Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon. Created from the DNA of Mew, this Pokémon is a dangerous combination of overwhelming power and a savage heart. The research efforts of a certain scientist ultimately resulted in this Pokémon. Its powers are dedicated to battling. Mewtwo was created by recombining Mew's genes. It's said to have the most savage heart among Pokémon.
Overview
The original Uber Pokémon and perennial superboss, Mewtwo has a long legacy of power. Base 154 Special Attack is insane with only a literal handful of Pokémon boasting higher natural Special Attack. Mewtwo makes excellent use of this as well, with coverage for just about every target one can name and able to push its power even further beyond with Calm Mind and Nasty Plot. Base 130 Speed is an incredible benchmark to have with few Pokémon able to safely outspeed Mewtwo. Mewtwo puts that speed to good use as well, having a phenomenal movepool with plenty of options such as Taunt, Knock Off, Future Sight, Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover giving it amazing flexibility to fit in what a team needs.
Mewtwo’s power continues to be eclipsed by its peers. While Base 110 HP and 90 defenses are well above average, they are outright frail for the Pokémon Mewtwo must contend with. Mewtwo’s base Psychic typing is lackluster as well, offensively having few relevant targets and lacking the resistances to account for its unimpressive defenses. Mewtwo’s poor defense is especially worrying given the ludicrous speed creep this generation. Koriadon, Miraidon, Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle and Chien Pao all naturally outspeed Mewtwo and threaten massive damage if not a OHKO. Mewtwo also contends with Deoxys Attack that exceeds Mewtwo in its strengths, though at least Mewtwo does not immediately die to every priority attack under the sun. Mewtwo prowess and versatility are still to be feared, though the passing generations make it fight that much harder for a niche.
Positives
Base 154 Special Attack is absurd, one of the highest in the game with no conditions tied to its power.
Base 130 Speed is incredible, getting the jump on many Pokémon including Arceus and Lugia, who are incredibly fast for such defensive Pokémon.
Mewtwo’s movepool is incredible, with a wide array of coverage, boosting options, and disruption giving it a move for almost every occasion.
Negatives
90 defense are frail in comparison to other legends, preventing Mewtwo from taking many hits.
Psychic typing is lackluster offensively and poor defensively, making it very difficult to get Mewtwo in safely.
Still outsped by some of the most popular Pokémon around, making it hard to get value out of Mewtwo.
Movesets
Genetic Life
-Psystrike
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Recover
Ability: Unnerve
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Mewtwo’s massive coverage is on full display here, breaking through defensive staples like Blissey, Eternatus, Necrozma Dusk Mane, and Arceus Dark with its wide coverage, and its high natural power heavily discourages more offensive switch ins. Psystrike is Mewtwo’s primary STAB, dealing massive damage to many neutral targets, while targeting physical defense, belying sponges like Blissey and Ho-oh from reliable tanking Mewtwo’s STAB as well as threaten Eternatus. Shadow Ball is the answer to many Psychic types that would otherwise switch into Mewtwo’s STAB, crucially Necrozma Dusk Mane, Solgaleo, and Skeledirge while slamming Giratina hard. Focus Blast answers the many Dark types in the tier, crucially Arceus-Dark, Ting-Lu and Kingambit, the former two often crucial to a team’s backbone while the latter is a terrifying win condition. Recover provides invaluable longevity for Mewtwo. While its Defenses are impressive, they are more than sufficient for the walls Mewtwo is called to cover, and having Recover means your opponent cannot rely on good pivoting or their wall’s longevity to outlast Mewtwo.
Tera Types:
Mewtwo isn’t completely reliant on Terastalization, its massive Special Attack and coverage often carrying through, generally preferring defensive types to help survive to land those attacks. However, this Mewtwo is incredibly reliant on Tera Fighting for bursting through Arceus Dark. The provided resistance to Dark attacks is also invaluable in countering Chien-Pao and Kingambit as well as improve Mewtwo’s Giratina matchup. Other Terastalization options include Fairy for a more reliable answer into Dark types while having the broad defensive profile of Fairy, but at the cost of being reliant on Terastalization for coverage, Fire if running Fire attacks to annihilate Solgaleo and Dusk Mane Necrozma while taking advantage of how common Sun is, and Tera Ghost for blanking Extreme Speed while boosting up Shadow Ball.
EVs and Items:
Standard sweeper array of max Special Attack and Speed investment to outspeed as many targets as possible. Considering Mewtwo’s main target for outspeeding is Arceus, some speed investment can feasibly be sacrificed. 176 Speed EVs is sufficient to outspeed Max Speed Arceus, but it does leave Mewtwo outsped by Zamazenta Crowned. To guarantee outrunning Zamazenta-Crowned, 240 Speed investment is needed with a positive nature. Dropping down to a neutral Speed nature is not recommended, as Mewtwo is no longer guaranteed to outspeed Arceus, one of its biggest niches as a wallbreaker. Life Orb is the crux of the set, offering both flexibility and power with its downside mitigated by Recover.
