Mewtwo
[Overview]
<p>Mewtwo has access to 154 base Special Attack, 130 base Speed, and other good stats. When those are combined with its insane movepool, the "classic god of Psychic types" retains its title. Psystrike, its new signature move, allow it to break down its former checks Blissey, Ghost Arceus, and Ho-oh, while doing massive damage to everything that doesn't resist it, such as Palkia, Reshiram, and several Arceus formes. With Psycho Break, Mewtwo finally has a reason to use its STAB.</p>
<p>Even with all these benefits, Mewtwo has one major "flaw" in the fast-paced offensively-oriented Ubers metagame. With average, though still respectable) defenses of 90, and a weakness to Shadow Sneak, Mewtwo can be killed fairly easily. Regardless of that weakness to priority (which is capable of dealing with several pokemon), Mewtwo is one of the very few Pokemon who lacks actual flaws, making it essentially the "perfect Pokemon."</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind / Ice Beam
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Aura Sphere
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Mewtwo's access to Selfdestruct allowed it to kill Blissey in Generation 4, the weakened effective Base Power of Explosion moves would have weakened Mewtwo's ability to kill her. However, Mewtwo now has a new option to deal with her, and it can do so without sacrificing itself. With the addition of Psycho Break, Mewtwo destroys its former archnemesis Blissey after a Calm Mind. Psycho Break also gives it the power to deal with Ho-oh, Kyogre, and several Arceus formes.</p>
<p>The damage output from Psystrike is insane - even an unboosted Psystrike will 2HKO Latias and Latios, as well as Victini after Stealth Rock, the few Pokemon that resist the Psychic/Fire/Fighting attacking combination. Psystrike also helps Mewtwo break down Pokemon that already have Calm Mind boosts. Fire Blast destroys Steel-type Pokemon such as Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, who may otherwise murder Mewtwo. With a Calm Mind boost, Fire Blast has a chance to OHKO Wobbuffet after Stealth Rock damage, assuming that the weather is sunny. Flamethrower can be used for reliability, as well. While not as powerful as Fire Blast, Flamethrower in the sun still hits Grass/Bug/Ice/Steel Arceus, Forretress, and Scizor hard. Though Sturdy prevents it from losing all of its health, Forretress can do nothing in the face of Mewtwo's follow-up attack. The set's final move is taken up by Aura Sphere. With it, Mewtwo easily destroys Tyranitar, and it serves as a reliable attack to use against Dialga, Darkrai, and Dark Arceus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If Mewtwo's offensive power after a Calm Mind is the least of your worries, Leftovers is an option over Life Orb, as it allows Mewtwo to preserve its bulk and make it even tougher to revenge kill. With Psystrike, Calm Mind can be replaced with Ice Beam, allowing Mewtwo to hit Groudon, Lugia, Garchomp, Giratina/Giratina-O, and Rayquaza with their weakness, which can OHKO or 2HKO those Pokemon.</p>
<p>This Mewtwo set, due to the power of its STAB, as well as its stats, generally does not require much support from teammates. However, entry hazard users, such as Deoxys or Forretress, can make it easier to KO an opponent's Pokemon.</p>
<p>Because of Fire Blast/Flamethrower, the Sun boost provided by Groudon allows Mewtwo to OHKO the steel types who may otherwise survive in other weather. Groudon is one of the many Pokemon that has the ability to set up Stealth Rock. Due to its typing, Groudon can also easily come in on a Choice Scarf Zekrom's Lightning Strike, forcing it to switch out. </p>
[SET]
Name: Specially Defensive
Move 1: Light Screen
Move 2: Taunt
Move 3: Recover
Move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Psystrike
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 144 SpD / 32 Spe
Nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Mewtwo may be noted for its extraordinary offensive capability due to Calm Mind, Psycho Break, and its wide variety of special attacks. Mewtwo's support movepool, however, is just as extensive, allowing it to run a defensive set. Light Screen and Will-O-Wisp allow Mewtwo to deal with both Physical and Special sweepers. With the given EVs, Mewtwo can easily neuter any threats that come in against it. Recover, with Mewtwo's high HP and Light Screen/Will-O-Wisp, allow it to easily survive a variety of attacks, and stall out the opponent's PP with Pressure.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you want, Mewtwo can set up Reflect and Light Screen with ease, due to its decent bulk and high Speed. However, Prankster Pokemon, such as Whimsicott, can use their Priority Taunting to stop your support before it starts. Because of Defensive Mewtwo's appreciation of Entry Hazards, Will-O-Wisp may not be necessary, and, in fact, can become useless due to Toxic Spikes. Psystrike, off of Mewtwo's high Special Attack, can serve as a useful substitute in place of Burn, and a way to deal with Pokemon otherwise unimpeded by a pure StallTwo, such as Ho-oh and Reshiram. Burn, however, has uses against Physical Sweepers such as Groudon, Rayquaza, Arceus, Zekrom, and Garchomp.</p>
<p>With the lack of Latios and Latias due to the unavailability of Soul Dew, Mewtwo does not need as much speed; 32 speed EVs put it at 334 speed, allowing it to outspeed and Burn Swords Dance Garchomp. Should a max speed Normal Arceus decide to come in and try to set up on you, the 144 Special Defense EVs can be moved into Speed to prevent that, either through Taunt or Will-o-Wisp. Taunt, when combined with Mewtwo's speed, can provide a way to prevent opposing Pokemon from setting up.</p>
<p>Defensive Mewtwo definitely appreciates entry hazards more than the offensive set. Its bulk, when combined with Pressure, as well as its ability to nullify the potency of sweepers, make killing it extremely difficult. Two layers of Toxic Spikes make up for Mewtwo's lack of ways to damage an opponent directly. Dark Arceus serves as an excellent counter to a defensive Mewtwo. Without a way to reliably harm it, Mewtwo is forced to switch out should Dark Arceus hit the field.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thunder can strike Kyogre harder than everything else, with the possible exception of Grass Knot. Grass Knot can also be used for Groudon, allowing Mewtwo to deal with both with ease. If Mewtwo is near death, Selfdestruct is an option to deal a reasonable amount of damage to an opposing pokemon. While explosion moves only has half the power it had in the previous generation, which prevents it from easily KOing a pokemon, it can still serve as a way to bring in a counter or a check. This works best with Reflect and Light Screen support, as it prevents the opposing pokemon, who is likely to survive the kamikaze attempt, from killing your switch-in.</p>
<p>If using Selfdestruct, Mewtwo's physical attack and defense can be boosted by the use of Bulk Up. In addition to gaining the ability to sweep physically, Mewtwo can use the moin an attempt to reduce Shadow Sneak's damage output. However, both Bulk Up and Mewtwo's ability to sweep physically are often largely outclassed by the Calm Mind set. Because of the absurd power of the CM set, Mewtwo possesses the ability to annihilate Blissey, as well as several other specially defensive Pokemon, with its STAB.</p>
<p>While Mewtwo can run an all out attacker set with Aura Sphere / Ice Beam / Flamethrower / Psystrike, it generally prefers the sweeping ability Calm Mind gives; the extra Special Attack and Special Defense provided by a CM allow Mewtwo to both sweep with ease and survive against special attacks. Because it provides an immediate power boost, Choice Specs can work well, but, as Mewtwo has one of the best sweeping capabilities in the game, locking yourself in on a specific move is generally not a good idea, as it makes countering Mewtwo a much easier task. Choice Scarf makes Mewtwo a phenomenal revenge killer as it can revenge kill the likes of Rock Polish Groudon and Scarf Shaymin-S. Trick can be used with either Choice Scarf or Choice Specs to disable a threat, such as Blissey or Lugia, as well.</p>
<p>For those who dislike Fire Blast or Flamethrower's reliance on sunlight, Shadow Ball can serve as a decent replacement option, due to the number of Pokemon weak to it. Because of their typing, Giratina/Giratina-O, Wobbuffet, Mew, opposing Mewtwo, and Psychic/Ghost Arceus get hit hard by Shadow Ball. If your Fire attack is removed, however, Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross have a much easier time dealing with Mewtwo, though the Psychic typing on Jirachi and Metagross allows Shadow Ball to hit them for neutral damage.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Though almost nothing can counter Mewtwo, it can easily be revenged by Choice Scarf Kyogre and Zekrom. Furthermore, Giratina-O can pick it off at 50% with Shadow Sneak and, with Giratina's high HP, allow it to survive an unboosted Psycho Break. Kyogre can weaken Mewtwo's Fire-type attack through Drizzle, allowing Lugia and Wobbuffet to take care of Mewtwo, if it does not have Shadow Ball, with relative ease. Choice Scarf Victini resists Mewtwo's entire moveset and can deal massive damage with Flare Blitz if the Sun is up. Scarf Zoroark, should it take the form of Victini, can switch in on a predicted Psycho Break, then kill Mewtwo with Sucker Punch or Night Burst. Choice Scarf Jirachi, though it takes heavy damage from Fire Blast or Flamethrower, can U-turn against Mewtwo and switch into Giratina-O to take the Fire-type attack. Giratina-O can then finish Mewtwo off with Shadow Sneak.</p>
<p>Mewtwo's power makes Spikes support unnecessary, as Mewtwo is strong enough to sweep without them. They can, however, weaken Scarf Kyogre further, reducing the damage from Water Spout and potentially preventing a KO. On the defensive set, however, the necessity of Entry Hazards allow either Giratina-O or Ghost Arceus to serve as a much-appreciated spinblocker.</p>
[Dream World]
Mewtwo's Dream World ability, Unnerve, prevents the opponent from consuming their berries. This is extremely helpful for Calm Mind Mewtwo. Because it prevents the activation of resist berries as well as other berries, pokemon such as Chople Tyranitar and Chople Darkrai can no longer get in the way of its sweeping rampage. Furthermore, Wobbuffet can not activate its Custap Berry, meaning that a low health Wobbuffet is hard pressed to revenge kill Mewtwo with Destiny Bond. Pressure isn't too helpful for this fast paced set. The stalling set definitely prefers Pressure, however, as it is meant to abuse it.</p>
[Overview]
<p>Mewtwo has access to 154 base Special Attack, 130 base Speed, and other good stats. When those are combined with its insane movepool, the "classic god of Psychic types" retains its title. Psystrike, its new signature move, allow it to break down its former checks Blissey, Ghost Arceus, and Ho-oh, while doing massive damage to everything that doesn't resist it, such as Palkia, Reshiram, and several Arceus formes. With Psycho Break, Mewtwo finally has a reason to use its STAB.</p>
<p>Even with all these benefits, Mewtwo has one major "flaw" in the fast-paced offensively-oriented Ubers metagame. With average, though still respectable) defenses of 90, and a weakness to Shadow Sneak, Mewtwo can be killed fairly easily. Regardless of that weakness to priority (which is capable of dealing with several pokemon), Mewtwo is one of the very few Pokemon who lacks actual flaws, making it essentially the "perfect Pokemon."</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind / Ice Beam
move 2: Psystrike
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Aura Sphere
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Mewtwo's access to Selfdestruct allowed it to kill Blissey in Generation 4, the weakened effective Base Power of Explosion moves would have weakened Mewtwo's ability to kill her. However, Mewtwo now has a new option to deal with her, and it can do so without sacrificing itself. With the addition of Psycho Break, Mewtwo destroys its former archnemesis Blissey after a Calm Mind. Psycho Break also gives it the power to deal with Ho-oh, Kyogre, and several Arceus formes.</p>
<p>The damage output from Psystrike is insane - even an unboosted Psystrike will 2HKO Latias and Latios, as well as Victini after Stealth Rock, the few Pokemon that resist the Psychic/Fire/Fighting attacking combination. Psystrike also helps Mewtwo break down Pokemon that already have Calm Mind boosts. Fire Blast destroys Steel-type Pokemon such as Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, who may otherwise murder Mewtwo. With a Calm Mind boost, Fire Blast has a chance to OHKO Wobbuffet after Stealth Rock damage, assuming that the weather is sunny. Flamethrower can be used for reliability, as well. While not as powerful as Fire Blast, Flamethrower in the sun still hits Grass/Bug/Ice/Steel Arceus, Forretress, and Scizor hard. Though Sturdy prevents it from losing all of its health, Forretress can do nothing in the face of Mewtwo's follow-up attack. The set's final move is taken up by Aura Sphere. With it, Mewtwo easily destroys Tyranitar, and it serves as a reliable attack to use against Dialga, Darkrai, and Dark Arceus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If Mewtwo's offensive power after a Calm Mind is the least of your worries, Leftovers is an option over Life Orb, as it allows Mewtwo to preserve its bulk and make it even tougher to revenge kill. With Psystrike, Calm Mind can be replaced with Ice Beam, allowing Mewtwo to hit Groudon, Lugia, Garchomp, Giratina/Giratina-O, and Rayquaza with their weakness, which can OHKO or 2HKO those Pokemon.</p>
<p>This Mewtwo set, due to the power of its STAB, as well as its stats, generally does not require much support from teammates. However, entry hazard users, such as Deoxys or Forretress, can make it easier to KO an opponent's Pokemon.</p>
<p>Because of Fire Blast/Flamethrower, the Sun boost provided by Groudon allows Mewtwo to OHKO the steel types who may otherwise survive in other weather. Groudon is one of the many Pokemon that has the ability to set up Stealth Rock. Due to its typing, Groudon can also easily come in on a Choice Scarf Zekrom's Lightning Strike, forcing it to switch out. </p>
[SET]
Name: Specially Defensive
Move 1: Light Screen
Move 2: Taunt
Move 3: Recover
Move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Psystrike
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 144 SpD / 32 Spe
Nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Mewtwo may be noted for its extraordinary offensive capability due to Calm Mind, Psycho Break, and its wide variety of special attacks. Mewtwo's support movepool, however, is just as extensive, allowing it to run a defensive set. Light Screen and Will-O-Wisp allow Mewtwo to deal with both Physical and Special sweepers. With the given EVs, Mewtwo can easily neuter any threats that come in against it. Recover, with Mewtwo's high HP and Light Screen/Will-O-Wisp, allow it to easily survive a variety of attacks, and stall out the opponent's PP with Pressure.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you want, Mewtwo can set up Reflect and Light Screen with ease, due to its decent bulk and high Speed. However, Prankster Pokemon, such as Whimsicott, can use their Priority Taunting to stop your support before it starts. Because of Defensive Mewtwo's appreciation of Entry Hazards, Will-O-Wisp may not be necessary, and, in fact, can become useless due to Toxic Spikes. Psystrike, off of Mewtwo's high Special Attack, can serve as a useful substitute in place of Burn, and a way to deal with Pokemon otherwise unimpeded by a pure StallTwo, such as Ho-oh and Reshiram. Burn, however, has uses against Physical Sweepers such as Groudon, Rayquaza, Arceus, Zekrom, and Garchomp.</p>
<p>With the lack of Latios and Latias due to the unavailability of Soul Dew, Mewtwo does not need as much speed; 32 speed EVs put it at 334 speed, allowing it to outspeed and Burn Swords Dance Garchomp. Should a max speed Normal Arceus decide to come in and try to set up on you, the 144 Special Defense EVs can be moved into Speed to prevent that, either through Taunt or Will-o-Wisp. Taunt, when combined with Mewtwo's speed, can provide a way to prevent opposing Pokemon from setting up.</p>
<p>Defensive Mewtwo definitely appreciates entry hazards more than the offensive set. Its bulk, when combined with Pressure, as well as its ability to nullify the potency of sweepers, make killing it extremely difficult. Two layers of Toxic Spikes make up for Mewtwo's lack of ways to damage an opponent directly. Dark Arceus serves as an excellent counter to a defensive Mewtwo. Without a way to reliably harm it, Mewtwo is forced to switch out should Dark Arceus hit the field.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thunder can strike Kyogre harder than everything else, with the possible exception of Grass Knot. Grass Knot can also be used for Groudon, allowing Mewtwo to deal with both with ease. If Mewtwo is near death, Selfdestruct is an option to deal a reasonable amount of damage to an opposing pokemon. While explosion moves only has half the power it had in the previous generation, which prevents it from easily KOing a pokemon, it can still serve as a way to bring in a counter or a check. This works best with Reflect and Light Screen support, as it prevents the opposing pokemon, who is likely to survive the kamikaze attempt, from killing your switch-in.</p>
<p>If using Selfdestruct, Mewtwo's physical attack and defense can be boosted by the use of Bulk Up. In addition to gaining the ability to sweep physically, Mewtwo can use the moin an attempt to reduce Shadow Sneak's damage output. However, both Bulk Up and Mewtwo's ability to sweep physically are often largely outclassed by the Calm Mind set. Because of the absurd power of the CM set, Mewtwo possesses the ability to annihilate Blissey, as well as several other specially defensive Pokemon, with its STAB.</p>
<p>While Mewtwo can run an all out attacker set with Aura Sphere / Ice Beam / Flamethrower / Psystrike, it generally prefers the sweeping ability Calm Mind gives; the extra Special Attack and Special Defense provided by a CM allow Mewtwo to both sweep with ease and survive against special attacks. Because it provides an immediate power boost, Choice Specs can work well, but, as Mewtwo has one of the best sweeping capabilities in the game, locking yourself in on a specific move is generally not a good idea, as it makes countering Mewtwo a much easier task. Choice Scarf makes Mewtwo a phenomenal revenge killer as it can revenge kill the likes of Rock Polish Groudon and Scarf Shaymin-S. Trick can be used with either Choice Scarf or Choice Specs to disable a threat, such as Blissey or Lugia, as well.</p>
<p>For those who dislike Fire Blast or Flamethrower's reliance on sunlight, Shadow Ball can serve as a decent replacement option, due to the number of Pokemon weak to it. Because of their typing, Giratina/Giratina-O, Wobbuffet, Mew, opposing Mewtwo, and Psychic/Ghost Arceus get hit hard by Shadow Ball. If your Fire attack is removed, however, Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross have a much easier time dealing with Mewtwo, though the Psychic typing on Jirachi and Metagross allows Shadow Ball to hit them for neutral damage.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Though almost nothing can counter Mewtwo, it can easily be revenged by Choice Scarf Kyogre and Zekrom. Furthermore, Giratina-O can pick it off at 50% with Shadow Sneak and, with Giratina's high HP, allow it to survive an unboosted Psycho Break. Kyogre can weaken Mewtwo's Fire-type attack through Drizzle, allowing Lugia and Wobbuffet to take care of Mewtwo, if it does not have Shadow Ball, with relative ease. Choice Scarf Victini resists Mewtwo's entire moveset and can deal massive damage with Flare Blitz if the Sun is up. Scarf Zoroark, should it take the form of Victini, can switch in on a predicted Psycho Break, then kill Mewtwo with Sucker Punch or Night Burst. Choice Scarf Jirachi, though it takes heavy damage from Fire Blast or Flamethrower, can U-turn against Mewtwo and switch into Giratina-O to take the Fire-type attack. Giratina-O can then finish Mewtwo off with Shadow Sneak.</p>
<p>Mewtwo's power makes Spikes support unnecessary, as Mewtwo is strong enough to sweep without them. They can, however, weaken Scarf Kyogre further, reducing the damage from Water Spout and potentially preventing a KO. On the defensive set, however, the necessity of Entry Hazards allow either Giratina-O or Ghost Arceus to serve as a much-appreciated spinblocker.</p>
[Dream World]
Mewtwo's Dream World ability, Unnerve, prevents the opponent from consuming their berries. This is extremely helpful for Calm Mind Mewtwo. Because it prevents the activation of resist berries as well as other berries, pokemon such as Chople Tyranitar and Chople Darkrai can no longer get in the way of its sweeping rampage. Furthermore, Wobbuffet can not activate its Custap Berry, meaning that a low health Wobbuffet is hard pressed to revenge kill Mewtwo with Destiny Bond. Pressure isn't too helpful for this fast paced set. The stalling set definitely prefers Pressure, however, as it is meant to abuse it.</p>
