AG Mewtwo [QC 2/2][GP 1/1]

Zrp200

Zrp200

is a Community Contributor
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Hurricane
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax users such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-C as well as access to both a setup move and a damage-boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, which boosts the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire metagame for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and at +2, Fire Blast OHKOes almost all Pokemon that would take a Psystrike, including Necrozma-DM, Ferrothorn, and Zacian-C. +2 Max Flare notably OHKOes specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma from full health and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its Speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-C as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto, reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats at the cost of forcing Mewtwo into an awkward two-turn setup situation to sweep if they are still present. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stallbreaker, while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably letting it shut down Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde-C and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia, but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. Life Orb in conjunction with 252 Special Attack EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks, giving it a good chance to OHKO Ho-Oh and specially defensive Necrozma-DM at +2. A Timid nature paired with full Speed investment lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo Speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries, such as Chople Berry Tyranitar if running Focus Blast.

In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This significantly hinders its setup opportunities, especially against teams running Zacian-C, to the point where setting up Nasty Plot can involve serious mind games; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed Mewtwo and OHKO it with Behemoth Blade, and Mewtwo's only defense against this is that Fire Blast OHKOes Zacian-C on the switch. Forgoing the Special Attack boost to immediately boost with Max Airstream is very often infeasible unless the opposing team is already worn down, and Yveltal can sweep in this manner a lot more effectively than Mewtwo. That being said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the entry hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-C and avoid Speed ties with other base 130 Speed Pokemon such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without being forced to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering support with Sticky Web and potential status on foes. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On these teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield or Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon, in particular, can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-DM. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-C with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[bigtalk, 466663]], [[Chloe, 262044]]
- Grammar checked by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
 
Last edited:
I think that this is QC-ready. This is already running long for a preview, and every time I look at it, I end up adding info...
 
Last edited:
add remove comment
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
agreed on this moveslot in qc discord
move 4: Hurricane / Taunt Shadow Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk unnecessary

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with its access to setup in Nasty Plot xerneas also has this..., a great Speed tier that allows it to outspeed every Choice Scarf user barring Ditto and Zacian at +1 xerneas also outspeeds almost everything at +2... as well as the vast majority of the meta unboosted, and a Dynamax that only serves to augment its power further filler || you should point out it can break through typical special walls like ho-oh, chansey, ndm at +2 without having to dynamax, which xerneas can't. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier neutrally for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and a +2 Max Flare or Fire Blast OHKOes almost all relevant Psychic resists such as? after hazard chip, especially if Max Flare has already been used to activate sun. +2 sun-boosted Max Flare notably OHKOes Lunala with Shadow Shield broken, Lugia with Multiscale broken, Dynamax Yveltal after Stealth Rock, and all variants of Necrozma-Dusk-Mane barring specially defensive sets, including Ultra Necrozma +2 Max Flare notably OHKOes Yveltal and specially defensive Necrozma-DM, and in sun, OHKOes Ultra Necrozma as well as Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage. omitted the part about lugia/lunala; if they're not at full hp, then by definition it's not an ohko Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its speed in Dynamax in order to outspeed and OHKO Zacian-Crowned as well outspeed every Choice Scarf user in the metagame, which in conjunction with Psychic Terrain removes almost all offensive counterplay to Mewtwo barring Ditto. Taunt gives up Max Airstream in exchange for noticeably greater stall-breaking prowess and more reliable setup, notably denying foes the ability to afflict Mewtwo with harmful status and shutting down Lugia redundant preventing Defog while granting Mewtwo some team utility outside of Dynamax. Alternatively, Ice Beam can OHKO Yveltal after Stealth Rock without needing sun up, and the associated Max Hailstorm flat out OHKOes Yveltal without chip; however, having hail up means that sun cannot be up, and Mewtwo is harmed by hail. Aura Sphere or Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar at +2, which otherwise counters Mewtwo regardless of boosts but provide no real utility outside of that. Shadow Ball can be run to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2 and hit Ultra Necrozma / Lugia at the cost of making Mewtwo instantly lose to any Ditto. Life Orb gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks. sentence order for 4th moveslot should be: hurricane/shadow ball/taunt/focus blast If the ability to Dynamax is not desired, Mewtwoite Y can be run for the increased speed tier and Insomnia, but it has less power and gives up the ability to Dynamax, which in turn makes it much more easily revenge killed. m2 and m2y are separate pokemon and play very differently || include a sentence about why a timid nature is used Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon such as Occa Berry Magearna and Chople Berry Tyranitar (if running Focus Blast).

