[OVERVIEW]
Mewtwo's incredible stats and deep movepool grant it tremendous versatility and power. Its ridiculously high Speed, solid defenses, and access to Recover and Barrier make it one of the sturdiest checks to physical attackers that lack phazing moves, such as Mew and Earthquake Lugia. Offensively, its monstrous Special Attack, amazing coverage, and status moves allow it to threaten broad swathes of the metagame. Nothing is entirely safe from Mewtwo, though it may need to sacrifice itself with Self-Destruct to consistently eliminate the foe. Unlike most other threats of its magnitude in GSC, Mewtwo requires no setup before it can start blasting away. Mewtwo's flaws are few and far between, but the most exploitable is perhaps its lack of ways to deal with status. Paralysis is a death sentence for Mewtwo, which puts it in an awkward situation against foes with Thunder, Body Slam, or Thunder Wave. However, Self-Destruct gives Mewtwo a way to salvage even poor situations. Mewtwo is so difficult to handle that, oftentimes, players must resort to controlling it through Self-Destruct or Explosion, as a trade is usually preferable to continually enduring its attacks or being perpetually walled.
[SET]
name: Recover
move 1: Flamethrower / Thunder / Psychic
move 2: Toxic / Ice Beam
move 3: Barrier / Self-Destruct / Psychic / Dynamic Punch
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Mewtwo's extremely high Speed and 32 PP of Recover let it use Barrier to wall any physical attackers that lack phazing moves and disruptive secondary effect chances on their attacks, such as Swords Dance Mew, Earthquake Lugia, and certain Curse Snorlax and Mewtwo variants. Even a +6 Shadow Ball critical hit from Mew will only deal up to 70.3% to +6 Mewtwo, and because Mewtwo outspeeds and has Recover and Leftovers, Mew must land four consecutive critical hits to take a full health Mewtwo down. Mewtwo's effectiveness as a physical wall is compounded by the fact that many Explosion and Self-Destruct users only OHKO it some of the time—only Golem and Snorlax always OHKO—and if Mewtwo survives other foes' Explosions, it can restore its health with its fast Recover. However, Mewtwo is not a flawless physical wall—even without the less common Self-Destruct, Snorlax can pierce Mewtwo's defenses with Lovely Kiss and potentially use Body Slam, Mew can use Thunder Wave or potentially allow a teammate to sweep by removing Mewtwo with Explosion, and Curse phazers such as Tyranitar, Lugia, and Ho-Oh can remove its Defense boosts after accruing boosts. However, Swords Dance Mew is a massive threat, and Barrier Mewtwo is one of the safest ways to reliably handle it. In addition to walling foes, Mewtwo threatens its foes in return with its remaining two moveslots. The combination of Toxic and Flamethrower is an excellent way to ensure Mewtwo can pose some threat to a majority of foes, as Pokemon immune to Toxic generally take heavy damage from Flamethrower. Toxic also has the advantage of dealing sustained damage while Mewtwo does its stall routine. Ice Beam can be used over Toxic so that Mewtwo can threaten Zapdos, which is one of the most common RestTalk users in the metagame, and it also lets Mewtwo possibly freeze foes. Flamethrower can be replaced by Thunder, which has great coverage alongside Ice Beam, allows Mewtwo to hit foes such as Ho-Oh and Starmie, and threatens to paralyze foes such as Mewtwo, Mew, and Lugia. Another alternative is Psychic, which hits bulky foes such as Snorlax and Raikou for heavy damage and is an especially powerful option with Growth boosts from Baton Pass. When combined with Barrier, Growth boosts can turn Mewtwo into a near-invincible powerhouse; however, Psychic can also be used alongside BoltBeam coverage to retain heavy damage against foes such as Ho-Oh and Forretress.
