'M and MissingNO. The originals. Before ?????, ?, ??????????, X-x, or bad eggs, this mischevious Glitch Pokémon was a center of attention back in the days of Red and Blue versions, and continues to be one today. It was five, maybe six years since this Pokémon was found, and to this day, mystery still surrounds it. Dedicated Pokémon fans like myself have made it their goal to find out why this Pokémon exists, what it is, and what it can do. Its legacy has surpassed even that of Mew, which was once considered to be the most mysterious Pokémon. Who knows when the final answer to this mystery will be uncovered? Maybe during Year 2005. Maybe during Year 2015. Or maybe not at all.

Back then, all attention was on the elusive Mew, Pokémon 151. And it was on MissingNO. Later, during the Gold and Silver days, it was on Celebi. And it was still on MissingNO. Now, it is on Deoxys. And it is still on MissingNO. And probably during Generation Next, when the next 100 Pokémon will be uncovered, it will still be on MissingNO.

Never mind all that mystery stuff. Just what is MissingNO?

No one knows completely. Most Pokémon fans agree that it is a glitch and not a "real" part of the game. But if it is not a real part of the game, then why is it there? No one knows for sure, so we did what people do when they don't know for sure: We made theories:

1. MissingNO. was a template used to program all the Pokémon behavior and test it before developing the "real" Pokémon.

2. MissingNO. was a remnant of an attempt to remove Mew from the game.

3. MissingNO. was a cheat the developers used to progress through the game quicker.

These are three main theories. I can already disprove theory 2. For one, Mew was not removed. It was not even intended to appear as a wild Pokémon in the game anyway. The so-called "Mew glitch" which allows you to find a Mew demonstrates this.

As for theory three, it seems ridiculous that the developers would insert a cheat that would scramble your graphics and your data.

But we cannot decide firmly on theory one yet. We need more research into the topic.

So you don't know what it is. What does it do?

It is Bird/Normal type. Yes, you read that right. It is Bird type. Probably a typo or a remnant from an earlier beta version of the game (this supports theory one.) It has three attacks: Sky Attack, Water Gun, and Water Gun. That wasn't a typo. It has two Water Guns. That in itself is a paradox since Pokémon are forbidden by nature to have more than one copy of an attack. But then again, glitches defy nature almost all the time. It has a supernormal Attack stat but every other stat is subpar. This makes it not good for battling. If you raise it a level, it might evolve into a Kangaskhan. (Hey, maybe this was a baby Kangaskhan that was taken out of the game!) You can teach MissingNO. Fly, so when it evolves into Kangaskhan it can be a flying Kangaskhan. When you encounter it the sixth item in your bag gets duplicated to 128. Since the item numbers can naturally go no higher than 99, 128 is shown as glitchy blocks. Seeing MissingNO. or 'M will scramble your Hall of Fame data, with no known way to get it back.

Trainers' opinions on whether you should catch MissingNO. or 'M are varied. Some say that MissingNO. is safe to get, while 'M is dangerous. Others say that 'M is the safe one, and that MissingNO. is the dangerous one. Some say you should stay away from them both. While I have never experienced a game-wrecking experience with a MissingNO. or 'M, some say they have. Maybe the Glitch Pokémon have different effects on different games...

128 Master Balls!!!!!! How do I encounter it???

Well, there are two ways to encounter it:
1. Go to the old man in Viridian (the coffee addict). Watch him catch a Weedle, then fly to Cinnabar and surf on the eastern coast. MissingNO. and 'M will appear. The most common levels are 0 and 80, but other level MissingNOs may appear.

2. Sometimes you may only get 'Ms. If that is the case, you can trade with someone in Cinnabar (like the guy who gives you a Seel for a Ponyta). Then surf on the eastern coast. MissingNO. should be there at level 80.

Note: The research staff of PPRL is not responsible for whatever MissingNO or 'M does to your game. So if you corrupt your data, it's not our fault.

This article (C) 2004 Abwayax.

Copyright © by Pokemon Phenomenon Research Laboratories All Right Reserved.

Published on: 2004-11-24