[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to Mewtwo’s massive Special Attack, Speed, and coverage movepool, it is a very good wallbreaker in Ubers, capable of taking on many staples of the tier like Eternatus and Zygarde. Despite facing competition as a fast special attacker from Calyrex-S, Mewtwo has a far better movepool, isn't reliably checked by the most common answer to Calyrex-S in Yveltal, and can actually synergize well with Calyrex-S because both break down their shared checks, such as Zarude, Ho-Oh, and Yveltal itself. However, Mewtwo is always forced out by Calyrex-S and offers very little defensively, which makes it hard to fit onto teams and bring in repeatedly throughout a game. Mewtwo can also be difficult to make the most of because it can be quite reliant on prediction, and getting a turn wrong can result in Mewtwo being crippled.
[SET]
Name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Psystrike
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Nasty Plot / Recover / Shadow Ball
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo threatens heavy damage on common special walls like Blissey and Eternatus with Psystrike, hitting them on their lower Defense stat. Ice Beam can potentially 2HKO Yveltal without boosts or OHKO at +2 while providing coverage to hit Groudon and Zygarde. Fire Blast is necessary for Mewtwo to break through Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn. These three moves should be used on every offensive Mewtwo, but the fourth move is more customizable depending on what the rest of the team prefers. Nasty Plot turns Mewtwo into a terrifying sweeper that can OHKO most of the metagame with just the three coverage moves above, but it will still be forced out by common Pokemon like Calyrex-S and Marshadow. Shadow Ball lets Mewtwo dent Lunala for teammates like Groudon and Zekrom and prevents Calyrex-S from switching in on Mewtwo to force it out. Life Orb gives a much-needed power boost, allowing Mewtwo to run Timid to outspeed almost the entire metagame and at worst Speed tie with Eternatus. The recoil eats into Mewtwo’s already mediocre bulk, which limits its effectiveness in longer games, but Recover helps offset that if run. Expert Belt can be run over Life Orb, but the decrease in damage output means that Modest is the nature of choice to give favorable rolls against Pokemon like Necrozma-DM and Yveltal. The 4 EVs in Defense as opposed to HP allow Mewtwo to always survive Life Orb Adamant Marshadow's Shadow Sneak from full HP.
Calyrex-S appreciates Mewtwo’s ability to potentially break past a desperate Yveltal and can clean through weakened teams better than anything else in the tier. Calyrex-S also potentially provides cleric support for if Mewtwo gets paralyzed, which will happen most often when Recover Mewtwo is used to check defensive Zygarde. Other sweepers like Zekrom and offensive Groudon likewise appreciate Mewtwo potentially breaking through their checks like Lunala and Zarude. Because of Mewtwo’s weakness to opposing Calyrex-S, teammates that can check it like Yveltal, Zarude, and Ho-Oh are required, and having more than one Calyrex-S check is a good idea given how weak Mewtwo is to it. Spikes setters like Ferrothorn and Skarmory are helpful, as Mewtwo can easily force switches to rack up residual damage, and both of them can come in and set Spikes easily on Necrozma-DM, which Mewtwo doesn't appreciate facing without being boosted already. Groudon both can set Stealth Rock and power up Mewtwo's Fire Blast via Drought, which really helps it threaten Necrozma-DM. Groudon can also help weaken Pokemon like Yveltal, as Yveltal is a fairly common form of counterplay to Groudon. Pokemon with pivoting moves that can bring Mewtwo in freely like U-turn Yveltal and Galarian Darmanitan are appreciated as partners, as Mewtwo struggles to come in by itself frequently. Galarian Darmanitan also appreciates Mewtwo beating down its best check in Necrozma-DM.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Stallbreaker Mewtwo with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Recover, and Psystrike or Ice Beam can be used, but it is difficult to justify a teamslot on when this set doesn't reliably answer any of the biggest threats in the metagame and freely lets in Calyrex-S. Taunt can be used on certain hyper offense teams that want to avoid letting Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Yveltal use Defog, but these structures tend to have a notable weakness to Calyrex-S already, and Mewtwo makes this weakness significantly worse. Thunder provides fantastic damage on Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and physically defensive Kyogre, but the inconsistency is frustrating, so it should only be used with Kyogre as a teammate. Focus Blast is an option that can hit Tyranitar and Heatran, which easily deal with Mewtwo otherwise, but doesn't hit anything else in the tier for meaningful damage that Fire Blast doesn't cover already. Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast for PP and accuracy reasons, but the difference in power is fairly noticeable, and Nasty Plot sets require Fire Blast for the roll to OHKO Necrozma-DM at +2.
Checks and Counters
====
**Calyrex-S**: Calyrex-S will always force out Mewtwo, and it is not something that any team appreciates giving free turns to.
**Lunala**: Lunala walls any Mewtwo lacking Shadow Ball and can recover easily while wearing it down through Life Orb recoil and potential Ghost-type attacks.
**Heatran and Tyranitar**: Heatran and Tyranitar wall every move on the most common Mewtwo sets and only get beaten by the somewhat niche Focus Blast.
**Ho-Oh**: Defensive Ho-Oh can pivot into Mewtwo to rack up Life Orb recoil and threaten it with Thunder Wave, and it can easily deal with Expert Belt Mewtwo. However, Life Orb Psystrike may 2HKO it and +2 Life Orb Psystrike may OHKO it.
**Necrozma-DM**: Necrozma-DM can take any one hit from an unboosted Mewtwo and cripple it with either Thunder Wave or Knock Off or 2HKO it with Sunsteel Strike. However, +2 Life Orb Fire Blast can OHKO Necrozma-DM and unboosted Fire Blast can 2HKO it, so it is risky to bring it in on an unrevealed Mewtwo. Furthermore, Speed-invested Necrozma-DM will never survive +2 Life Orb Fire Blast.
**Residual Damage**: Mewtwo is prone to being worn down through entry hazards, status, and particularly Life Orb recoil. Using Expert Belt helps with this significantly but comes at the cost of power for neutral hits.
**Paralysis**: Mewtwo hates the Speed drop from paralysis from users like Zygarde and Necrozma-DM, as it allows Pokemon like Yveltal and Zarude to completely deal with it.
**Revenge Killers**: Pokemon that outspeed Mewtwo like Choice Scarf Kyogre and Galarian Darmanitan can force it out after very little chip damage, as can powerful priority users like Yveltal with Sucker Punch and Marshadow with Shadow Sneak.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Aberforth, 249382]]
- Quality checked by: [[Fc, 511624], [TrueNora, 432086]]
- Grammar checked by: [[lotiasite, 302985], [Finland, 517429]]
Thanks to Mewtwo’s massive Special Attack, Speed, and coverage movepool, it is a very good wallbreaker in Ubers, capable of taking on many staples of the tier like Eternatus and Zygarde. Despite facing competition as a fast special attacker from Calyrex-S, Mewtwo has a far better movepool, isn't reliably checked by the most common answer to Calyrex-S in Yveltal, and can actually synergize well with Calyrex-S because both break down their shared checks, such as Zarude, Ho-Oh, and Yveltal itself. However, Mewtwo is always forced out by Calyrex-S and offers very little defensively, which makes it hard to fit onto teams and bring in repeatedly throughout a game. Mewtwo can also be difficult to make the most of because it can be quite reliant on prediction, and getting a turn wrong can result in Mewtwo being crippled.
[SET]
Name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Psystrike
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Nasty Plot / Recover / Shadow Ball
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mewtwo threatens heavy damage on common special walls like Blissey and Eternatus with Psystrike, hitting them on their lower Defense stat. Ice Beam can potentially 2HKO Yveltal without boosts or OHKO at +2 while providing coverage to hit Groudon and Zygarde. Fire Blast is necessary for Mewtwo to break through Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn. These three moves should be used on every offensive Mewtwo, but the fourth move is more customizable depending on what the rest of the team prefers. Nasty Plot turns Mewtwo into a terrifying sweeper that can OHKO most of the metagame with just the three coverage moves above, but it will still be forced out by common Pokemon like Calyrex-S and Marshadow. Shadow Ball lets Mewtwo dent Lunala for teammates like Groudon and Zekrom and prevents Calyrex-S from switching in on Mewtwo to force it out. Life Orb gives a much-needed power boost, allowing Mewtwo to run Timid to outspeed almost the entire metagame and at worst Speed tie with Eternatus. The recoil eats into Mewtwo’s already mediocre bulk, which limits its effectiveness in longer games, but Recover helps offset that if run. Expert Belt can be run over Life Orb, but the decrease in damage output means that Modest is the nature of choice to give favorable rolls against Pokemon like Necrozma-DM and Yveltal. The 4 EVs in Defense as opposed to HP allow Mewtwo to always survive Life Orb Adamant Marshadow's Shadow Sneak from full HP.
Calyrex-S appreciates Mewtwo’s ability to potentially break past a desperate Yveltal and can clean through weakened teams better than anything else in the tier. Calyrex-S also potentially provides cleric support for if Mewtwo gets paralyzed, which will happen most often when Recover Mewtwo is used to check defensive Zygarde. Other sweepers like Zekrom and offensive Groudon likewise appreciate Mewtwo potentially breaking through their checks like Lunala and Zarude. Because of Mewtwo’s weakness to opposing Calyrex-S, teammates that can check it like Yveltal, Zarude, and Ho-Oh are required, and having more than one Calyrex-S check is a good idea given how weak Mewtwo is to it. Spikes setters like Ferrothorn and Skarmory are helpful, as Mewtwo can easily force switches to rack up residual damage, and both of them can come in and set Spikes easily on Necrozma-DM, which Mewtwo doesn't appreciate facing without being boosted already. Groudon both can set Stealth Rock and power up Mewtwo's Fire Blast via Drought, which really helps it threaten Necrozma-DM. Groudon can also help weaken Pokemon like Yveltal, as Yveltal is a fairly common form of counterplay to Groudon. Pokemon with pivoting moves that can bring Mewtwo in freely like U-turn Yveltal and Galarian Darmanitan are appreciated as partners, as Mewtwo struggles to come in by itself frequently. Galarian Darmanitan also appreciates Mewtwo beating down its best check in Necrozma-DM.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Stallbreaker Mewtwo with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Recover, and Psystrike or Ice Beam can be used, but it is difficult to justify a teamslot on when this set doesn't reliably answer any of the biggest threats in the metagame and freely lets in Calyrex-S. Taunt can be used on certain hyper offense teams that want to avoid letting Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Yveltal use Defog, but these structures tend to have a notable weakness to Calyrex-S already, and Mewtwo makes this weakness significantly worse. Thunder provides fantastic damage on Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and physically defensive Kyogre, but the inconsistency is frustrating, so it should only be used with Kyogre as a teammate. Focus Blast is an option that can hit Tyranitar and Heatran, which easily deal with Mewtwo otherwise, but doesn't hit anything else in the tier for meaningful damage that Fire Blast doesn't cover already. Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast for PP and accuracy reasons, but the difference in power is fairly noticeable, and Nasty Plot sets require Fire Blast for the roll to OHKO Necrozma-DM at +2.
Checks and Counters
====
**Calyrex-S**: Calyrex-S will always force out Mewtwo
**Lunala**: Lunala walls any Mewtwo lacking Shadow Ball and can recover easily while wearing it down through Life Orb recoil and potential Ghost-type attacks.
**Heatran and Tyranitar**: Heatran and Tyranitar wall every move on the most common Mewtwo sets and only get beaten by the somewhat niche Focus Blast.
**Ho-Oh**: Defensive Ho-Oh can pivot into Mewtwo to rack up Life Orb recoil and threaten it with Thunder Wave, and it can easily deal with Expert Belt Mewtwo. However, Life Orb Psystrike may 2HKO it and +2 Life Orb Psystrike may OHKO it.
**Necrozma-DM**: Necrozma-DM can take any one hit from an unboosted Mewtwo and cripple it with either Thunder Wave or Knock Off or 2HKO it with Sunsteel Strike. However, +2 Life Orb Fire Blast can OHKO Necrozma-DM and unboosted Fire Blast can 2HKO it, so it is risky to bring it in on an unrevealed Mewtwo. Furthermore, Speed-invested Necrozma-DM will never survive +2 Life Orb Fire Blast.
**Residual Damage**: Mewtwo is prone to being worn down through entry hazards, status, and particularly Life Orb recoil. Using Expert Belt helps with this significantly but comes at the cost of power for neutral hits.
**Paralysis**: Mewtwo hates the Speed drop from paralysis from users like Zygarde and Necrozma-DM, as it allows Pokemon like Yveltal and Zarude to completely deal with it.
**Revenge Killers**: Pokemon that outspeed Mewtwo like Choice Scarf Kyogre and Galarian Darmanitan can force it out after very little chip damage, as can powerful priority users like Yveltal with Sucker Punch and Marshadow with Shadow Sneak.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Aberforth, 249382]]
- Quality checked by: [[Fc, 511624], [TrueNora, 432086]]
- Grammar checked by: [[lotiasite, 302985], [Finland, 517429]]
Last edited:
