Mew

The EVs on this set give you the most bulk possible in Mew’s Special Defense stat, while also giving it a healthy amount of Speed. After a Rock Polish, Mew will even outrun a +Speed Deoxys-S with max Speed EVs, making Mew a speedy threat and giving it the ability to boost its stats or Taunt quickly. Lum Berry is also helpful, as it prevents Mew from being paralyzed or put to sleep, which would end its chances of passing boosts. You can then Taunt your enemy to prevent him or her from trying to status you again. If you wish to make Mew faster, give it a Timid nature instead, and change its EVs to 252 HP / 36 SpD / 220 Spe. This allows you to hit 320 Speed without a Rock Polish boost, which outspeeds neutral natured Latias, Latios, and Lugia, as well as max Speed Rayquaza. After a Rock Polish, you can outspeed Choice Scarf Darkrai and Taunt it to prevent it from using Dark Void. Leftovers is another possibility over Lum Berry, but it is generally not recommended. The recovery granted by Leftovers is helpful, but not nearly as helpful as recovery from status. If you go with Leftovers, you will need to predict every status move and use Taunt, or else Mew will fail to pass its boosts well.

Baton Pass Mew is not a Pokémon who you can just tack onto your Ubers team. It requires a team to be built around it, forming a very deadly Baton Pass team, with all of its teammates playing a very strategic role.

A dual screen supporter is very appreciated to have on Mew’s side. Reflect and Light Screen bolster Mew’s defenses, and allow it to take more hits before Baton Passing out, meaning it can give the recipient more boosts, making a sweep much easier. A dual screener should obviously be able to set up both screens, which requires bulk, and must also provide the means to get Mew in with little to no harm. The most prominent dual screeners in Ubers are Mewtwo, Latios, Latias, Uxie, and Bronzong, each of whom has its advantages and disadvantages. Mewtwo is a very solid option, as it fulfills many of the above requirements, and is usually your best choice, unless it is your Baton Pass recipient. Mewtwo can Taunt any attempts to Taunt it, as its high base 130 Speed is one of the fastest in the tier. Furthermore, it is quite bulky, and after it sets up the screens, it can Selfdestruct which simultaneously damages your opponent and provides Mew a free switch in. Bronzong can work similarly, with Explosion over Selfdestruct and Hypnosis over Taunt, and is bulkier, but at the cost of it being quite slow, and therefore easy to Taunt, which completely halts your strategy. Both Latias and Latios also have access to Reflect and Light Screen, and both have their pros and cons. Latias is bulkier, and therefore can last longer to set up the screens, and also has Wish to heal Mew when it comes in. Latios is somewhat frailer, but it can use Memento, which lowers your opponent’s Attack and Special Attack by two stages, making Mew come in almost unscathed. Both Latias and Latios however, are weak to extremely common moves in Ubers, such as Ice-, Dragon-, Ghost-, and Dark-type moves. Uxie has the advantage of being quite bulky, giving it time to set up the screens, as well as having Memento to ease Mew in switching in. Although it may seem like Uxie is inferior to Latios, it is quite a bit bulkier than Latios and is also not weak to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, but at the cost of being slower, and therefore easier to Taunt. However, Uxie does have access to U-turn, making it able for it to U-turn out of Taunters and even Wobbuffet, which is another distinct advantage that it has.

In choosing an attacking Pokémon for Mew to pass boosts to, you must first decide whether you want to make it focus on physical or special attacks. There are many more choices for special attacking Ubers than physical attacking ones, making it easier for you to choose a Pokémon who tailors to exactly what you need. However, there is no central physical wall, unlike Blissey for special attacks, meaning physical Pokémon generally have a slightly easier time powering through a team. This Pokémon must also be able to have the ability to hit many, if not all, Ubers for at least neutral damage with 4 moves.

