokémon Bank gift |
| Deoxys | Gen 3 | Psychic | Event-only; multiple formes (Normal, Attack, Defense, Speed) |
| Phione | Gen 4 | Water | Bred from Manaphy with Ditto. The only mythical that breeds. |
| Manaphy | Gen 4 | Water | Pokémon Ranger transfer; eggs in BDSP |
| Darkrai | Gen 4 | Dark | Member's Card event; SwSh DLC event distribution |
| Shaymin | Gen 4 | Grass / Grass-Flying (Sky) | Oak's Letter event; Shaymin can change form with Gracidea |
| Arceus | Gen 4 | Normal (changeable with Plate) | Azure Flute event; Legends: Arceus story reward |
| Victini | Gen 5 | Psychic/Fire | Liberty Pass event in B/W; Mystery Gift transfers |
| Keldeo | Gen 5 | Water/Fighting | Movie event distribution; transferable via HOME |
| Meloetta | Gen 5 | Normal/Psychic / Normal/Fighting (Pirouette) | Movie event; learning Relic Song changes form |
| Genesect | Gen 5 | Bug/Steel | Pokémon Bank distribution; Drive items change tech. |
| Diancie | Gen 6 | Rock/Fairy | Movie event in XY/ORAS; Pokémon HOME promotions |
| Hoopa | Gen 6 | Psychic/Ghost (Confined) / Psychic/Dark (Unbound) | Movie event; Prison Bottle changes form |
| Volcanion | Gen 6 | Fire/Water | Movie event in ORAS / SuMo |
| Magearna | Gen 7 | Steel/Fairy | Soul Heart QR code in SuMo; HOME distribution |
| Marshadow | Gen 7 | Fighting/Ghost | Movie event in USUM |
| Zeraora | Gen 7 | Electric | Mystery Gift event in USUM; SwSh raids |
| Meltan / Melmetal | Gen 7 | Steel | Pokémon GO transfer via Mystery Box |
| Zarude | Gen 8 | Dark/Grass | Movie event in SwSh; Pokémon HOME bonus |
| Pecharunt | Gen 9 | Poison/Ghost | Indigo Disk DLC postgame story reward |
Mythical vs. legendary — the distinction
Mythicals share characteristics with legendaries (1-of-a-kind, can't breed except Phione, central to a movie or event story) but were never made obtainable through normal in-game play. Until Pokémon HOME made cross-game transfer easier, missing an event meant you might never legitimately own that mythical.
Competitively, mythicals are banned from almost every format including Smogon's AG, Ubers, and OU tiers (mythicals like Mew aren't banned but the rest essentially are), and from VGC outside of specific themed events.
How to fill your mythical Pokédex today
For players starting fresh: Pokémon HOME is your friend. Many mythicals have been re-distributed as HOME promotions or via Mystery Gift in modern games (Magearna's QR code is still usable, Mew can be unlocked with a Pokéball Plus, etc.). The most-recently-released mythicals (Zarude, Pecharunt) are accessible via DLC content rather than time-limited events.