A set perfectly designed for Mewtwo. Its bulk, 130 base Speed, and sky-high Special Attack make this set destructive when played correctly. Many walls: Blissey, Lugia, and Giratina in particular, carry moves that are easily shut down by Taunt. After using Taunt, proceed to Calm Mind, bolstering your Special Attack and Special Defense stats. Aura Sphere is the best option here; it does severe damage to Pokémon such as Dialga and Blissey while hitting Scizor and Metagross for neutral damage. Ice Beam should be the next attack to consider. Fighting and Ice complement each other, especially since many Uber Pokémon are hit for super effective damage by this combination. Thunder pairs well with Ice Beam, obliterating Kyogre and Groudon respectively with no problems. Shadow Ball, on the other hand, pairs well with Aura Sphere. Shadow Ball hits the abundant Psychic and Ghost-types in Ubers while maintaining perfect coverage. Leftovers is the best item for this set. Expert Belt and Life Orb sound very appealing; however, this set should focus on being as bulky as possible. While this Mewtwo does remarkably against stall teams, it is hampered by Forretress with Gyro Ball and Blissey with Seismic Toss, provided Blissey hasn't switched into Mewtwo. To be fair, Mewtwo can 2HKO Blissey most of the time after 3 Calm Minds. In return, Mewtwo is suffering a 5HKO from Seismic Toss.
Remember how it was mentioned that Taunt + Calm Mind Mewtwo has a slight issue with Blissey using Seismic Toss? Problem solved. By sacrificing some of Mewtwo’s Special Attack, it obtains 404 HP; enough to create a 101 HP Substitute. After, continue using a combination of Calm Mind and Substitute to help setup Mewtwo. The options are similar to the Taunt + Calm Mind moveset. Aura Sphere and Ice Beam, Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball, or Thunder and Ice Beam are the best attack combinations.
A set that, in short, can single-handedly 2HKO most Pokémon in the Uber environment. The combination of Thunder, Ice Beam, and Aura Sphere hits most Pokémon for super effective damage with the exception of Psychic-types and Scizor. Calm Mind can help bolster these 2HKOs into OHKOs. In fact, +2 Mewtwo can 2HKO 0 HP / 252 SpD Blissey with Aura Sphere. There are, however, a couple of other options to consider. If overkill Special Attack isn’t important, Selfdestruct and Fire Blast fit nicely in this set. The former will decimate a non-Ghost-type Pokémon by sacrificing Mewtwo. Not only does it OHKO Blissey, it will also deal 75.74% - 89.11% damage to 252 HP / 32 Def Adamant Groudon. On the other hand, Fire Blast works excellently with the sun. With Fire Blast thrown into the mix, it will crisp Scizor and Mewtwo into unconsciousness. Shadow Ball has been left out as an option; however, most of the attacks listed here fare better against the Uber environment than Shadow Ball would. It does, however, work effectively against opposing Mewtwo and Deoxys-D. 40 Attack isn’t necessary if you’re lacking Selfdestruct, so simply throw it into either HP, Special Attack, or Speed. The given Speed EVs ensure that Mewtwo will outspeed Timid Shaymin-S.
Choice Specs Mewtwo hits hard right off the bat while restricting itself to one attack. Aura Sphere and Ice Beam shuts down many Uber Pokémon while Thunder and Grass Knot handle Kyogre, the latter not relying on weather to affect its accuracy. Thunder’s 30% paralysis rate is very appealing as it still cripples most Pokémon that attempt to switch into Mewtwo. Flamethrower is the best option in slot four to hurt opposing Scizor and Metagross. Fire Blast should only be considered for the ability to OHKO those Scizor that concentrate on Special Defense in the rain. Two options are available for this set, with the first being Focus Punch. This will eliminate any Blissey attempting to switch into Mewtwo. The second is Trick, allowing Mewtwo to cripple a switch-in. Be sure to use Trick against physical Pokémon: it isn’t a very good idea to use this on Pokémon that focus on the special side of the spectrum, even if they are a wall.
This set, if used as a lead, counters many common leads. No Pokémon resists both Focus Blast and Shadow Ball. With a Choice Scarf and the given EVs, Mewtwo has just enough to speed to outrun Timid Choice Scarf Shaymin-S and Timid Choice Scarf Darkrai, and hence anything else you are likely to encounter in Ubers. Mewtwo threatens to OHKO Shaymin-S with Ice Beam and OHKO Darkrai with Focus Blast. It may seem risky to rely on Focus Blast’s shaky accuracy, but in case of a miss, Mewtwo will always survive a Timid Choice Scarf Darkrai’s Dark Pulse. Focus Blast 2HKOes all variants of Dialga as well, with only Bulk Up Dialga having a slight chance of survival with Leftovers recovery (Bulk Up Dialga takes 52.48% - 61.88%). Shadow Ball hits many Ubers super effective, 2HKOing Deoxys-S, Mew and opposing Mewtwo. Aura Sphere is a valid alternative as well due to the significantly superior accuracy; be warned that it will only OHKO Darkrai a little over 7% of the time. Ice Beam makes a great choice on such a fast Pokémon. It provides very good coverage in Ubers, hitting many of the Uber Dragons super effective, as well as Groudon, even hitting Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Shaymin-S for x4 damage. On that topic, Mewtwo is an ideal revenge killer of a Dragon Dance boosted Rayquaza, but unfortunately, Mewtwo cannot swap into a Life Orb Outrage. Ice Beam always 2HKOs 252 HP / 4 SDef Groudon, and Mewtwo is never OHKOed by Groudon’s Earthquake without an item boost, even if Stealth Rock is in play. A Life Orb Adamant Groudon’s Earthquake only OHKOes Mewtwo 28.21% of the time if Stealth Rock is not in play. The other option over Ice Beam is Trick, which can be used to cripple walls like Blissey or Latias. In fact, after stealing Latias' Soul Dew, Shadow Ball has a 80.85% chance to 2HKO the standard set (Timid 112 HP / 0 SDef) without Stealth Rock damage, while in turn, she will only have a 19.79% chance to 2HKO with an unboosted Dragon Pulse if Stealth Rock is in play. Trick can also be used over Shadow Ball if Mewtwo is not being used as a lead, as hitting Deoxys and Mew super effective is less important. Hasty is the preferred nature. With a Hasty nature and 232 Speed EVs, Mewtwo is able to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Shaymin-S and most Groudon after a Rock Polish boost. The 40 Attack are used to power up Selfdestruct, which is Mewtwo’s only way of dealing with certain leads, mainly Kyogre. 40 Attack guarantees an OHKO with Selfdestruct on 4 HP / 0 Def neutral nature Kyogre, Rayquaza and Palkia. Should the need arise, 4 HP / 252 Def Calm Blissey has a 98.93% chance of being OHKOed. Finally, the remaining 238 EVs are invested in Mewtwo's Special Attack to boost the power of Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, and Ice Beam.
This Mewtwo works very well as a lead as it is centered around preventing your opponent from setting up Stealth Rock or using sleep-inducing moves, while raising protective screens to double the defenses of your team. While this set is almost identical to Deoxys-S' "Dual Screens" set, Mewtwo has significantly higher base HP, and can always 2HKO Deoxys-S with Shadow Ball, who can only 3HKO back in return. Shadow Ball also hits much of the Uber metagame super effective, and the only Pokémon you are likely to encounter that is immune to it (Blissey), is setup bait. If this set is not being used as a lead, Selfdestruct may be used over Shadow Ball, so you may safely swap in a teammate, and hopefully take down a Pokémon in the process. If so, change Mewtwo's nature to Jolly, and it's EVs to 212 HP / 252 Spe / 44 Atk, to guarantee an OHKO on 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre, Rayquaza, Palkia and Mewtwo with Selfdestruct. Taunt, in conjunction with Mewtwo's high base Speed, allows Mewtwo to shut down any slower support leads such as Dialga and Groudon. Under a Light Screen, Mewtwo will always outpace, set up a Light Screen and survive a Choice Specs Kyogre's Water Spout and a Choice Specs Dialga's Draco Meteor. Likewise, Reflect + Taunt, easily stops supporting Groudon and Bulk Up Dialga from doing any major damage. Lum Berry is useful if your team really relies on screen support and Mewtwo has no time to Taunt its opposition. It also means that you can negate the effects of Scarf Darkrai's Dark Void, and Taunt it, forcing it to swap out. Light Clay is an option over Lum Berry. It boosts the length of screens from five turns to eight, a welcome addition to any team in the fast-paced Uber metagame. However, you then have no way of dealing with Scarf Darkrai. If you use Light Clay, do not use Mewtwo as a lead.