Should you choose to go for a physical recipient, Groudon is by and large the best choice. By using a moveset of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, and Fire Punch, Groudon can hit every Pokémon in Ubers for at least neutral damage. It has a massive base 150 Attack stat, as well as tremendous bulk on the physical side. After +2 to both its Attack and Speed, Groudon will plow through anything that is not immune to its STAB Earthquake, even the deadly Wobbuffet, and it can use the rest of its moves when your opponent sends out a Pokémon who is immune to it. Furthermore, Groudon is immune to Thunder Wave, making it far harder to cripple. The only Pokémon not OHKOed are heavily defensive, such as other Groudon or Giratina, and thus cannot do much back. It is suggested that you use a Lum Berry on Groudon so it is not burned by Giratina. Rayquaza is another possibility if you wish to eschew bulk for power. Rayquaza has a more powerful STAB Outrage at its disposal, along with mixed capabilities, allowing it to break physical walls more easily.

If you choose to use a special recipient, the best choices are Dialga, Mewtwo, Palkia, or Kyogre, the best of whom being Dialga. All of these Pokémon have high Special Attack and a varied movepool to hit many targets for a lot of damage. Dialga excels above the others, however, because of its larger bulk. Dialga with a moveset of Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Aura Sphere hits many targets both powerfully and reliably, especially since you will most likely not have weather support. Furthermore, it has a very handy resistance to ExtremeSpeed, which bypasses all your Speed boosts, and can end your sweep and you Baton Pass strategy. Lum Berry is still recommended, as Dialga is threatened by Thunder Wave, which will completely cripple it. Mewtwo, Palkia, and Kyogre are all still possibilities, but you must be extremely wary of ExtremeSpeed.

To complete your Baton Pass strategy, you should have a “cleaner”. A “cleaner” is a final sweeper who cleans up the remains of your opponent’s team, should your Baton Pass sweeper be killed. You can choose to make your “cleaner” use the same type of attacks (physical or special) or a different type of attacks, and there are pros and cons to each. By choosing another sweeper of the same specialty in attacking, you have another choice to Baton Pass off to, in case your primary sweeper cannot be used, for whatever reason. Also, in the event that Mew has sustained little damage, it can come back into play to possibly pull off a second Baton Pass. On the other hand, by using a “cleaner” who uses the other type of attacks, you can let it sweep, as its counters will be taken out by your main sweeper. For example, Groudon with boosts can easily take out Blissey, which can help out a final sweeping Dialga, should Groudon get KOed. A good choice for a physical “cleaner” is Rayquaza. Its huge base Attack stat allows it to deal a lot of damage even when its only boost is its own Swords Dance or Dragon Dance. Furthermore, it also has ExtremeSpeed to pick off weakened enemies. For a special “cleaner”, Mewtwo is a great choice. Its high Speed and Special Attack stats, along with Calm Mind, make it easy for Mewtwo to devastate a weakened team.

Wobbuffet can also be used with Mew, as Shadow Tag combined with Encore allow Mew to get into play easier. Furthermore, its Safeguard helps not only Mew, but also your Baton Pass recipient, continue its piece of the strategy even when faced with sleep or paralysis status, or after its Lum Berry has been used.

Due to the Uber metagame's diverse assortment of common leads, you must use a slightly different approach to dealing with each Pokemon who you may encounter at the beginning of the battle. There are four common leads who are slower than Mew: Kyogre, Groudon, Dialga, and Forretress. Since Kyogre does not learn Stealth Rock and does not OHKO Mew with an unboosted Surf (watch out for Choice Scarf Kyogre with Water Spout or a fast Choice Specs version), you are free to use Stealth Rock on the first turn and then Explode the next turn, giving you the early advantage. Against Groudon and Dialga, you should Taunt first to prevent Stealth Rock from going up against your side; you can then lay down rocks on their side before Exploding because neither Pokemon will usually 2HKO Mew (though the standard lead Dialga has a 44% chance of doing so if it has Draco Meteor, it would be left essentially helpless afterward, so you come out ahead either way). Lead Forretress will always carry Rapid Spin, which makes using Stealth Rock a pointless endeavor; however, Taunt will stop its own attempts to set up entry hazards, and you can then U-turn out to the sweeper of your choice.

Against the four fastest common Uber leads, Deoxys-A, Deoxys-S, Darkrai, and Shaymin-S, Mew will often find itself unable to use Stealth Rock without being KOed before it can do anything else. However, if you use the right moves under the right circumstances, you can gain the early momentum against all four of these Pokemon. Both Deoxys-A and Deoxys-S are usually holding Focus Sashes, making Explosion a waste to use; in addition, Deoxys-A can 2HKO Mew with either Shadow Ball or Signal Beam if it has 252 EVs in Special Attack, and Deoxys-S can Taunt Mew before proceeding to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes. When facing the former, it is usually best to U-turn right away if you do not know whether it will 2HKO you, but if it cannot then you should use Stealth Rock first; with the latter, you should use U-turn if you believe it will Taunt you, but if it decides to lay down entry hazards immediately then Taunt is the best option because it will be neutralized and you can use Stealth Rock as it switches out. Darkrai can be a pain, but since lead variants are usually Scarfed it can be dealt with as follows: Taunt if you predict a Dark Void (since Mew is protected from a first-turn sleep by its Lum Berry, this will result in Darkrai being forced to switch out as you use Stealth Rock), switch out to a resister if you predict Dark Pulse, and U-turn if you aren't sure. Lead Shaymin-S can 2HKO Mew the majority of the time with Seed Flare, but most will use the less risky option in Air Slash, which is only a 4HKO; therefore, unless you are afraid of being flinched multiple times, your best option is to stay in to use Stealth Rock before switching out to a bulky Pokémon who can tank its attacks.

The recommended item, nature, and EVs for this set are listed above; they give Lead Mew the combination of power and bulk that it needs to do its job. The main purpose of the Lum Berry is to prevent Mew from being put to sleep by Darkrai; however, it also protects against Thunder Wave, which is a common move on bulky leads in Ubers, as well as providing a safety net against random status ailments like freeze from Ice Beam. With 184 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature, Mew's Attack stat reaches 310, which allows it to OHKO the vast majority of the Pokemon in the Uber metagame. As an example of the usefulness of this heavy Attack investment, Explosion scores a clean OHKO on the standard "Boosting Tank" Kyogre. Additionally, Bold Lugia is always OHKOed if it switches into Stealth Rock, and Impish Groudon with 252 HP / 136 Def will take up to 84% damage, meaning it has a high chance of going down if it has taken some kind of prior damage. Even Pokemon who resist Explosion will lose over half their health, unless they have a heavy EV investment in Defense, which is unlikely given the Uber tier's general bias toward specially-based attacks. A final point of note is that the combination of Lead Mew's U-turn and Life Orb Scizor's Bullet Punch will KO max HP Deoxys-S on average, allowing you to take it out without letting it get any hazards up, if it decides to use Taunt.

There is an alternate nature and EV spread that can be used with Lead Mew: Jolly 252 HP / 36 Atk / 220 Spe. The Speed investment allows Mew to Explode on more Pokemon than it would be able to with the first spread, but at the cost of power and bulk. More specifically, Mew reaches a Speed stat of 319 with this spread, which allows it to act as a good check to both Lucario and non-Dragon Dance Rayquaza, as well as being able to outspeed and explode on all variants of Kyogre without Choice Scarf. Adamant Swords Dance Rayquaza's ExtremeSpeed does not OHKO Mew on average, even with Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes, so you can Explode on it and end the threat it poses. Lucario is OHKOed by Explosion after Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil, so Mew can tank a +2 ExtremeSpeed from it as well and sacrifice itself to save its teammates from being swept. While many of the offensive and defensive damage calculations discussed earlier no longer apply if you decide to use the alternate nature and EV spread, this version of Lead Mew can still take hits well and go out in style. 36 Attack EVs may not seem like much, but they ensure that Mew will always OHKO max HP Kyogre, which is the standard for lead variants, as well as anything with worse physical defenses. On the defensive side of things, Mew can switch into the standard Rock Polish Groudon as it boosts its Speed, survive a Life Orb Earthquake after Stealth Rock and Spikes damage, and OHKO with Explosion.