Partners:
Since Mewtwo’s job is to break down defensive cores, Pokémon that are stymied by such cores appreciated Mewtwo’s services. Kyogre and Chi Yu love Mewtwo for its breaking of Blissey and Eternatus, while Zacian loves Mewtwo dispatching Skeledirge and Steel types like Solgaleo and Magearna. Mewtwo also acts as an effective lure for Dark types, so other Psychic types like Necrozma Dawn Wings, Calyrex Ice Rider, and Hatterene love Mewtwo for eliminating them to enable their own sweeps.
Considering Mewtwo falling short against many popular threats, faster allies who can handle these threats are greatly appreciated. Scarf Miraidon and Koraidon, Scarf Spectrier, and Zacian are all excellent examples that can threaten out the faster threats that trouble Mewtwo. Sticky Web support from Ribombee is also amazing for Mewtwo getting the jump on its competition and threaten an even wider array of Pokémon.
Other Options:
Fire Blast is great for handling the many Steel types that try to handle Mewtwo, while hitting Sogaleo and Necrozma Dusk Mane harder than Shadow Ball.
Aura Sphere is an option if you really hate Focus Blast’s miss rate, but the power drop is significant, missing out on the OHKO against Arceus Dark.
Dark Pulse has near identical coverage to Shadow Ball, but you trade out being blocked by Normal Arceus to being resisted by Fairy and Fighting types like Magearna, Zacian, Arceus Fighting.
Ice Beam has absurdly wide coverage, and hits many Dragon types alongside Ting-Lu especially hard.
Knock Off has valuable utility and is rather rare among the legends Mewtwo contends with, while still doing appreciable damage thanks to Mewtwo’s viable Attack.
Giegue’s Scheme
-Nasty Plot
-Psystrike
-Fire Blast
-Focus Blast
Ability: Pressure
Item: Mind Plate
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Nasty Plot Mewtwo is both a vicious wallbreaker and game ending sweeper using Nasty Plot to bolster its absurd power to world shattering levels before attempting to break or sweep. Psystrike is the preferred STAB, for both its massive base power and its targeting of Defense subverting Sponges that would otherwise check Special sweepers. Fire Blast annihilates Necrozma Dusk Mane, Calyrex Ice Rider, Zacian Crowned, Magearna, and Solgaleo targets that otherwise tank Psystrike with ease. Focus Blast is again for opposing Dark and Tera Dark Pokémon such as Chien-Pao, Arceus Dark, Ting-Lu, while being Kingambit’s worst nightmare.
Tera Types:
Given Mewtwo’s already insane base power and coverage, offensive Teras are not strictly needed , though being able to OHKO Arceus Dark without setup and resisting Sucker Punches from Chien Pao makes Tera Fighting an invaluable consideration. Otherwise defensive Teras are preferred, given that as long as Mewtwo can survive, it can deal catastrophic damage in return. Tera Steel is ideal for this given its wide array of resistances, especially to Rayquaza’s and Arceus’ Extreme Speed, making it difficult to revenge KO Mewtwo.
EVs and Items:
Standard sweeper investment of max Special Attack and Speed for Mewtwo to outspeed as many targets as possible and get the most out of Nasty Plot. There is room for Flexibility with items. Mind Plate gives a flat bonus to Psystrike, Mewtwo’s main offensive move, allowing for more damage to everything that isn’t explicitly Dark. Leftovers is an odd choice on such an offensive Pokémon, but given Mewtwo is called to task against walls, the added longevity can be vital in Mewtwo outlasting its targets. Life Orb and Expert Belt return here as well, given extra power while maintaining the flexibility Mewtwo needs to threaten everything..
Partners:
Mewtwo’s issues with faster threats requires allies that can reliably handle them. Extreme Speed Arceus and Zacian Crowned are both excellent answers into these faster threats, with the former’s priority and the latters insane natural speed overwhelming many of Mewtwo’s checks. In turn, Mewtwo can break the Steel and Tera Steel types that give them trouble such as Necrozma Dusk Mane and opposing Zacian Crowned. Bulky offensive Pokémon such as Magearna, Arceus Fairy, and Solgaleo can also fill this niche. Sticky Web support from Ribombee is again excellent, allowing Mewtwo to exercise its full strength, even against offensive teams.
Other Options:
Taunt is ruinous to many walls and Arceus forms looking to outlast Mewtwo, forcing them to attack with their weak attacks and capable of forcing another switch and giving Mewtwo more time to setup.
Aura Sphere and Flamethrower are options over Focus Blast and Fire Blast that is far more reliable, but the drop in power is significant to miss on OHKOs even after Nasty Plot.
Grass Knot destroys several key threats in Kyogre, Ting-Lu and Groudon.
Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave can cripple would be checks switching in, but at the cost of coverage.
Shadow Ball destroys Skeledirge, that otherwise eats Nasty Plot boosted attacks and Psystrike quite well.
Doubles and VGC Options
Mewtwo’s history in Doubles has been rather sparse, with only a placement in Generation 4 using a surprise Trick Room set and in Generation 6 in surprisingly enough its base form. It comes down to that despite Mewtwo’s power, it is largely a solo duelist. Yes, Mewtwo’s massive Special Attack and superb coverage ensures Mewtwo can pick up KOs with ease, but as a restricted Pokémon it is far from unique in that role, with only a niche in stopping berries from being used with Unnerve. Compare this to legends with similar killing power that impact the battlefield like Kyogre, Miraidon and Koraidon, or with actual staying power like Groudon, and Zacian Crowned and Mewtwo starts feeling like a waste of a restricted slot. Especially distressing is the existence of Calyrex-Shadow Rider, whose superior Special Attack and Speed alongside an invaluable Ghost typing in stopping Fake Out and providing an extremely spammable STAB leaves little reason to use Mewtwo. The fact that Calyrex-Shadow Rider also gets Unnerve is just salt in the wound. The speed creep of this generation also hits Mewtwo hard, leaving even less reason to use it.
The Thing
-Blizzard
-Psystrike
-Aura Sphere
-Shadow Ball
Ability: Unnerve
Item: Assault Vest
Tera Type: Ice
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
This Mewtwo set aims to carve out a niche as a member of a Snow team, giving Mewtwo a spread move, while being something Calyrex Shadow Rider cannot directly replicate. Blizzard is brutal under Snow, even non STAB Blizzards doing horrific damage off of Mewtwo's massive Special Attack, invaluable in a format that is going to be teeming with Dragons, the Genies and Grass types like Rillaboom, Ogerpon and Amoonguss. Psystrike is Mewtwo's preferred STAB for its massive power and subverting the use of Assault Vest to stymie Mewtwo by targeting Defense. Aura Sphere gives Mewtwo a direct answer to Incineroar that otherwise absorbs Blizzard and Psystrike quite comfortably as well as Tera Steel types that resist both Blizzard and Psystrike and directly threatens Dark types like Chien-Pao. Shadow Ball provides coverage into opposing Psychic and Ghost types like Flutter Mane, Calyrex-Ice Rider, and Lunala.
Assault Vest is given as the item so that Mewtwo sticks around as long as possible despite its comparative frailty, with everything else going into offense. Tera Ice is preferred, given Mewtwo's blistering Speed helping offset Ice's many weaknesses, the Defense buff from Snow further addressing Mewtwo's frailty and turning Blizzard into a true weapon of mass destruction.
Other Options & Partners:
Flamethrower covers exactly Zacian Crowned over Aura Sphere, while still hitting Calyrex Ice Rider for severe damage, but is otherwise largely redundant with Aura Sphere and Blizzard.
Icy Wind is Speed control and can get a boost from Ice Tera, but can be hard to fit in with all the other coverage.
Dark Pulse is worth mention given the expected popularity of Indeedee and Farigarif who are Psychic types that are immune to Shadow Ball, and whose support is extremely potent if left unattended.
As this Mewtwo set excels in the Snow, Alolan Ninetales is a must for this set. Its Snow enables everything and the added defense from Aurora Veil is invaluable in keeping Mewtwo alive to wreak havoc. Tornadus also deserves mention as the only Prankster Snowscape user available, which is important given the number of Weather setters that can disrupt Alolan Ninetales' Snow in restricted formats, and the access to Tailwind to address Mewtwo's speed issues is greatly appreciated as well.
Kyurem Black and Calyrex Ice Rider are other Ice type restricted Pokémon that greatly appreciate the Snow. Kyurem Black fits better with Mewtwo's fast offensive playstyle and loves Tailwind support as well, while Calyrex Ice Rider gives the team some insurance against Trick Room strategies.
Weirdmageddon
-Expanding Force
-Aura Sphere
-Protect
-Taunt
Ability: Unnerve
Item: Twisted Spoon
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
This Mewtwo set emulates the current PsySpam strategies popular with Iron Crown, taking advantage of Psychic Terrain to launch world shattering Expanding Forces to lay waste to opposing teams. Aura Sphere is vital given the archetype’s weakness to Dark types, blasting Kingambit, Chien Pao, and Urshifu-Single Strike hard. Protect remains invaluable in Doubles for its ability to stall opposing field conditions, scout for switches and Terastalizations, blank Fake Out and more. As one of the fastest Taunt users around, and having the bulk and space to justify it, Mewtwo can be key in shutting down opposing setup, redirection and Protect while not being blanked by the Psychic Terrain it relies on unlike Prankster users.
EVs are again to maximize offense and Speed, doing as much damage as quickly as possible to break the opposing team before they can mount a comeback. Tera Fighting is to help resist opposing Dark attacks and boost Aura Sphere to all but guarantee a KO on Urshifu-Single Strike and do massive damage to Incineroar, though Mewtwo should not be the primary Tera Target for this team and its base bulk is just good enough to survive a Sucker Punch from Urshifu Single or a Knock Off from Incineroar.
Other Options & Partners:
Indeedee is a must for its ability to instantly setup Psychic Terrain, which not only fuels Expanding Force and Psystrike, but provides protection against priority, a noticeable headache for Mewtwo. Indeedee’s support is top notch as well, providing invaluable redirection with Follow Me and even a damage boost with Helping Hand. With Miraidon available, teams do have more options for disrupting Psychic Terrain outside of Rillaboom, though Indeedee’s slow speed does mean her Terrain “wins” if both come out at the same time.
Calyrex Shadow Rider is another brutal abuser of Expanding Force, able to escalate quickly thanks to As-One, but its severe Dark and Ghost weaknesses coupled with gaps in coverage make it very Tera hungry, so Mewtwo being able to function without Terastalization is needed.
Psychic Seed is worth considering giving an important Special Defense boost to Mewtwo to survive attacks like Kyogre’s Water Spout and Miraidon’s Draco Meteor, while also reducing the damage it takes from Knock Off.
Choice Scarf handily remedies Mewtwo’s speed issues and enabling it to apply immense offensive pressure though it is easier to play around.
Psystrike is a strong consideration, not only as a single target Psychic STAB, but for being able to hit Defense instead of Special Defense, enabling Mewtwo to grab invaluable OHKOs in Psychic Terrain on targets like Kyogre and Ho-oh, whose massive Special Defense means they can tank Expanding Force with ease.
Mewtwo is one of the rare Pokémon that gets Mist, protecting one’s team from Intimidate, Snarl and Parting Shot drops, but there is no way to extend it and if Incineroar comes in on your physical attacker while setting this up, the figurative damage is already done.
Countering Mewtwo
As expected for a Pokémon of Mewtwo’s power, safe switch ins once it hits the field are few and far in between, with plenty of tools that can ruin what would otherwise be an effective counter.
Psychic resistant Arceus forms, namely Dark and Steel tend to fare best against Mewtwo, able to stomach most attacks, and threaten back with Foul Play, or a grind game with Calm Mind and Recover. However, neither likes Focus Blast and even Specs Flamethrower does horrific damage to Arceus Steel. Defensive Arceus forms in general struggle against Mewtwo if it is running Taunt, shutting down the Calm Mind, Dragon Dance and Recover Arceus likes using to deal with Mewtwo.
Necrozma Dusk Mane (and by extension Solgaleo) dislikes Flamethrower, Fire Blast and Shadow Ball, but offensive sets easily threaten a chipped Mewtwo. Taunt is also a problem as is Will-O-Wisp gutting Necrozma Dusk Mane’s power for the rest of the match.
If not running Shadow Ball or Taunt, Skeledirge can tank Nasty Plot sets and setup or force out Mewtwo with its own STABs.
Offensively checking Mewtwo is a much simpler task given its unimpressive defenses and lack of resistances. Mewtwo routinely struggles against faster foes that can take it out before it can do anything. Zacian Crowned, Miraidon, Koraidon, Chien-Pao, Flutter Mane, and Deoxys all threaten massive damage if not One Hit KOs on Mewtwo, while Iron Bundle easily threatens severe damage. Scarf Chi-Yu and Scarf Kyurem-White also fulfill this role quite succinctly.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Cerulean Cave
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Trade from Red/Green/Blue/Yellow
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Cerulean Cave
Colosseum/XD:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Trade from HeartGold/SoulSilver)
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Cerulean Cave
Black/White:
Transfer from Generation IV
Black 2/White 2:
Transfer from Generation IV
X/Y:
Unknown Dungeon in Pokémon Village
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Ultra Space Wilds
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Cerulean Cave
Sword/Shield:
Dynamax Adventures
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Ramanas Park
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Transfer through Pokémon HOME / Events
Anime Appearences
