Mewtwo
Code:
QC: trickroom, GreatSage [B][2/2]
[/B]GP: jc104, Calm Pokemaster, Fatecrashers [B][3/3][/B]drcossack's original thread
[Overview]
<p>With fantastic base stats, including 154 base Special Attack and 130 base Speed, and an insane movepool, Mewtwo retains its position as "god of Psychic- types" in the new generation. Psystrike, its new signature move, allows it to break down its former checks Blissey, Ghost Arceus, and Ho-Oh, while doing massive damage to everything that doesn't resist it. With Psystrike, Mewtwo finally has a reason to use its STAB, and thus is now much more difficult to deal with. Even with all these benefits, Mewtwo has one major "flaw" in the fast-paced offensively-oriented Ubers metagame. With average base 90 Defense and Special Defense, and a weakness to Shadow Sneak, Mewtwo can be revenge killed fairly easily. Regardless of that weakness to priority (which can be easily dealt with), Mewtwo is one of the very few Pokemon that lack actual flaws, making it essentially the "perfect Pokemon".</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psystrike
move 2: Aura Sphere
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Calm Mind / Ice Beam
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Selfdestruct allowed Mewtwo to take out Blissey in Generation 4, its new power nerf would have severely diminished Mewtwo's ability to do so in Generation 5. However, Mewtwo now has a new option to deal with the evil pink blob, an option which does not require self-sacrifice. With the addition of Psystrike to its movepool, Mewtwo is able to destroy its former arch-nemesis without breaking a sweat. Psystrike also gives it the power to deal with Ho-Oh, Kyogre, and several Arceus formes with ease.</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. These are also the few Pokemon that resist all the moves on this set. Psystrike also helps Mewtwo break down other Calm Mind users with ease. Aura Sphere destroys Tyranitar, and smacks Darkrai, Dark Arceus, and Dialga hard, getting wonderful coverage alongside Psystrike. Fire Blast destroys Steel-type Pokemon such as Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, that may otherwise prove to be troublesome. 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, and while not as powerful as Fire Blast, it will still hit Forretress, Scizor, and Fire-weak Arceus formes very hard. Though Sturdy prevents it frombeing OHKOed at full health, Forretress can do nothing in the face of Mewtwo's follow-up attack. There are two options for the last moveslot. Calm Mind turns Mewtwo into a fearsome sweeper, while Ice Beam hits Groudon, Lugia, and Dragon-types such as Rayquaza hard, 2HKOing at worst.</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 makes it even tougher to revenge kill. Due to Mewtwo's high base stats and the power of its STAB Psystrike, this set generally does not require much support from teammates. However, entry hazard users, such as Deoxys and Forretress, can soften up foes, making it easier for Mewtwo to run through the opponent's team. The sunlight which Groudon provides also jacks up the power of Mewtwo's Fire-type moves, meaning no Steel-type can hope to survive a Fire Blast. Groudon can also set up Stealth Rock and switch into revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Zekrom with ease.</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, Psystrike, and its wide variety of special attacks, but its support movepool is just as extensive, allowing it to run a defensive set. With the given EVs, Mewtwo can easily neuter any threat that comes in against it, as Light Screen and Will-O-Wisp allow it to effectively deal with both physical and special sweepers. Recover goes hand-in-hand with Light Screen and Will-O-Wisp, allowing Mewtwo to stall out the opponent's PP with Pressure and heal off any damage it might take. Taunt, in conjunction with Mewtwo's high Speed, prevents opposing Pokemon from recovering or setting up.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Mewtwo can also set up both Reflect and Light Screen with ease, due to its decent bulk and high Speed. However, Prankster users such as Whimsicott will then be able to completely shut down Mewtwo with a priority Taunt. Also, since this set appreciates Toxic Spikes support to stall out opponents, Will-O-Wisp might even become useless. For these reasons, Psystrike, coming from Mewtwo's high Special Attack, can prove to be very useful, providing a way to deal with otherwise unimpeded Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and Reshiram. Will-O-Wisp, however, does have its uses against physical attackers such as Groudon, Rayquaza, Zekrom, and Garchomp. Since Soul Dew is unavailable, Latios and Latias are rarely used in Ubers, meaning Mewtwo does not need too much investment in Speed. 32 Speed EVs give Mewtwo 334 Speed, allowing it to outspeed and burn Swords Dance Garchomp. Should maximum Speed Normal Arceus be of concern, the 144 Special Defense EVs can be moved to Speed, allowing Mewtwo to use Taunt or Will-O-Wisp to prevent it from setting up freely. As mentioned, this set appreciates entry hazard support much more than Mewtwo's offensive sets, since Mewtwo's decent bulk in conjunction with Pressure and its ability to neuter sweepers makes it very difficult to bring down, and two layers of Toxic Spikes will give Mewtwo the ability to stall out a large range of threats; thus, entry hazard support Pokemon such as Forretress make great teammates for Mewtwo. Dark Arceus is one Pokemon that will have this Mewtwo running scared, so support from a Fighting-type such as Fighting Arceus or Terrakion is appreciated.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thunder can strike Kyogre harder than everything else, with the exception of Grass Knot, which can also be used to deal with Groudon. If Mewtwo is near death, Selfdestruct is an option to deal a reasonable amount of damage to the foe. While Explosion and Selfdestruct got their power halved this generation, and as such fall short of many KOs, they still allow you to safely switch in a counter to the foe, meaning they are not completely useless moves. 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. Mewtwo can also run a Bulk Up set pretty well, surprising its counters and weakening the power of Shadow Sneak. However, such a set would have to contend with the absurd power of Psystrike, and is thus outclassed by the Calm Mind set.</p>
<p>Choice Specs can work well, but it's a shame to compromise Mewtwo's sweeping ability by locking it into a specific move; it also makes countering Mewtwo a much easier task. Choice Scarf makes Mewtwo a phenomenal revenge killer on par with 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. For those who dislike Fire Blast and Flamethrower's reliance on sunlight, Shadow Ball can serve as a decent replacement due to the number of Uber Pokemon weak to it. Because of their typing, Giratina, Giratina-O, Wobbuffet, Mew, opposing Mewtwo, Ghost Arceus, and Psychic Arceus all get hit hard by Shadow Ball. However, without Fire Blast, Mewtwo will find it tough to take on Steel-types such as Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross, though Jirachi and Metagross are hit neutrally by Shadow Ball.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Though almost nothing can truly counter Mewtwo, it can easily be revenge killed by Choice Scarf users such as Kyogre and Zekrom. Giratina-O can also 2HKO Mewtwo with Shadow Sneak while surviving an unboosted Psystrike with ease. Kyogre can weaken Mewtwo's Fire-type attacks with Drizzle, allowing Lugia and Wobbuffet to easily deal with Mewtwo if it lacks Shadow Ball. Choice Scarf Victini resists Mewtwo's entire moveset and can deal massive damage with V-create under the sun. Choice Scarf Jirachi, though it takes heavy damage from Fire Blast or Flamethrower, can significantly weaken Mewtwo with U-turn, allowing Giratina-O to then finish Mewtwo off with Shadow Sneak.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Mewtwo's Dream World ability, Unnerve, prevents the opponent from consuming its Berry. This can help the Calm Mind set as it prevents the activation of resist Berries, meaning Pokemon such as Chople Berry Tyranitar and Chople Berry Darkrai can no longer get in the way of Mewtwo's sweep. Furthermore, Wobbuffet cannot activate its Custap Berry, meaning that at low health, Wobbuffet is hard-pressed to revenge kill Mewtwo with Destiny Bond. Pressure doesn't exactly help Mewtwo's offensive sets, either.</p>