Mewtwo can also take a more offensive approach by running other attacking moves instead of Barrier. Self-Destruct retains some efficacy in dealing with Mew and can break through opposing status absorbers, such as Rest Snorlax. It is also somewhat unexpected alongside Recover, which could allow Mewtwo to grab a surprise KO against an unsuspecting foe. Dynamic Punch is a good option for dealing with Dark-types such as Umbreon and Tyranitar while also providing a chance to break through Snorlax and Blissey without relying on Self-Destruct. However, it should be noted that Dynamic Punch sets with Recover over Self-Destruct may lack the firepower to deal with opposing Mewtwo and Mew.
Team Options
========
Recover Mewtwo is exceptionally susceptible to status, so status absorbers and clerics are critical to its success. Rest Snorlax is a great general tank and can take a beating from most Pokemon that could paralyze Mewtwo with Thunder or target it with other moves that may inflict status. Blissey can likewise take virtually any special attack and offers Heal Bell support, which can allow Mewtwo to accept a degree of risk, such as fighting a Pokemon that uses Thunder, Body Slam, or Thunder Wave. Rest Jolteon can take potentially-paralyzing hits from Electric-types and threaten a sweep with Growth boosts. Baton Pass Jolteon can likewise threaten a sweep by passing boosts to Mewtwo or its teammates, which is especially effective if Mewtwo has multiple attacking moves. Spikes and Rapid Spin support is also recommended in order to go toe to toe with defensive teams; Forretress and Cloyster both make for excellent Spikes users and can also use Rapid Spin if the team requires it, whereas Golem can provide additional defense against Snorlax and pivot into Electric-type attacks aimed at Mewtwo alongside its Rapid Spin support. Measures against Curse + Whirlwind Lugia and Ho-Oh such as Zapdos and Raikou are a necessity. Both of these Electric-types provide a lot of offensive presence and defensive utility; offensively, they offer high damage output and a paralysis threat with STAB Thunder, as well as the potential to run Roar or Whirlwind with Spikes support to rack up passive damage against bulky foes. Defensively, both are effective as RestTalk users and perform very well against Lugia, one of the most important threats to deal with. An alternative to the Electric-types is Crunch Tyranitar, which offers both heavy damage against Lugia and other Psychic-types as well as a useful resistance to Normal-type moves such as Explosion and Snorlax's STAB attacks.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Thunder
move 2: Ice Beam / Psychic
move 3: Dynamic Punch / Fire Blast / Submission
move 4: Self-Destruct
item: Leftovers / Miracle Berry
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
As an all-out attacker, Mewtwo focuses on maximizing coverage while holding the threat of a sudden Self-Destruct over the foe's head. Thunder is essential to threaten Cloyster with an OHKO, as well as threatening Lugia, Ho-Oh, Mew, and Mewtwo with heavy damage and paralysis. Ice Beam is the best choice for its second move, as it threatens a 2HKO on Zapdos and Golem while also providing the possibility of a game-changing freeze. This BoltBeam coverage is best complemented with a Fighting-type move for Snorlax, Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Blissey. Dynamic Punch is an inconsistent but extremely dangerous option thanks to its accompanying confusion, which substantially increases Mewtwo's chances of getting past Snorlax without having to use Self-Destruct. The presence of Self-Destruct on the set also offers a way to recoup lost ground if Dynamic Punch fails to connect. Submission is weaker and comes with recoil, but its reliability gives it some appeal, and it still hits the aforementioned targets for substantial damage. Psychic is a solid alternative to Ice Beam, as it hits all of Snorlax, Zapdos, and Raikou for solid damage while threatening to drop Special Defense. This solid neutral damage on key foes also allows Mewtwo to run Fire Blast for the OHKO on Forretress, 2HKO on Celebi, and more reliable damage against Mew and opposing Mewtwo. Self-Destruct is a key weapon in Mewtwo's arsenal, allowing it to instantly remove nearly any foe after one prior hit. This can be used to deal with Swords Dance Mew, opposing Mewtwo, and Snorlax, potentially putting a teammate such as Zapdos or Jolteon into a position to sweep.
