Mew was secretly put in the game by one of the lead programmers , Shigeki Morimoto . Unlike other characters in the PokÃ mon franchise , Mew 's development was not overseen by Ken Sugimori , but by Game Freak programmer Shigeki Morimoto . Morimoto programmed Mew into the game secretly , as a prank amongst the staff just prior to its release in Japan , intending it to be a PokÃ mon only Game Freak staff members would know about and be able to obtain .