One of the great things about Lead Mew is that it can work on virtually any kind of balanced or offensive Ubers team. It generally does not require much support from its teammates because it is the one helping them out, but there are several Pokemon with whom it particularly enjoys being partnered. Scizor is perhaps the most important of these: it resists every type that Mew is weak to, making it a great switch-in to attacks such as Darkrai's Dark Pulse or Shaymin-S's Seed Flare; it can use its powerful Bullet Punch to finish off Deoxys-A and Deoxys-S once Mew breaks their Focus Sashes with U-turn; and it can help to capture the early-game momentum with its own U-turn. Forretress operates in much the same manner as Scizor, except from a more defensive perspective, because of its ability to Rapid Spin, there is less need to worry about how many layers of entry hazards Deoxys-S will get to set up, so winning mindgames is not as important when it comes to gaining the early advantage. As said before, virtually any Pokemon in the Uber metagame benefits from having Lead Mew as a teammate because of its incredible supporting capabilities; however, there is one Pokémon in particular who has great offensive synergy with Mew, and that is its diabolical clone Mewtwo. Since Mew and Mewtwo are both pure Psychic-types who make any Uber battler quake in terror because of their potential to wreak havoc on the unprepared, they tend to have nearly identical switch-ins on a given team. If Mew is able to Explode and severely damage (if it does not KO outright) one of these Pokemon, Scizor being a prime example, the chances of a late-game Mewtwo sweep are greatly increased. In this way, a well played Lead Mew can be the unsung hero that helps an Uber team to victory, even when its impact cannot be described in exact terms.

To use this set, simply switch into a threat who you would like to Transform into, provided Mew will not die quickly to it. Then use Trick to give it your Choice Scarf, or use Hypnosis if you choose to use Leftovers instead. Then, you can transform into the crippled Pokémon, or the Pokémon who switches in. Look out, however, for Pokémon who already have Choice items or are immune to Trick. This set is best reserved until late game. You should scout out your opponent’s team before transforming, in order to find out to which of their own Pokémon are they the most weak.

Mew’s advantage of unpredictability with this set also makes it very hard to suggest teammates to accompany Mew, as its purpose, stats, and typing will vary from game to game. Wobbuffet, however, will work any time Mew uses a Choice Scarf. Wobbuffet can trap the Pokémon who you Trick the Choice Scarf to, keeping it locked into the move it used last. Wobbuffet can easily pick that Pokémon off by using either Counter or Mirror Coat. It can also use Safeguard to allow another sweeper a turn to set up. Dual screen support is also greatly appreciated, so that Mew will not die while it is trying to use Transform. Both Bronzong and Mewtwo fulfill this role very well.

Watch out for Giratina-O, who is immune to Trick, and therefore can make Mew keep its Choice Scarf, which severely hinders its ability to make use of Transform. Tyranitar deals with Giratina-O very well, taking very little damage from Dragon Pulse, Shadow Ball, or Thunder. It can also even survive through Aura Spheres if its bulkier, thanks to the Special Defense boost from the sandstorm. Tyranitar can hammer Giratina-O with Crunch, should it stay in, or hit it with Pursuit, should it switch out. Furthermore, since Giratina-O is forced to hold Griseous Orb, and thus has no Leftovers recovery, Tyranitar’s sandstorm will continuously chip away at Giratina-O’s HP, further weakening it.

Since Mew could wind up as any common Pokémon in the Ubers metagame, it is best to have Pokémon who resist the common attacks, them being Ice-, Dragon-, Dark-, Ghost-, Ground-, and Water-type attacks. A combination of Scizor and Latias can resist all of these attacks quite easily; Scizor handles the Ghost-, Dark-, Dragon-, and Ice-type attacks, while Latias deals with the Water- and Ground-type moves. The biggest users of Dark-, Ice-, and Dragon-type moves are Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Garchomp/Rayquaza, respectively, all of whom Scizor can deal with. As long as the Sleep Clause is activated, Scizor can switch in on anything that Darkrai can use, barring a +2 Focus Blast, and kill it with either U-turn or, if its weakened, Bullet Punch. Mewtwo can also be dealt with by using U-turn, Bullet Punch, or Pursuit, as long as it doesn’t have a Fire-type move. Finally, Scizor can switch into any Dragon-type move from Garchomp or Rayquaza, provided it’s not too badly hurt, and pick them off with Bullet Punch or U-turn. Not only this, but, by using U-turn, you can scout your opponent's switch-in. If they send in a Pokémon who you want to Transform into, you can then send Mew in without have to worry about it taking damage while it switches in. On the other hand, the biggest users of Ground- and Water-type moves are Groudon and Kyogre, respectively, both of whom Latias deals with quite easily. Latias is the best Kyogre counter in the game, as it can switch into even Water Spout and Recover off the damage before Kyogre can attack again. It also has Grass Knot to weaken not only Kyogre, but also Groudon, after it switches in on any support move, Earthquake, or Fire Punch. Latias can also take the Fire-type moves aimed at Scizor.