In contrast to Yveltal, Xerneas, and even Tornadus-T, did you mean something else? Mewtwo isn't very bulky and does not possess an even remotely a it is remotely useful; you could say it lets you tank a hit from ultra useful defensive typing; pure Psychic typing leaves it with almost no useful resistances and leaves it prone to every entry hazard unnecessary. This, combined with the fact that Mewtwo is outsped by Zacian-Crowned and OHKOed by Behemoth Blade i don't get how this limits setup opportunities, just don't setup on zacian? or did you mean the oppo can predict np and hard switch into it; in that case, make it clearer that's what you meant, significantly hinders its setup opportunities against offensive teams, to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can be almost impossible. That said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid speed ties with other base 130s such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering Sticky Web and potential status. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops, though Mewtwo cannot offer any substantial utility in return outside of sweeping unless it runs Taunt filler. On such teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit-trapping Lunala and Lugia to force damage on them break Shadow Shield/Multiscale pursuit does close to 0 dmg to them, this is the primary benefit, and offering countermeasures against Ditto. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit critical KO benchmarks, Mewtwo appreciates having Stealth Rock active, so setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon in particular can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Zacian-Crowned can bulldoze through the Dark- and Steel-types that Mewtwo finds so vexing to fight, and Crunch variants can do away with Lunala.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Nice work! There was a lot to change here, so I'll take a second look once you've implemented this.
 
bigtalk Implemented, with one exception:
  • I'm still not convinced Shadow Ball is an overall superior option compared to Taunt and have not slashed it, though I have swapped its position with Focus Blast. (is now Hurricane/Taunt/Shadow Ball/Focus Blast)
    • It's not consistently useful outside of consistently beating Lunala at +2, a mon that is relatively easy to pressure out of some hp prior regardless as well as not being omnipresent. Even ignoring that, it also doesn't consistently deal with Lugia; Mewtwo needs to be at +4 to OHKO Multiscale Lugia with it, and if Lugia lives it's just going to twave or whirlwind you out, meaning you need to chip it anyway prior or somehow grab two nasty plots with Mewtwo's lacking bulk for a setup sweeper and no Taunt. I concede the point on Ultra Necrozma, though.
    • You also still lose to every Zacian-C ever without webs support, and no Taunt means that Ho-Oh and supportceus can Defog on you as you set up Nasty Plot if you can't manage to get Mewtwo in on an already Taunted mon.
    • Unlike Hurricane or Taunt, Shadow Ball does not assist Mewtwo in any way outside of hitting the aforementioned mons (you can argue Hurricane also helps you against Ditto); both Hurricane and Taunt give Mewtwo more control over where and when it sweeps.
    • You auto-lose to Ditto when running Shadow Ball instead of simply having a slightly uphill battle.
I removed aura sphere from the analysis as requested, but this is why I included it originally:
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 499-588 (123.5 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Arceus: 442-520 (99.5 - 117.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
It trades the ability to OHKO dynamax Ttar after stealth rock and dynamax Ekiller/darkceus after about 25% of their hp has been dealt with for greatly increased reliability. The BP of Max Knuckle off of Aura Sphere is 90, while Max Knuckle off of Focus Blast is 95; the difference is rather small, and it gets more powerful during dynamax rather than weaker.
 
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[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
changed our minds, we want hurricane to be the only move here
move 4: Hurricane / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-Crowned at +0 redundant, as well as access to both a setup move that not does require an item in Nasty Plot and a boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax, unlike Xerneas of the three you mentioned, xerneas is only unable to pressure chansey. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and at +2 Fire Blast OHKOes almost everything that would take a Psystrike such as??? ie. ndm, zacian, ferro, especially if sun has been set. +2 Max Flare in the sun notably OHKOes Dynamaxed specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Dynamaxed Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage while also KOing Lugia and Lunala with Shadow Shield/Multiscale broken. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-Crowned as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto and the rare Zacian, reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stall-breaker while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably giving it an edge over Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia (OHKOes at +4), but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to any Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. Life Orb in conjunction with 252 SpA EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks. A Timid paired with full Speed investment nature lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Marshadow marsh is bad this gen Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries such as Chople Berry Tyranitar (if running Focus Blast).

In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This, combined with the fact that Mewtwo is outsped by Zacian-Crowned and OHKOed by Behemoth Blade, significantly hinders its setup opportunities against teams running Zacian-Crowned to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can be almost impossible risky i definitely wouldn't say it's "almost impossible;" m2 forces a lot of switches, and if you're an aggressive player you can set it up on those; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed and OHKO with Behemoth Blade. That said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid speed ties with other base 130s such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering Sticky Web and potential status. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On such teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit-trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield/Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon in particular can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-Crowned can bulldoze through the Dark- and Steel-types that Mewtwo finds so vexing to fight, this sounds pretty on paper, but isn't true. relevant darks/steels are ttar, yveltal, ndm, zacian, and ferro; of these zacian can only pressure/revenge kill ttar and ferro, latter of which isn't a problem for m2 in the first place and Crunch variants with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

here's the reason we're using focus blast over aura sphere btw:
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 374-442 (92.5 - 109.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
QC 1/2, gj
 
bigtalk said:
add remove comment
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
changed our minds, we want hurricane to be the only move here
move 4: Hurricane / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-Crowned at +0 redundant, as well as access to both a setup move that not does require an item in Nasty Plot and a boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax, unlike Xerneas of the three you mentioned, xerneas is only unable to pressure chansey. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and at +2 Fire Blast OHKOes almost everything that would take a Psystrike such as??? ie. ndm, zacian, ferro, especially if sun has been set. +2 Max Flare in the sun notably OHKOes Dynamaxed specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Dynamaxed Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage while also KOing Lugia and Lunala with Shadow Shield/Multiscale broken. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-Crowned as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto and the rare Zacian, reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stall-breaker while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably giving it an edge over Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia (OHKOes at +4), but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to any Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. Life Orb in conjunction with 252 SpA EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks. A Timid paired with full Speed investment nature lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Marshadow marsh is bad this gen Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries such as Chople Berry Tyranitar (if running Focus Blast).

In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This, combined with the fact that Mewtwo is outsped by Zacian-Crowned and OHKOed by Behemoth Blade, significantly hinders its setup opportunities against teams running Zacian-Crowned to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can be almost impossible risky i definitely wouldn't say it's "almost impossible;" m2 forces a lot of switches, and if you're an aggressive player you can set it up on those; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed and OHKO with Behemoth Blade. That said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid speed ties with other base 130s such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering Sticky Web and potential status. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On such teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit-trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield/Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon in particular can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-Crowned can bulldoze through the Dark- and Steel-types that Mewtwo finds so vexing to fight, this sounds pretty on paper, but isn't true. relevant darks/steels are ttar, yveltal, ndm, zacian, and ferro; of these zacian can only pressure/revenge kill ttar and ferro, latter of which isn't a problem for m2 in the first place and Crunch variants with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

here's the reason we're using focus blast over aura sphere btw:
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 374-442 (92.5 - 109.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
QC 1/2, gj
Click to expand...
Implemented.
 
Zrp200 said:
even Ultra Necrozma after Stealth Rock damage
Click to expand...
You missed this bit; it's "and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage." If you no longer think the Yveltal benchmark is important enough to warrant a mention, remove the part about after rocks.

edit You mixed up the order; it's Ultra Necrozma from full, and Dynamaxed Yveltal after SR
 
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bigtalk said:
You missed this bit; it's "and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage." If you no longer think the Yveltal benchmark is important enough to warrant a mention, remove the part about after rocks.
Click to expand...
whoops, fixed

edit: implemented additional edit
 
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Zrp200 said:
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Hurricane
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-Crowned as well as access to a both a setup move and a boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage in conjuction with it, and at +2 Fire Blast OHKOes almost everything that would take a Psystrike, including Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, Ferrothorn, and Zacian-C. +2 Max Flare notably OHKOes specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma from full and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-Crowned as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto and the rare Zacian (not worth noting), reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stall-breaker while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably giving it an edge over Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia, but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to any Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. Life Orb in conjunction with 252 SpA EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks. A Timid paired with full Speed investment nature lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries such as Chople Berry Tyranitar (if running Focus Blast).

[In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This significantly hinders its setup opportunities especially against teams running Zacian-Crowned to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can be risky; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed and OHKO with Behemoth Blade.] - you really need to showcase better why mewtwo is worse than xern/yve, explain how it needs two turns to set up whats necessary to sweep and rarely ever is worth it over xern/yve due to this. That said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid speed ties with other base 130s such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering Sticky Web and potential status. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On such teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit-trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield/Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon in particular can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-Crowned with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[bigtalk, 466663]], [Chloe, 262044]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Click to expand...
qc 2/2, this is mostly fine just a couple little things
 
I've been considering what Chloe said about Mewtwo's two-turn setup making it inferior to Yveltal or Xerneas, and I've chalked it up entirely to Hurricane.
Every single thing I could say negatively about Mewtwo in this regard directly involves Hurricane's usage, which got me thinking again as to why it is used at all. Without Hurricane, Mewtwo no longer has this issue of a two-turn setup required to sweep, really trading only a matchup with Zacian-C (there are no viable scarfers barring MRay and Marshadow, both of which have significant drawbacks) in exchange for being able to run a significantly more useful side move. It also gives Mewtwo significantly more flexibility on its Dynamax thanks to no longer being mandated to use Max Airstream on the first turn, notably allowing Mewtwo to throw down Psychic Terrain or sun right off the bat in order to proactively ward against priority and Dynamax Psychic resists (Yveltal/NDM).

I want to reiterate that Mewtwo's fourth moveslot is really a wildcard moveslot, not "HURRICANE" moveslot. Hurricane is not always needed to sweep, and it often doesn't help Mewtwo sweep in associated moveslots.

Gameplay-wise, what Hurricane notably does is give a large incentive for the opposing player to hard switch Zacian-C into Mewtwo to punish Nasty Plot so that Zacian can just go and OHKO Mewtwo regardless of Dynamax, removing it from the equation. What they don't like, however, is if Mewtwo clicks Fire Blast instead to OHKO it on the switch:
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 315-372 (96.6 - 114.1%) -- Guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Scarf Marshadow has a similar style of play, given that the only chance Marshadow has to outspeed Hurricane Mewtwo is before it uses Hurricane.
252 Atk Marshadow Spectral Thief vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Mewtwo: 312-368 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
at that point, Mewtwo doesn't have +2 SpA anymore and isn't powerful enough to force a sweep by itself.

This, however, can also be punished:
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marshadow: 192-227 (59.8 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Psystrike vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Marshadow: 580-686 (180.6 - 213.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
You don't need Hurricane in order to force this exchange, especially in higher-level matches where people are actually aware that Mewtwo commonly runs Hurricane. Hurricane is almost never actually used as is, which leaves Mewtwo's fourth moveslot completely ambiguous to even the most experienced of players. The simple threat of Hurricane's existence is enough to "encourage" Zacian-C to reveal itself in order to be OHKOed by Mewtwo.

Further, making this predict is reasonable play even with Hurricane, as the threat of Zacian-C's punish effectively stops Mewtwo from getting a Nasty Plot off, which, again, is necessary in order to establish Mewtwo's niche. Without Nasty Plot, Mewtwo is just an inferior Yveltal. As such, doing it is not a giveaway that you are not running Hurricane even if things don't go as planned.

So, you do not need Hurricane to beat Zacian-C and Scarf users even without running Sticky Web. However, Hurricane must be ran somewhat commonly in order to force this interaction. Personally, I very often flip a coin between matches and set Mewtwo's fourth move accordingly when running the thing on balance.
My point is that Hurricane's main function in battle derives from its existence at all. In practice, you will almost never use it with Nasty Plot active against a good player; it's too easy to exploit Mewtwo for this to reasonably done. Without Nasty Plot, you are just an discount Yveltal. We are looking for a proper niche for Mewtwo, not a set where it is borderline outclassed.

This is doable. We can have a Mewtwo that has a one-turn setup (like Geomancy Xerneas), blasts through NDM (like Yveltal) and provides some actual utility (like Yveltal). The only thing you give up is the 1v1 sweeping matchup against Zacian-C and Scarf Marshadow.

What I want to do is slash Taunt with Hurricane.

Unlike the rest of Mewtwo's options (which all just let mewtwo overcome a specific threat or two), Taunt provides Mewtwo with a facade of actual utility, which is absolutely huge when you consider that Mewtwo does absolutely nothing for the team otherwise.
  • Lets Mewtwo set up a whole lot more easily on Lugia, Ferrothorn, Glare Zygarde-C, Ho-Oh, support Arceus formes, Chansey, etc.
  • With screens support (sorry), lets Mewtwo set up on the entire meta barring stuff that can hit it supereffectively.
  • Can be used to punish the foe for using momentum grabbing moves (defog), and then chains easily into Nasty Plot. It may even be a free setup against completely passive Pokemon.
  • Completely prevents Lugia from checking non-Dynamax Mewtwo.
Also, Taunt is inescapably better for Mewtwo as soon as you introduce Sticky Web support into the equation, something that I've been really torn about when trying to write this analysis with Hurricane as the focused move.
 
Zrp200 said:
Also, Taunt is inescapably better for Mewtwo as soon as you introduce Sticky Web support into the equation
Click to expand...
This is the main reason why we're hesitant to slash it. In general, analyses sets should try to be as general as possible rather than only effective when used on a particular archetype. Not everyone who copies the set is going to read through everything and be aware that Taunt is best used with Sticky Web.
Zrp200 said:
Without Hurricane, Mewtwo no longer has this issue of a two-turn setup required to sweep, really trading only a matchup with Zacian-C
Click to expand...
That's a big big matchup you're putting under "only." As I'm sure you know, Zacian-C is on a lot of teams, and underspeeding it can mean the difference between a successful sweep and being forced out.
Zrp200 said:
Lets Mewtwo set up a whole lot more easily on Lugia, Ferrothorn, Glare Zygarde-C, Ho-Oh, support Arceus formes, Chansey, etc.
Click to expand...
Most of these threats would either want to switch since they're scared out by you (ie. Ferrothorn / Chansey), or can deal a lot of damage to you while you waste a turn using Taunt (ie. Ferrothorn can use Knock Off / support arcs can use Judgment). It does help for Lugia, but Lugia isn't that relevant.
 
Fair enough. Just did it. I just checked and found that I'd already written up the adjustments. I did it directly after the recent posts, so it's been sitting here.... for 2 weeks.

Chloe
I forced in more discussion and comparisons to Xerneas and Yveltal, and on a side note elaborated a bit more about Zacian-C interactions (I rephrased it as a mind game instead of a free punish) since that's literally the only reason for hurricane anyway.
 
add remove (comment)
(AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; AH=add hyphen; RH=remove hyphen)
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Hurricane
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-Crowned as well as access to both a setup move and a damage-boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting which boosts the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier metagame for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and at +2, (AC) Fire Blast OHKOes almost everything all Pokemon that would take a Psystrike, including Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM, Ferrothorn, and Zacian-C. +2 Max Flare notably OHKOes specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma from full health and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its Speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-Crowned as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto, reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats at the cost of forcing Mewtwo into an awkward two-turn setup situation to take full advantage of this sweep if they are still present. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stall(RH)breaker, (AC) while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably giving it an edge over letting it shut down Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde-C and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia, but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to any Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. (fix spacing)Life Orb in conjunction with 252 SpA Special Attack EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks, (AC) giving it a good chance to OHKO Ho-Oh and specially defensive Necrozma-DM at +2. A Timid nature paired with full Speed investment nature lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo Speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries, (AC) such as Chople Berry Tyranitar if running Focus Blast (remove parentheses).

In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This significantly hinders its setup opportunities, (AC) especially against teams running Zacian-Crowned, (AC) to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can involve serious mind games; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed Mewtwo and OHKO it with Behemoth Blade, and Mewtwo's only defense against that this is that Fire Blast OHKOes it Zacian-C on the switch. Forgoing the SpA Special Attack boost to immediately boost with Hurricane Max Airstream is very often not an option infeasible (optional) unless the opposing team is already worn down, and Yveltal does that role can sweep in this manner a lot more effectively than Mewtwo. Xerneas, meanwhile, has much more consistent setup than Mewtwo thanks to a 1-turn setup move that lets it outspeed the meta and boost its stats in the same turn and has ways to punish hard switches into its setup without giving up said setup. Dropping Hurricane, however, robs Mewtwo of any chance of sweeping through the dominant Zacian-C. (both of these points were already covered above) That being said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the entry hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid Speed ties with other base 130s 130 Speed Pokemon such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo being forced to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering support with Sticky Web and potential status on foes. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On such these (repetition) teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit (RH)trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield or Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon, (AC) in particular, (AC) can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-Crowned with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[bigtalk, 466663]], [[Chloe, 262044]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
GP 1/1, great work on this :blobthumbsup:
 
bigtalk said:
add remove (comment)
(AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; AH=add hyphen; RH=remove hyphen)
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot (Dynamax Sweeper)
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Hurricane
item: Life Orb
ability: Unnerve
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo distinguishes itself from other specially-oriented Dynamax abusers such as Yveltal and Xerneas with a great initial Speed tier that allows it to outspeed or Speed tie with almost the entire unboosted metagame barring Zacian-Crowned as well as access to both a setup move and a damage-boosting item, which makes it extremely hard to stop at +2. Psystrike serves as the obligatory STAB move, becoming Max Mindstorm under Dynamax and setting Psychic Terrain with the first use, boosting which boosts the move's power even further while also preventing priority from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Marshadow. Psystrike also hits specially defensive Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and the occasional Chansey on their lower Defense, allowing Mewtwo to easily break through them without having to Dynamax. Fire Blast provides the best possible coverage alongside Psystrike, hitting almost the entire tier metagame for at least neutral damage in conjunction with it, and at +2, (AC) Fire Blast OHKOes almost everything all Pokemon that would take a Psystrike, including Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM, Ferrothorn, and Zacian-C. +2 Max Flare notably OHKOes specially defensive Necrozma-DM as well as Yveltal and, in the sun, even Ultra Necrozma from full health and Dynamaxed Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage. Hurricane, while almost completely useless outside of Dynamax, lets Mewtwo boost its Speed via Max Airstream in order to outspeed Zacian-Crowned as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user in the metagame barring Ditto, reducing Mewtwo's reliance on team support to overcome such threats at the cost of forcing Mewtwo into an awkward two-turn setup situation to take full advantage of this sweep if they are still present. Taunt trades the flexibility bestowed by Max Airstream in order to allow Mewtwo to act as a much more reliable stall(RH)breaker, (AC) while also increasing the general reliability of its setup by blocking harmful status moves and stopping Defog, notably giving it an edge over letting it shut down Pokemon such as defensive Zygarde-C and Lugia. Shadow Ball is Mewtwo's only option to OHKO Lunala through Shadow Shield at +2, and it reliably OHKOes Ultra Necrozma regardless of forme and 2HKOes Multiscale Lugia, but it also causes Mewtwo to instantly lose to any Ditto. Focus Blast can allow Mewtwo to bypass Tyranitar, which otherwise counters Mewtwo. (fix spacing)Life Orb in conjunction with 252 SpA Special Attack EVs gives Mewtwo the maximum power possible behind its attacks, (AC) giving it a good chance to OHKO Ho-Oh and specially defensive Necrozma-DM at +2. A Timid nature paired with full Speed investment nature lets Mewtwo outspeed important threats in Mega Rayquaza and Arceus formes and also lets Mewtwo Speed tie with Mega Gengar and Eternatus. Unnerve can be sometimes useful in rare matchups involving Pokemon that may run weakness-reducing berries, (AC) such as Chople Berry Tyranitar if running Focus Blast (remove parentheses).

In contrast to its main competition in Yveltal and Xerneas, Mewtwo has noticeably lacking bulk and does not possess an even remotely useful defensive typing. This significantly hinders its setup opportunities, (AC) especially against teams running Zacian-Crowned, (AC) to the point where setting up a Nasty Plot can involve serious mind games; if Zacian-C switches into Mewtwo as it sets up Nasty Plot, it can simply outspeed Mewtwo and OHKO it with Behemoth Blade, and Mewtwo's only defense against that this is that Fire Blast OHKOes it Zacian-C on the switch. Forgoing the SpA Special Attack boost to immediately boost with Hurricane Max Airstream is very often not an option infeasible (optional) unless the opposing team is already worn down, and Yveltal does that role can sweep in this manner a lot more effectively than Mewtwo. Xerneas, meanwhile, has much more consistent setup than Mewtwo thanks to a 1-turn setup move that lets it outspeed the meta and boost its stats in the same turn and has ways to punish hard switches into its setup without giving up said setup. Dropping Hurricane, however, robs Mewtwo of any chance of sweeping through the dominant Zacian-C. (both of these points were already covered above) That being said, Mewtwo is a great pick for Sticky Web teams; the entry hazard allows Mewtwo to naturally outspeed Zacian-Crowned and avoid Speed ties with other base 130s 130 Speed Pokemon such as Eternatus and Mega Gengar without forcing Mewtwo being forced to run Hurricane, giving it significantly more flexibility in its fourth moveslot. Smeargle is thus a reasonable partner, offering support with Sticky Web and potential status on foes. However, Mewtwo can still work on balance-oriented teams, as it appreciates such teams' ability to deal with Mewtwo's various stops. On such these (repetition) teams, Tyranitar is a great partner, checking Yveltal, potentially Pursuit (RH)trapping Lunala and Lugia to break Shadow Shield or Multiscale, and offering countermeasures against Ditto and Yveltal. Because Mewtwo appreciates Stealth Rock on the field to hit certain critical KO benchmarks, setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM, and the aforementioned Tyranitar pair well. Primal Groudon, (AC) in particular, (AC) can help against Tyranitar and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Necrozma-DM. Ferrothorn can also offer Spikes support and take advantage of these Pokemon. Zacian-Crowned with Crunch can do away with Lunala and pressure Necrozma-DM for Mewtwo. Ditto is a great partner that can handle Zacian-C and boosted threats that outspeed Mewtwo.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Zrp200, 327515]]
- Quality checked by: [[bigtalk, 466663]], [[Chloe, 262044]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
GP 1/1, great work on this :blobthumbsup:
Click to expand...
Implemented.
 
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