Team Options
========
Mewtwo is very commonly paired with Mew, as the two are excellent at breaking apart defensive cores with Self-Destruct and Explosion. If Mewtwo succeeds in taking down a specially bulky foe such as Snorlax, Blissey, or Raikou, this may allow a threat such as Growth Jolteon or Zapdos to wreak havoc with STAB Thunder. Jolteon can also potentially send its Special Attack boosts to Mewtwo with Baton Pass, making it nigh unstoppable. Mewtwo also appreciates Spikes support from Pokemon such as Forretress and Cloyster, as this helps it break through bulky foes such as Snorlax and Umbreon more easily. To potentially avoid having to trade such a valuable offensive weapon for its doppelganger on the opposing team, one can aim to status the opposing Mewtwo and then take it down with teammates such as Crunch + Pursuit Tyranitar, Explosion Steelix, Curse Lugia, Swords Dance Mew, and Curse Snorlax. In case Curse Snorlax gets out of hand against Mewtwo, it is useful to have at least one Normal-resistant phazer such as Steelix, Tyranitar, or Golem, or a Normal-resistant Defense booster such as Curse Skarmory, Reflect or Curse Forretress, or Defense Curl Shuckle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Instead of relying on Thunder to inflict paralysis, Mewtwo can instantly paralyze its foes with Thunder Wave. This is particularly useful when combined with Dynamic Punch and setup sweeper teammates such as Belly Drum Snorlax, Marowak, Curse Tyranitar, and Swords Dance Mew. However, it comes at the cost of coverage and the most likely target of Thunder Wave, opposing Mewtwo, can potentially trade itself with Mewtwo with Self-Destruct to avoid the disadvantage of being paralyzed. Mewtwo can use Curse along with Submission or Dynamic Punch to deal serious damage to specially bulky foes such as Snorlax, Blissey, Umbreon, and Tyranitar. It can also potentially use Shadow Ball to hit Psychic-types such as Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, and Celebi for boosted damage. However, using Curse and physical attacks makes it difficult to retain sufficient special coverage; for example, without Thunder, Mewtwo will struggle to deal with Forretress, Ho-Oh, and Cloyster, and without Ice Beam, it will struggle against Zapdos and Steelix. Even if Mewtwo uses Curse, a physical attack, and two special attacks, it will need to forgo Recover and Self-Destruct. Curse Mewtwo therefore requires specific circumstances and extensive support in order to be most effective. Mewtwo's ample pool of HP makes it a capable user of Counter, which can catch foes such as Swords Dance Mew and Curse Snorlax and instantly KO or deal massive damage to them. On top of this, its high Speed and access to Self-Destruct and Recover mean that it won't be entirely useless after executing this strategy. However, Counter is a higher risk strategy than simply dealing with these foes using Barrier or Self-Destruct, as it relies in part on surprise.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Snorlax**: Although it must be wary of Self-Destruct and Dynamic Punch, Snorlax can dominate most Mewtwo sets with its common sets. Its massive special bulk allows it to easily withstand Mewtwo's special attacks, allowing it to set up with Curse or cripple Mewtwo with Body Slam paralysis before setting up with Belly Drum. Lovely Kiss also gives it a way to bypass even Barrier Mewtwo.
**Mew and Mewtwo**: Mew and Mewtwo are both very bulky, which allows them to withstand numerous attacks from opposing Mewtwo before potentially healing the damage with Soft-Boiled or Recover. With a small amount of chip damage, they can also reliably OHKO it with Explosion or Self-Destruct. Mew can set up with Swords Dance to boost its Shadow Ball or Earthquake and then deal heavy damage to Mewtwo. However, Mewtwo will often have Barrier or Self-Destruct to neutralize the threat from Mew, and it can potentially inflict status with Toxic, Thunder, or Thunder Wave, so it must be dealt with cautiously. Generally, a clash between these titans of the tier tends to end in an exchange of status inflictions or a trade via Explosion or Self-Destruct.
**Electric-types**: Raikou tends to be one of the safest checks to Mewtwo, as Mewtwo often drops Psychic for other moves with better super effective coverage and Ice Beam is only a 5HKO against it. In return, Raikou threatens Mewtwo with crippling paralysis from Thunder, which can allow teammates such as Curse Snorlax to fight Mewtwo with less risk of being suddenly KOed by Self-Destruct or getting walled by Barrier. Zapdos is weak to the common Ice Beam, but in the absence of Ice Beam and Psychic, Zapdos also does well against it thanks to its powerful Thunder and access to Thunder Wave. Jolteon should generally avoid switching into Mewtwo before scouting, but it can fight against Barrier variants adequately thanks to Speed tying with Mewtwo and having Growth to boost its Special Attack. Jolteon's +1 Thunder is a 2HKO on Mewtwo, whereas Mewtwo's Flamethrower or Ice Beam is a 4HKO against Jolteon.
**Dark-types**: Umbreon is one of the best at neutralizing Mewtwo thanks to its formidable bulk and solid defensive typing. While it is lacking in powerful direct damage options, it can chip away at Mewtwo with Toxic and Pursuit, put it in an awkward position with Charm, and threaten to trap it with Mean Look. Curse Tyranitar is one of the biggest problems for Barrier Mewtwo, as it commonly runs both Roar and Rest to negate the effects of Barrier and Toxic. Specially, Tyranitar has a powerful super effective STAB Crunch alongside Pursuit, which can put Mewtwo that lack Fighting-type coverage in an awkward position. While Crunch does not 2HKO Mewtwo, it deals enough so that Mewtwo is under serious threat from potential Special Defense drops and critical hits, even with Recover. Tyranitar also resists Self-Destruct, which means that, unlike with most foes, Mewtwo is unlikely to be able to achieve a trade. Unlike most Pokemon that resist Normal, Tyranitar also has good special bulk, which allows it to take coverage attacks from Mewtwo that other Normal-resistant Pokemon are afraid of. However, Dark-types need to be cautious around Mewtwo sets that have Fighting-type coverage moves, especially Tyranitar with its 4x weakness.
**Heracross**: Heracross has decent special bulk and access to STAB Megahorn, the only unboosted attack in the game that can reliably 2HKO Mewtwo aside from Self-Destruct and Explosion. If Mewtwo lacks Psychic- or Fire-type coverage, Heracross has a good matchup against it and will generally be able to force Mewtwo to switch out or trade with Self-Destruct.
**Blissey**: Blissey can take on variants of Mewtwo that lack Dynamic Punch reasonably safely, as even Submission fails to 2HKO it. It can undo the status spreading that Mewtwo has done with Heal Bell and even pose a significant threat to it with Present or Toxic. However, as with most Mewtwo checks, it must be wary of Self-Destruct.
**Vaporeon**: RestTalk + Growth Vaporeon or Growth + Baton Pass Vaporeon can take advantage of Mewtwo sets that lack Thunder, such as the common Flamethrower + Toxic + Barrier set. However, it is risky to take Mewtwo on with Vaporeon before its set is revealed.
**Shuckle**: Shuckle is a fairly reliable answer to Mewtwo variants that lack Psychic, as none of its other attacks can reliably 4HKO it. It threatens Mewtwo with Toxic and can PP stall it without risking being KOed by Self-Destruct.
**Quagsire**: Quagsire can switch into Thunder and Flamethrower, which are Mewtwo's most commonly used attacks, and take next to no damage. It can then either attempt to stall Mewtwo with a RestTalk set or, if Mewtwo is paralyzed, set up with Belly Drum. However, it is 4HKOed by Ice Beam, which leaves it vulnerable to critical hits or confusion from Dynamic Punch, and it is easily 3HKOed by Psychic.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Earthworm, 15210]]
- Quality checked by: [[Isa, 168574], [M Dragon, 21345]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [deetah, 297659]]
Mewtwo's incredible stats and deep movepool grant it tremendous versatility and power. Its ridiculously high Speed, solid defenses, and access to Recover and Barrier make it one of the sturdiest checks to physical attackers that lack phazing moves, such as Mew and Earthquake Lugia. Offensively, its monstrous Special Attack, amazing coverage, and status moves allow it to threaten broad swathes of the metagame. Nothing is entirely safe from Mewtwo, though it may need to sacrifice itself with Self-Destruct to consistently eliminate the foe. Unlike most other threats of its magnitude in GSC, Mewtwo requires no setup before it can start blasting away. Mewtwo's flaws are few and far between, but the most exploitable is perhaps its lack of ways to deal with status. Paralysis is a death sentence for Mewtwo, which puts it in an awkward situation against foes with Thunder, Body Slam, or Thunder Wave. However, Self-Destruct gives Mewtwo a way to salvage even poor situations. Mewtwo is so difficult to handle that, oftentimes, players must resort to controlling it through Self-Destruct or Explosion, as a trade is usually preferable to continually enduring its attacks or being perpetually walled.
[SET]
name: Recover
move 1: Flamethrower / Thunder / Psychic
move 2: Toxic / Ice Beam
move 3: Barrier / Self-Destruct / Psychic / Dynamic Punch
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Mewtwo's extremely high Speed and 32 PP of Recover let it use Barrier to wall any physical attackers that lack phazing moves and disruptive secondary effect chances on their attacks, such as Swords Dance Mew, Earthquake Lugia, and certain Curse Snorlax and Mewtwo variants. Even a +6 Shadow Ball critical hit from Mew will only deal up to 70.3% to +6 Mewtwo, and because Mewtwo outspeeds and has Recover and Leftovers, Mew must land four consecutive critical hits to take a full health Mewtwo down. Mewtwo's effectiveness as a physical wall is compounded by the fact that many Explosion and Self-Destruct users only OHKO it some of the time—only Golem and Snorlax always OHKO—and if Mewtwo survives other foes' Explosions, it can restore its health with its fast Recover. However, Mewtwo is not a flawless physical wall—even without the less common Self-Destruct, Snorlax can pierce Mewtwo's defenses with Lovely Kiss and potentially use Body Slam, Mew can use Thunder Wave or potentially allow a teammate to sweep by removing Mewtwo with Explosion, and Curse phazers such as Tyranitar, Lugia, and Ho-Oh can remove its Defense boosts after accruing boosts. However, Swords Dance Mew is a massive threat, and Barrier Mewtwo is one of the safest ways to reliably handle it. In addition to walling foes, Mewtwo threatens its foes in return with its remaining two moveslots. The combination of Toxic and Flamethrower is an excellent way to ensure Mewtwo can pose some threat to a majority of foes, as Pokemon immune to Toxic generally take heavy damage from Flamethrower. Toxic also has the advantage of dealing sustained damage while Mewtwo does its stall routine. Ice Beam can be used over Toxic so that Mewtwo can threaten Zapdos, which is one of the most common RestTalk users in the metagame, and it also lets Mewtwo possibly freeze foes. Flamethrower can be replaced by Thunder, which has great coverage alongside Ice Beam, allows Mewtwo to hit foes such as Ho-Oh and Starmie, and threatens to paralyze foes such as Mewtwo, Mew, and Lugia. Another alternative is Psychic, which hits bulky foes such as Snorlax and Raikou for heavy damage and is an especially powerful option with Growth boosts from Baton Pass. When combined with Barrier, Growth boosts can turn Mewtwo into a near-invincible powerhouse; however, Psychic can also be used alongside BoltBeam coverage to retain heavy damage against foes such as Ho-Oh and Forretress.