U-turn is a fabulous move, especially when used on this Double Status set. After crippling one or two of your opponent’s Pokémon, use U-turn to scout out your opponent’s next switch-in. You can then send in an appropriate counter, or a different Pokémon who can set up on your opponent. U-turn also allows Mew to take the possible hit from your opponent, allowing your incoming Pokémon to come in safely, as well as dealing some quick damage against your opponent. Softboiled allows Mew to heal itself after taking a few hits, so it can come back in to keep crippling your opponent.

Thunder Wave has the potential to help out your teammates immensely. Many of the Pokémon in the Ubers metagame are so destructively powerful that the only reliable way of dealing with them is to check them rather than counter them. For example, Dragon Dance Rayquaza is only checked by Choice Scarf Palkia or Choice Scarf Garchomp, as even Lugia and Groudon, two of Ubers’ premier physical walls, are 2HKOed by a +1 Outrage. Furthermore, most of these checks rely on their high Speed stats, in addition to a Choice Scarf. Therefore, by paralyzing these checks with Thunder Wave, you can instantly open many chances to sweep for many Pokémon. By paralyzing Choice Scarf Dialga, you can instantly open up a sweep for Swords Dance Rayquaza. After a single Swords Dance, Rayquaza can blaze through many teams, especially without Choice Scarf Dialga getting in its way. Nothing can truly switch into a +2 Rayquaza, with even Giratina being OHKOed by Dragon Claw, and supporting Groudon taking 74.50% - 87.87% of its health, easily finished off next turn, or if you have a layer or two of Spikes and Stealth Rock. If you paralyze Mewtwo, Darkrai will have an easier time sweeping, as it will not have to worry about Mewtwo outspeeding and KOing it with Aura Sphere; instead it can KO it with Dark Pulse. Finally, if you paralyze Choice Scarf Shaymin-S, it will be unable to check Rock Polish Groudon, giving it a clear way to sweep. Hypnosis can completely incapacitate a check, but you then have to worry about it hitting and, even then, waking up.

Toxic and Will-O-Wisp can also play big roles in aiding sweeps. By poisoning Lugia with Toxic, it will be unable to fulfill its role of being a physical wall. This will greatly aid Swords Dance Garchomp and any sweeping form of Groudon, both of whom are normally completely at Lugia’s mercy. While Lugia can still threaten Garchomp with Ice Beam, it will be unable to weather Garchomp’s (and Groudon’s) attacks along with the mounting Toxic damage. Will-O-Wisp can work too, but on different targets. By burning Scizor, Mewtwo will have a much easier time getting a Calm Mind sweep going. Normally, Scizor can either U-turn on Mewtwo, giving you the choice of letting it do tremendous damage to Mewtwo or let it scout your team, trap it with Pursuit, or KO weakened versions with Bullet Punch. After burning it, however, you can leave Mewtwo in on a U-turn, only getting 2HKOed while Scizor is forced to switch out, or only 3HKOed sometimes by Pursuit, should you stay in (this is from the Choice Band set, the strongest set, unless Scizor has used Swords Dance, in which case you should not send Mewtwo in). This allows Mewtwo to keep Calm Minding to KO Scizor with Aura Sphere (2HKOes after 1 Calm Mind, or possible OHKO with +2 and Spikes and Stealth Rock).