"Missingno.", presumably for "missing number", is not so much a Pokemon as the result of a programming oversight in the Game Boy Pokemon games RED and BLUE. Missingno is best known as the Pokemon responsible for:
  1. Screwing up your Pokemon cartridge if you capture it;
  2. Allowing the (in)famous "Rare Candy Cheat";
  3. Crashing your Hall of Fame data.

Missingno. was a deliberate glitch added by the programmers of the game to aid them in testing. It allowed them to progress quickly by giving them access to many items straight away. It would appear that the beta version of the game had land paths to Cinnabar Island which were removed. The Box Trick would appear to be for the same reason. Missingno's picture is either a mass of pixels in a backwards 'L' shape, (similar to a Tetris block) or a ghost from Lavender Tower before recieving SLIPH SCOPE.

There is also a Pokemon similar to Missingno. with a glitched name consisting of block shapes and the letter 'M'.

So what's the mystique? Basically, Missingno. has acquired so much notoriety due to his presence in many of the Pokemon myths, especially involving Mew, the much-vaunted and non-present #151. While the myths aren't true, Mew's popularity ensures that Missingno. will always have a place in Pokemon culture.

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