Mewtwo can also take a more offensive approach by running other attacking moves instead of Barrier. Self-Destruct retains some efficacy in dealing with Mew and can break through opposing status absorbers, such as Rest Snorlax. It is also somewhat unexpected alongside Recover, which could allow Mewtwo to grab a surprise KO against an unsuspecting foe. Dynamic Punch is a good option for dealing with Dark-types such as Umbreon and Tyranitar while also providing a chance to break through Snorlax and Blissey without relying on Self-Destruct. However, it should be noted that Dynamic Punch sets with Recover over Self-Destruct may lack the firepower to deal with opposing Mewtwo and Mew.
Team Options
========
Recover Mewtwo is exceptionally susceptible to status, so status absorbers and clerics are critical to its success. Rest Snorlax is a great general tank and can take a beating from most Pokemon that could paralyze Mewtwo with Thunder or target it with other moves that may inflict status. Blissey can likewise take virtually any special attack and offers Heal Bell support, which can allow Mewtwo to accept a degree of risk, such as fighting a Pokemon that uses Thunder, Body Slam, or Thunder Wave. Rest Jolteon can take potentially-paralyzing hits from Electric-types and threaten a sweep with Growth boosts. Baton Pass Jolteon can likewise threaten a sweep by passing boosts to Mewtwo or its teammates, which is especially effective if Mewtwo has multiple attacking moves. Spikes and Rapid Spin support is also recommended in order to go toe to toe with defensive teams; Forretress and Cloyster both make for excellent Spikes users and can also use Rapid Spin if the team requires it, whereas Golem can provide additional defense against Snorlax and pivot into Electric-type attacks aimed at Mewtwo alongside its Rapid Spin support. Measures against Curse + Whirlwind Lugia and Ho-Oh such as Zapdos and Raikou are a necessity. Both of these Electric-types provide a lot of offensive presence and defensive utility; offensively, they offer high damage output and a paralysis threat with STAB Thunder, as well as the potential to run Roar or Whirlwind with Spikes support to rack up passive damage against bulky foes. Defensively, both are effective as RestTalk users and perform very well against Lugia, one of the most important threats to deal with. An alternative to the Electric-types is Crunch Tyranitar, which offers both heavy damage against Lugia and other Psychic-types as well as a useful resistance to Normal-type moves such as Explosion and Snorlax's STAB attacks.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Thunder
move 2: Ice Beam / Psychic
move 3: Dynamic Punch / Fire Blast / Submission
move 4: Self-Destruct
item: Leftovers / Miracle Berry
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
As an all-out attacker, Mewtwo focuses on maximizing coverage while holding the threat of a sudden Self-Destruct over the foe's head. Thunder is essential to threaten Cloyster with an OHKO, as well as threatening Lugia, Ho-Oh, Mew, and Mewtwo with heavy damage and paralysis. Ice Beam is the best choice for its second move, as it threatens a 2HKO on Zapdos and Golem while also providing the possibility of a game-changing freeze. This BoltBeam coverage is best complemented with a Fighting-type move for Snorlax, Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Blissey. Dynamic Punch is an inconsistent but extremely dangerous option thanks to its accompanying confusion, which substantially increases Mewtwo's chances of getting past Snorlax without having to use Self-Destruct. The presence of Self-Destruct on the set also offers a way to recoup lost ground if Dynamic Punch fails to connect. Submission is weaker and comes with recoil, but its reliability gives it some appeal, and it still hits the aforementioned targets for substantial damage. Psychic is a solid alternative to Ice Beam, as it hits all of Snorlax, Zapdos, and Raikou for solid damage while threatening to drop Special Defense. This solid neutral damage on key foes also allows Mewtwo to run Fire Blast for the OHKO on Forretress, 2HKO on Celebi, and more reliable damage against Mew and opposing Mewtwo. Self-Destruct is a key weapon in Mewtwo's arsenal, allowing it to instantly remove nearly any foe after one prior hit. This can be used to deal with Swords Dance Mew, opposing Mewtwo, and Snorlax, potentially putting a teammate such as Zapdos or Jolteon into a position to sweep.
Team Options
========
Mewtwo is very commonly paired with Mew, as the two are excellent at breaking apart defensive cores with Self-Destruct and Explosion. If Mewtwo succeeds in taking down a specially bulky foe such as Snorlax, Blissey, or Raikou, this may allow a threat such as Growth Jolteon or Zapdos to wreak havoc with STAB Thunder. Jolteon can also potentially send its Special Attack boosts to Mewtwo with Baton Pass, making it nigh unstoppable. Mewtwo also appreciates Spikes support from Pokemon such as Forretress and Cloyster, as this helps it break through bulky foes such as Snorlax and Umbreon more easily. To potentially avoid having to trade such a valuable offensive weapon for its doppelganger on the opposing team, one can aim to status the opposing Mewtwo and then take it down with teammates such as Crunch + Pursuit Tyranitar, Explosion Steelix, Curse Lugia, Swords Dance Mew, and Curse Snorlax. In case Curse Snorlax gets out of hand against Mewtwo, it is useful to have at least one Normal-resistant phazer such as Steelix, Tyranitar, or Golem, or a Normal-resistant Defense booster such as Curse Skarmory, Reflect or Curse Forretress, or Defense Curl Shuckle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Instead of relying on Thunder to inflict paralysis, Mewtwo can instantly paralyze its foes with Thunder Wave. This is particularly useful when combined with Dynamic Punch and setup sweeper teammates such as Belly Drum Snorlax, Marowak, Curse Tyranitar, and Swords Dance Mew. However, it comes at the cost of coverage and the most likely target of Thunder Wave, opposing Mewtwo, can potentially trade itself with Mewtwo with Self-Destruct to avoid the disadvantage of being paralyzed. Mewtwo can use Curse along with Submission or Dynamic Punch to deal serious damage to specially bulky foes such as Snorlax, Blissey, Umbreon, and Tyranitar. It can also potentially use Shadow Ball to hit Psychic-types such as Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, and Celebi for boosted damage. However, using Curse and physical attacks makes it difficult to retain sufficient special coverage; for example, without Thunder, Mewtwo will struggle to deal with Forretress, Ho-Oh, and Cloyster, and without Ice Beam, it will struggle against Zapdos and Steelix. Even if Mewtwo uses Curse, a physical attack, and two special attacks, it will need to forgo Recover and Self-Destruct. Curse Mewtwo therefore requires specific circumstances and extensive support in order to be most effective. Mewtwo's ample pool of HP makes it a capable user of Counter, which can catch foes such as Swords Dance Mew and Curse Snorlax and instantly KO or deal massive damage to them. On top of this, its high Speed and access to Self-Destruct and Recover mean that it won't be entirely useless after executing this strategy. However, Counter is a higher risk strategy than simply dealing with these foes using Barrier or Self-Destruct, as it relies in part on surprise.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Snorlax**: Although it must be wary of Self-Destruct and Dynamic Punch, Snorlax can dominate most Mewtwo sets with its common sets. Its massive special bulk allows it to easily withstand Mewtwo's special attacks, allowing it to set up with Curse or cripple Mewtwo with Body Slam paralysis before setting up with Belly Drum. Lovely Kiss also gives it a way to bypass even Barrier Mewtwo.
**Mew and Mewtwo**: Mew and Mewtwo are both very bulky, which allows them to withstand numerous attacks from opposing Mewtwo before potentially healing the damage with Soft-Boiled or Recover. With a small amount of chip damage, they can also reliably OHKO it with Explosion or Self-Destruct. Mew can set up with Swords Dance to boost its Shadow Ball or Earthquake and then deal heavy damage to Mewtwo. However, Mewtwo will often have Barrier or Self-Destruct to neutralize the threat from Mew, and it can potentially inflict status with Toxic, Thunder, or Thunder Wave, so it must be dealt with cautiously. Generally, a clash between these titans of the tier tends to end in an exchange of status inflictions or a trade via Explosion or Self-Destruct.