When you first see this set, the first thing that may come into your mind is, "What on earth?". Yes, "what on earth?" is a fairly logical and acceptable response, as turning Mewtwo into a physical wall is at least very unexpected. This set attempts to abuse Mewtwo's underrated physically defensive capabilities via Reflect and Will-o-Wisp, a move learned by so few in the uber metagame. With Will-O-Wisp and Reflect, Mewtwo can quickly shut down many of its usual counters, such as Scizor, Tyranitar, and Metagross, as well as stopping pretty much all physical sweepers dead in their tracks. Taunt prevents recovery, so even Blissey will be hard pressed to bring a stop to this set. With Taunt, Mewtwo can also prevent Pokémon such as Jirachi and Forretress from suffocating it with Toxic, or setting up Spikes / Toxic Spikes. Taunt in tandem with Recover on the same set is something no other physical walls in Ubers besides Deoxys-D can boast; however Mewtwo's superior Speed allows it to abuse Taunt more efficiently, thus Mewtwo is not simply an inferior Giratina or Lugia and should not be treated as such. Thunder is an option over Reflect if you feel it's absolutely necessary to have an attacking move on the set. Thunder covers up Ho-oh and Kyogre rather nicely, as they don't suffer much from your other three moves. Ice Beam and Seismic Toss are other options that can be used in that slot. Ice Beam hits Rayquaza and Groudon while Seismic Toss will deal consistent damage and helps with wearing down foes faster. The EVs generate 416 HP, 272 Defense, and 334 Speed. The 334 Speed allows Mewtwo to outrun max Speed Jolly Garchomp, the fastest physical attacker you'll see in Ubers, as well as max Speed base 100s like Mew and Palkia.
This Mewtwo is the special defensive counterpart of the physical defensive Mewtwo mentioned above. With Light Screen, Mewtwo can soak up many special attacks, including a Surf from a Rest/Talk Kyogre, Spacial Rends from both Scarf and Specs Palkia, as well as Dialga's Specs Draco Meteor without much of a hassle. Mewtwo can then proceed to inflict a status ailment of choice on the opponent; Toxic is generally the preferred option as it takes down opponents much faster than Will-o-Wisp can, and as such it will be more useful against Pokémon that Mewtwo doesn’t want a prolonged stay against, such as Latias and Kyogre. Will-o-Wisp, however, cushions Mewtwo’s more vulnerable physical side, allowing it to switch out of Tyranitar or Scizor Pursuits with HP to spare, as well having the added bonus of being able to damage Dialga and Jirachi. Taunt stops any attempt of recovering, supporting and statusing Mewtwo, making it very hard for Pokémon such as Celebi and Blissey to get past it. Finally, Mewtwo is fortunate enough to be gifted with a reliable recovery move in Recover, allowing Mewtwo to replenish its health quickly and efficiently and coupled with Mewtwo's Pressure ability allows it to stall out low PP moves like the aforementioned Draco Meteor and Spacial Rend. Without Will-o-Wisp, one must be especially careful of Scizor and Metagross as both have little to fear from this Mewtwo. Both have access to Pursuit should Mewtwo switch out, and they both pack attacks that can severely hurt Mewtwo if he doesn’t (U-turn in Scizor’s case, Meteor Mash in Metagross’ case). Although it may not like Toxic, Tyranitar can really be a pain as it gets STAB on both Pursuit and Crunch, and a high physical attack score to further fuel their threat levels. In fact, Tyranitar can 2HKO a non-switching Mewtwo with Pursuit if it is lucky enough and with Sandstorm around Mewtwo will be hard pressed to try and stall it out with Toxic and Recover. The given Speed EVs outspeed Latias and Latios. This allows Mewtwo to Taunt and set-up Light Screen without being interrupted.
Physical Mewtwo is no joke, hitting most Ubers on their weaker defensive stat. Although Mewtwo lost Shadow Ball as a physical attack, and didn't get Shadow Claw to replace it, Ice Punch more than makes up for it. Earthquake covers stuff like Metagross, Heatran and Dialga; while Brick Break provides more power against Blissey, Tyranitar and Darkrai. Just like on a Calm Mind set, Taunt is a great option, but there are a few other moves worth considering. Selfdestruct will take out almost anything that doesn't resist it, especially after a Bulk Up. If you want to improve type coverage, there are a couple of good options to use in place of Taunt or Selfdestruct. ThunderPunch helps against Kyogre, Manaphy, Skarmory, and Ho-oh, while Stone Edge utterly destroys Ho-oh, and gives Mewtwo a chance of 2HKOing Lugia after a single boost. Leftovers is always a good choice, although if you switch to Expert Belt, Mewtwo can 2HKO max HP Groudon and OHKO Darkrai after a Bulk Up. The given EVs outrun base 110 Speed Pokémon, like Latios and Latias. Don't bother trying to outspeed Darkrai unless you have Brick Break and Expert Belt, both of which are required to OHKO after a Bulk Up. Switch to Jolly and use 232 Speed EVs if you're going that route, as this will allow Mewtwo to outspeed both Timid Darkrai and Timid Shaymin-S. Other OptionsGrass Knot is acceptable on many of the sets listed here, but with so many Pokémon in Ubers resisting it, it isn't the best option. Psychic is a STAB option, but has the same problems as Grass Knot has: too many Pokémon resist or, in Psychic's case, immune to it. Mewtwo has many physical attacks to choose from with its decent Attack stat of 110, but without Bulk Up they won't be terribly effective. Mewtwo can create 101 HP Substitutes and use Focus Punch. EVsA +Speed nature and 232 Speed EVs is highly recommended on all sets, as it hits a stat of 389, outrunning Timid Darkrai and Timid Shaymin-S. Max Special Attack for special sweeping sets, max Attack for physical sets. Any remaining EVs should go in HP. 204 EVs in HP reaches a stat of 404, enabling Mewtwo to make Substitutes that are unbreakable by a single Seismic Toss or Night Shade. OpinionMewtwo, also known as the classic “God” of Pokémon, is certainly no slouch. Its offensive stats are hard to compare with other Pokémon, and it’s much bulkier than Deoxys-A. Mewtwo might have to share its throne with said Deoxys-A and other powerful threats; however, Mewtwo has a lot going for it with its “perfectly placed” stats and vast movepool. “Fear” is the one thing you should think about when facing a Mewtwo. CountersBlissey is probably Mewtwo’s best counter. Since most Mewtwo focus on boosting its Special Attack, the special wall should be able to handle it. Taunt and Substitute sets are Blissey’s bane; without Seismic Toss, Taunt Mewtwo sets up on Blissey. With Substitute, Blissey has more issues to deal with. Selfdestruct will eliminate Blissey with little problems. While she is a fantastic counter to Mewtwo, you must always be on your guard against it. Scizor and Metagross can make Mewtwo’s life miserable if it lacks Flamethrower or Fire Blast. With Scizor Bullet Punch, U-Turn, and Pursuit will put Mewtwo in a hard spot. Metagross has a weaker Pursuit; however, STAB Meteor Mash isn’t something to underestimate either. Beware Will-O-Wisp and Reflect: it will soften the impact from these attacks. Tyranitar has many powerful attacks at its disposal, and is capable of surviving an Aura Sphere from even a Choice Specs Mewtwo with a Special Defensive EV spread. Kyogre and Ho-oh don't have too many problems countering Calm Mind sets. Kyogre's massive Special Defense, resistance to Ice Beam and its own ability to Calm Mind let it take on Mewtwo with ease. Furthermore, Surf really hurts Mewtwo due to the rain and its massive special attack. Ho-oh, on the other hand, bypasses Mewtwo's Calm Mind boosted Special Defense with Sacred Fire or Punishment, and with Special Defense rivaling Mewtwo's Special Attack, Ho-oh easily shrugs off Ice Beam and Aura Sphere. Both should not be hasty in switching into Mewtwo, however, for there are chances where Mewtwo might carry Thunder. Otherwise, focus on being faster than Mewtwo. Any Deoxys formes, excluding Deoxys-D, are faster than Mewtwo. Choice Scarf users such as Palkia, Darkrai, and Dialga also make good options to eliminating Mewtwo. |
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