OverviewMewtwo, the original Uber. Sporting immense Special Attack, an elite Speed stat, reasonable bulk, superb coverage, and a movepool chock full of auxiliary moves, Mewtwo is one of the dominating forces in the Uber tier. This generation, Mewtwo gained a powerful new STAB move in Psystrike, hitting many Ubers on their weaker defensive stat and sweeping right through its old nemeses, Chansey and Blissey. Mewtwo's combination of power and coverage is so strong that many teams are forced to revenge kill it. If prodigious special sweeping power isn't what you're looking for, Mewtwo can also put its bulk and support options to work with a defensive set. Its weak typing and lack of resistances bite, but its ability to spread burns, put up screens, and pack a very fast Taunt still makes Mewtwo a difficult wall to break. Fear Mewtwo, for it is one of the best Pokemon in the game, and arguably the best special sweeper.
"Simple" may be the first adjective to come to mind when discussing this set, but "strong" isn't too far behind. Once Mewtwo finds an opportunity to sneak in a Calm Mind, its massive Special Attack, Speed, and coverage will do the rest. Unless the opponent has one of the very few checks to Mewtwo, he or she will probably lose at least one Pokemon. The chosen moves give Mewtwo the best coverage in general. Psystrike works as a generic STAB move and is Mewtwo's best attack against Chansey, Blissey, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh; however its main draw is that it essentially allows Mewtwo to work as a mixed sweeper, since it calculates damage based on their Defense stat, while still working off Mewtwo's superior Special Attack. Ice Beam hits Lugia and the Giratina formes hard, while Fire Blast and Aura Sphere both thrash Steel-types who resist Psychic and Ice. The choice between Fire Blast and Aura Sphere depends on the threats you need to cover. Fire Blast will put the hurt on Jirachi, Bronzong, and Metagross while Aura Sphere dents Dialga, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Dark Arceus. It is worth noting however that Fire Blast is boosted by sun and weakened by rain. Depending on what weather you expect to battle in, you might want to emphasize or forgo Fire Blast. Finally, should coverage be your primary concern, you can use all four attacks without Calm Mind. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
So similar to the Psycho Killer, yet also subtly different, this set trades off immediate power for the ability to set up on more Pokemon. Mewtwo can take its pick of coverage moves, set up moves and recovery. With 204 HP EVs, Mewtwo reaches 404 HP, which is enough to fend off Night Shade and Seismic Toss with Substitute. It can then proceed to Calm Mind, or simply wait for a critical hit, freeze, or burn. Mewtwo's Substitutes are also strong enough to withstand weaker attacks, and Pokemon such as Dialga are unable to break Mewtwo's Substitutes after a harsh Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor or Overheat. Substitute also lets Mewtwo scout its counters, dodge status moves and Leech Seed, and defend itself from revenge killing. Even unboosted, Mewtwo's attacks are strong, so Recover can be used with Substitute for extra resilience. The choice of coverage moves is up to you, but each option leaves its own weaknesses, especially if you choose to use only two attacks. Just be careful to have an answer to every Pokemon you cannot beat on your team. Once again, losing to Shaymin-S, Darkrai, and Arceus carries serious consequences, so Mewtwo must run maximum Speed with a Timid nature. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
It might surprise some that Mewtwo can run an effective defensive set. After all, its bulk is nowhere near that of Giratina's or Lugia's, and its defensive typing gives it few usable resistances. However, access to Taunt, Light Screen, and Will-O-Wisp allow Mewtwo both to stall and break stall through using its moves alone. Taunt, coupled with Mewtwo's high Speed stat, stops Arceus and all slower Pokemon from setting up on Mewtwo. Not only does this mean that threats like Dialga cannot set up freely before breaking through, but it also stops them from inflicting status on Mewtwo or setting up Substitute to dodge Mewtwo's own status. Recover is obvious for prolonging Mewtwo's longevity, while the choice of status is up to you. Will-O-Wisp is usually preferable because it cushions Mewtwo's weaker defensive stat, but Toxic will kill targets faster. In the last slot, Light Screen takes up where Will-O-Wisp leaves off, beefing up Mewtwo's ability to take special attacks, while Psystrike gives Mewtwo an attacking option if necessary. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>Other OptionsMewtwo's wide movepool easily gives it many other options. A Dual Screen set is among the most noteworthy of these, using Mewtwo's very fast Taunt as well as access to Selfdestruct to distinguish itself from the other Dual Screeners. Specifically, Taunt disables Substitute and sleep-inducing moves such as Dark Void, while Selfdestruct allows Mewtwo to bring in a sweeper or Baton Pass user safely. Mewtwo can also use a Choice item, but it will often want to switch moves. It's worth noting however that Choice Scarf Mewtwo will outspeed Deoxys-S and all the unboosted metagame with it. Mewtwo can use Barrier and Amnesia to boost its defensive stats before attempting a sweep. However, it must give up a fair bit of coverage to do this. Finally, Mewtwo can use a Bulk Up set, but its special movepool and Special Attack are both superior to their physical counterparts. Checks and CountersVery few Pokemon can claim to safely wall Mewtwo. The closest thing to a counter is specially defensive Dark Arceus, who can survive Mewtwo's Aura Sphere and KO back with Payback. The damage it takes is still severe though, so it must be carefully conserved for this purpose. Psychic Arceus is a reasonably safe choice, but sun-boosted Fire Blast will leave a mark, and if Mewtwo has Shadow Ball then Psychic Arceus will lose. Specially defensive Giratina is capable of taking a boosted Ice Beam, but can do nothing in return except phaze Mewtwo. If it is raining, Jirachi, Bronzong and Metagross all do a fine job of handling Mewtwo. Jirachi in particular can even use U-turn as Mewtwo switches out to buy its team momentum. In neutral weather, walling Mewtwo depends on which moves Mewtwo has. If Mewtwo does not have Psystrike, Ho-Oh (if it avoids Stealth Rock), Kyogre, Chansey, and Blissey can handle Mewtwo. Without Ice Beam, Lugia and both Giratina formes do a fine job, although sun-boosted Fire Blast will severely damage Lugia. Without Aura Sphere, Heatran, Tyranitar, and Dialga can take a hit and strike back. Finally, without Fire Blast, Jirachi, Psychic Arceus, defensive Ghost Arceus, Bronzong, and Metagross give Mewtwo a hard time. In the worst case scenario, a faster Pokemon can revenge kill Mewtwo. Choice Scarf Kyogre is powerful enough to KO Mewtwo even after it has used Calm Mind, while physical Choice Scarf users such as Zekrom and Victini can punch through Mewtwo's unboosted Defense stat. Choice Scarf Hydreigon is immune to Psystrike and can threaten Dark Pulse should Mewtwo stay in, or U-turn should it switch out. Finally, Normal Arceus and Giratina-O can hit Mewtwo hard with priority. Although neither can OHKO, both are capable of surviving an unboosted hit to attack twice. Choice Band Scizor can also revenge kill a weakened Mewtwo, but cannot survive Fire Blast. UnreleasedUnnerve is not a powerful offensive ability, but it's still more useful than Pressure. Offensive Mewtwo should use it if it's ever released, bypassing random threats such as Wacan Berry Manaphy, Chople Berry Tyranitar, and Yache Berry Garchomp. It also prevents Mewtwo from getting revenge killed by Custap Berry Wobbuffet. Defensive Mewtwo on the other hand is still better off with Pressure. Not only are Psychic resist Berries essentially non-existent, StallTwo does not need to OHKO its foes, and disintegrating the PP of moves such as ExtremeSpeed and Sacred Fire with Pressure is more useful. |
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