**Electric-types**: Raikou tends to be one of the safest checks to Mewtwo, as Mewtwo often drops Psychic for other moves with better super effective coverage and Ice Beam is only a 5HKO against it. In return, Raikou threatens Mewtwo with crippling paralysis from Thunder, which can allow teammates such as Curse Snorlax to fight Mewtwo with less risk of being suddenly KOed by Self-Destruct or getting walled by Barrier. Zapdos is weak to the common Ice Beam, but in the absence of Ice Beam and Psychic, Zapdos also does well against it thanks to its powerful Thunder and access to Thunder Wave. Jolteon should generally avoid switching into Mewtwo before scouting, but it can fight against Barrier variants adequately thanks to Speed tying with Mewtwo and having Growth to boost its Special Attack. Jolteon's +1 Thunder is a 2HKO on Mewtwo, whereas Mewtwo's Flamethrower or Ice Beam is a 4HKO against Jolteon.
**Dark-types**: Umbreon is one of the best at neutralizing Mewtwo thanks to its formidable bulk and solid defensive typing. While it is lacking in powerful direct damage options, it can chip away at Mewtwo with Toxic and Pursuit, put it in an awkward position with Charm, and threaten to trap it with Mean Look. Curse Tyranitar is one of the biggest problems for Barrier Mewtwo, as it commonly runs both Roar and Rest to negate the effects of Barrier and Toxic. Specially, Tyranitar has a powerful super effective STAB Crunch alongside Pursuit, which can put Mewtwo that lack Fighting-type coverage in an awkward position. While Crunch does not 2HKO Mewtwo, it deals enough so that Mewtwo is under serious threat from potential Special Defense drops and critical hits, even with Recover. Tyranitar also resists Self-Destruct, which means that, unlike with most foes, Mewtwo is unlikely to be able to achieve a trade. Unlike most Pokemon that resist Normal, Tyranitar also has good special bulk, which allows it to take coverage attacks from Mewtwo that other Normal-resistant Pokemon are afraid of. However, Dark-types need to be cautious around Mewtwo sets that have Fighting-type coverage moves, especially Tyranitar with its 4x weakness.
**Heracross**: Heracross has decent special bulk and access to STAB Megahorn, the only unboosted attack in the game that can reliably 2HKO Mewtwo aside from Self-Destruct and Explosion. If Mewtwo lacks Psychic- or Fire-type coverage, Heracross has a good matchup against it and will generally be able to force Mewtwo to switch out or trade with Self-Destruct.
**Blissey**: Blissey can take on variants of Mewtwo that lack Dynamic Punch reasonably safely, as even Submission fails to 2HKO it. It can undo the status spreading that Mewtwo has done with Heal Bell and even pose a significant threat to it with Present or Toxic. However, as with most Mewtwo checks, it must be wary of Self-Destruct.
**Vaporeon**: RestTalk + Growth Vaporeon or Growth + Baton Pass Vaporeon can take advantage of Mewtwo sets that lack Thunder, such as the common Flamethrower + Toxic + Barrier set. However, it is risky to take Mewtwo on with Vaporeon before its set is revealed.
**Shuckle**: Shuckle is a fairly reliable answer to Mewtwo variants that lack Psychic, as none of its other attacks can reliably 4HKO it. It threatens Mewtwo with Toxic and can PP stall it without risking being KOed by Self-Destruct.
**Quagsire**: Quagsire can switch into Thunder and Flamethrower, which are Mewtwo's most commonly used attacks, and take next to no damage. It can then either attempt to stall Mewtwo with a RestTalk set or, if Mewtwo is paralyzed, set up with Belly Drum. However, it is 4HKOed by Ice Beam, which leaves it vulnerable to critical hits or confusion from Dynamic Punch, and it is easily 3HKOed by Psychic.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Earthworm, 15210]]
- Quality checked by: [[Isa, 168574], [M Dragon, 21345]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [deetah, 297659]]
Last edited:
