PKMN.NET :: Pokemon of the Week #39 - Mewtwo :: #40 of Pokémon of the Week - Generation 6 :: Columns
Pokemon of the Week #39 - Mewtwo by Richard and Blaziken at Sun 26 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC

Welcome to the thirty-ninth issue of 6th Generation's Pokemon of the Week! This week, to celebrate the latest Smash Bros. announcement we're going to Uber town with the original most powerful Pokemon in existence. This week we discuss Mewtwo.

Pokemon Overview

Mewtwo was created after years of horric gene-splicing and DNA-engineering experiments, using Mew's genes. It has the most savage heart of any Pokemon, able to mercilessly kill without feeling anything.

Competitive Corner

Base Stats: 106 HP / 110 Attack / 90 Defense / 154 Sp. Attack / 90 Sp. Defense / 130 Speed
Mewtwo X: 106 HP / 190 Attack / 100 Defense / 154 Sp. Attack / 100 Sp. Defense / 130 Speed
Mewtwo Y: 106 HP / 150 Attack / 70 Defense / 194 Sp. Attack / 120 Sp. Defense / 140 Speed

Mewtwo was the undoubted king of Pokemon for two generations in a row, before receiving competition from Deoxys. While later entries would continue to introduce more legendaries to challenge his spot, there has never been anything in Pokemon quite as frightening as Generation 1's Amnesia Mewtwo. Doubling both Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense every time he used it, Mewtwo only needed to use this once or twice if he wanted to go overkill and then spam Blizzard and Thunderbolt to wipe out everything you had, with optional choices of Psychic for even more overkill or Recover/Rest to heal himself. Truely, this spot has gone unchallenged, as not even Geomancy Xerneas can repeatedly use its stat-boosting move.

While newer threats were introduced to make Mewtwo not as good as it once was, Mewtwo has awoken again this generation with two new powers, making it even stronger than it ever has been. With his new Mega Evolutions, Mewtwo is capable of doing anything you need it to. Sweeper? Got it covered. Stallbreaker? Done. Bulky status inducer? Mewtwo's your boy. Honestly, until you know what Mewtwo is going to do, it's one of the most terrifying positions to be in. You'd better guess right and hope you have a counter to that specific set.

Since there aren't any sets that Mewtwo could run that Mewtwo Y couldn't also run effectively, I won't be dividing this into sections.

Blinded Me With Science!
Mewtwo@ Life Orb / Mewtwonite Y
Pressure [Insomnia]
Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack)
EVs: 252 Sp. Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Defense
Psystrike
Calm Mind / Taunt
Fire Blast / Focus Blast
Focus Blast / Ice Beam / Shadow Ball

Mewtwo is a very powerful special attacker, whether you run Life Orb or Mewtwonite Y. Psystrike is his signature move, gaining STAB and hitting for physical damage off his Sp. Attack stat. The second slot either allows you to boost Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense one stage with Calm Mind, or Taunt to stop status effects, healing, etc. Both have merit, so the choice is down to preference. The third slot provides a way to deal with Steel types, though which ones you're after will determine your move here. Fire Blast deals heavy damage to nearly any Steel type, and will make short work of any Scizor, while dealing good damage to Aegislash and Ferrothorn, especially with sunlight support from Groudon. Focus Blast, however, is not effected by weather, so it'll work well even in Rain, and it also provides coverage against Dark types, something Mewtwo appreciates.

The final slot is your final coverage option. You can choose to run both Fire Blast and Focus Blast in tandem to be able to choose whichever is more appropriate for the situation. Ice Beam has very good coverage in Ubers, and allows you to remove Rayquaza, while dealing good damage to Giratina, Latios, and Yveltal. Finally, Shadow Ball is helpful for dealing with opposing Psychic types and Ghost types. If you're running Ice Beam, Fire Blast is the best option for the third slot, wile Focus Blast pairs better with Shadow Ball, for coverage reasons.

Mewtwo has access to tons of moves not listed here that can be slashed in if your team needs it. Grass Knot deals heavy damage to both Kyogre and Groudon. Low Kick can be used with a Hasty nature as a more reliable Fighting attack that deals more damage to Blissey and Tyranitar on average. Aura Sphere isn't mentioned because 80 base power is just too low to consider most of the time. It's usable if you choose Calm Mind in the second slot, but even then you need 2 boosts to not miss the power that Focus Blast provides most of the time.

Do You Even Telekenesis?
Mewtwo@ Mewtwonite X
Pressure [Steadfast]
Jolly nature (+Speed, -Sp. Attack)
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Defense
Bulk Up
Drain Punch / Low Kick
Rock Slide / Zen Headbutt
Rock Slide / Taunt

Mega Mewtwo X is a formidable user of Bulk Up, slowly building his Attack and Defense stats to frightening levels, while using his newly-STABed Drain Punch to heal off the damage. Low Kick can be used over Drain Punch, but this leaves it vulnerable to lighter Pokemon as well as not providing healing, which isn't ideal. Rock Slide is the main option for the third slot, since it allows Mewtwo to not be walled by Lugia, as well as deal massive damage to Ho-oh. Zen Headbutt can be used here, however, acting as a powerful secondary STAB attack, though the coverage isn't wonderful in Ubers. The last slot is once again a decision between Rock Slide and Taunt. Taunt stops Mewtwo from being statused and prevents the opponent from healing, both of which are very helpful for continuing Mewtwo's sweep.

Seeing Mewtwo often causes a switch, and the surprise factor of having Mega Mewtwo X with a Bulk Up set can often buy you time for 1-2 Bulk Ups while the opponent scrambles to bring something in that can deal with this version of Mewtwo. You should keep the opponent's team in mind before attempting a sweep, however, and remove Mewtwo's checks and counters with your other Pokemon. Dark types like Darkrai, Yveltal, Tyranitar or Arceus-Dark make good partners for removing Ghost types like Giratina that give Mewtwo trouble, and each have their own pros and cons, so consider them carefully before choosing. Steel types are necessary partners as well, since Fairy types can come in and prey on Mewtwo. Aegislash, Scizor, Jirachi and Bronzong are all decent choices for handling Fairy types.

Low Sweeper
Mewtwo@ Mewtwonite X
Pressure [Steadfast]
Jolly nature (+Speed, -Sp. Attack} / Naive nature (+Speed, -Sp. Defense)
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Defense
Low Kick
Taunt
Zen Headbutt / Earthquake
Stone Edge / Ice Beam

Set name would work so much better if he used Low Sweep. Anyway. Mewtwo X can forego the boosting to run an all-out offensive set. Low Kick becomes your main option on this set as dealing the most damage right away takes priority over healing what would be a small amount of HP without the Attack boosting capabilities of the last set. Taunt in the second slot stops Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and any attempts at healing or using anything that isn't a damaging move, and completely cripples most defensive Pokemon. Zen Headbutt provides a poweful secondary STAB, but Earthquake can be used to 2HKO Aegislash and OHKO Klefki. Stone Edge in the last slot can deal with Ho-oh as well as dealing heavy damage to Lugia and other Flying types. Ice Beam on a Naive nature remains an option to remove Rayquaza, Landorus-Therian, and Shaymin-Sky, as well as many other threats.

An alternate EV spread of 200 HP / 56 Attack / 252 Speed can be used to survive a +2 Extremespeed from Normal Arceus after Stealth Rock damage, and OHKO back with a Low Kick, though the overall drop in power is noticeable.

Mewtroll
Mewtwo@ Leftovers / Mewtwonite Y
Unnerve [Insomnia]
Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack)
Mewtwo: 252 HP / 252 Speed / 4 Defense
Mewtwo Y: 252 HP / 66 Defense / 192 Speed
Taunt
Will-O-Wisp
Recover
Psystrike

Mewtwo is an extremely capable stall Pokemon, and it's often overlooked for sweeper sets just because it's Mewtwo, but really shouldn't be. Taunt stops opposing defensive Pokemon from doing their thing, while Will-O-Wisp Burns the opponent, halving their Attack stat and chipping 12% of their health per turn. Recover keeps Mewtwo alive by restoring 50% of his health. Finally, Psystrike allows him to deal some damage if necessary, while also allowing him to OHKO Mega Gengar, a significant threat.

The EVs are different depending on the item you hold. If you're staying normal Mewtwo, I recommend max HP and max Speed to at worst, tie with other max Speed Mega Gengar while having good overall bulk. If you're running Mega Mewtwo, only 192 Speed EVs are recommended to allow you to outspeed neutral-natured Deoxys-Attack, with the rest dumped into bulk.

The main goal of this set is to spread Burns around the opposing team. While this Mewtwo is bulky, it cannot withstand any attack - Kyogre's Water Spout, for example, will OHKO, so be sure to memorize what it can and cannot handle, or keep that damage calculator handy. Taunt should be abused often, as Mewtwo can heal off damage it may incur while using it, and it's more important to not be hit with Toxic than it is to Burn the opponent.

In-Game Information

Mewtwo can be found post-game in a cave in Pokemon Village at level 70. Since you'll have finished the game by this point, there's not much reason to be using one in-game, but if you desire to do so, here's what I'd suggest:

Mewtwo

Psystrike
Aura Sphere
Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Fire Blast / Thunderbolt / Recover
Shadow Ball / Fire Blast / Thunderbolt / Recover

Mewtwo has way too many options. Anyway, Psystrike is your main STAB attack and signature move, while Aura Sphere deals with Steel types and Dark types. From there, pick what you want to cover. Ice Beam provides the best overall coverage, Shadow Ball provides perfect neutral coverage alongside your first two moves, Fire Blast hits some Steel types harder than Aura Sphere, Thunderbolt is a good move in general, and Recover helps you cut down on Hyper Potions. Whatever floats your boat.

My Thoughts

Mewtwo... is cool. Who doesn't love Mewtwo? He's become such an important character in the franchise and provided an awesome villain for the first movie that I'm sure none of us have ever forgotten. You can really feel for him too, becoming a cold, unfeeling Pokemon after enduring many experiments. He was created, and resents his creators for making his life a science project. So he burns them all in a fiery explosion. Can't really disagree with that, or else you might be his next victim.

I definitely didn't cry at all in the theater when Ash got turned to stone and Pikachu was trying to revive him with Thundershocks. Not... not at all... excuse me.

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