Mewtwo

Dragonite (#149) - Mewtwo - Mew (#151)
General
Name (Japanese), Number	Mewtwo (Mewtwo), 150
Stage	Basic
Evolves from	(none)
Evolves to	(none)
Battle¹
Hit points	106
Attack	110
Defense	90
Speed	130
Special²	154
Special attack	154
Special defense	90
Biological
Species	Genetic Pokémon
Types	Template:PokemonType
Height	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	122 kg (269 lb)
Pokédex Color	Purple
Shiny color	Its tail becomes green
Ability	Pressure
Signature Attack	Psychic
Gender distribution	Genderless
¹ Stats for trading card versions may vary. ² Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow

Mewtwo (Mewtwo ミュウツー Myūtsū in Japan, Mewtu in Germany and Mewtwo in France) is a fictional character from the Pokémon franchise. It is widely considered to be the most powerful Pokémon to exist in the Pokémon universe.

The name "Mewtwo" originates from Mew, the Pokémon from whom its genes originated. The "two" suffix refers to Mewtwo being Mew's clone. "Mewtwo" could also be a corruption of "Mutant", referring to its larger physical form and stronger psychic abilities.

Characteristics

Mewtwo is perhaps the most considerable of all Pokémon; everything about it, from its origin and its physical anatomy to its abilities and its sentience, is extraordinary. It is not a species; it is a single, unique entity that physically resembles a very tall, imposing, humanoid being with pale flesh, a huge purple tail, large intent eyes, what appears to be two cord-like necks, and vaguely feline characteristics. The shapes of its necks, crested chest, three-fingered hands, and sloped feet all help give Mewtwo the mutant image implied in its name.

Origin

Mewtwo is among the few Pokémon species that have been created by humankind. In the most basic sense, Mewtwo is a ‘’super-clone’’ of Mew, an extremely rare, powerful creature that was at the beginning believed to be extinct. Though the accounts of its origin all differ somewhat between the video games, anime, and manga, they are all consistent in that the Pokémon was created and enhanced by scientists working for Team Rocket (the full organization, rather than the classic “trio” familiar in each episode of the anime) for the purpose of having an unbeatable weapon with which to lead conquest of the Pokémon world. However, due to the experiment gone awry, Mewtwo awoke and immediately turned on its creators before abandoning them, fending for itself as it willed. Thus was Mewtwo’s genesis complete.

Abilities and Powers

Due to the forceful conditioning administered by Team Rocket’s scientists, as well as its genetic relation with the magically powerful Mew, Mewtwo’s powers and abilities as a Pokémon are undeniable. It is imbued with the highest degree of psychic-related powers of perhaps any living being. Many extrasensory powers that many humans would dismiss as fantasy and myth are to Mewtwo simple everyday actions it can perform practically as second-nature.

For starters, Mewtwo is currently the most prominent user of telekinesis in the Pokémon world. With gentle outstretched hand motions and focusing of the mind, it can lift relatively large objects such as people and Pokémon as massive as Rhyhorn and Nidoking off the ground and into the air from far away, and it can throw them violently about the air and launch them away. When performing telekinesis, Mewtwo’s eyes glow a bold blue, signifying the channeling of its immense energy reserves.

Another easy thing for Mewtwo to perform is self-levitation. In fact, with only a minor strain on its mind, Mewtwo can achieve genuine flight with its energy channeled accordingly. It can fly over large areas at large elevations from ground, stopping in mid-air if it wants, and it can even take other things such as Pokémon and inanimate objects with it by “hooking onto” them with its psychic powers and having them fly closely behind it as it travels through the air at high speeds. When flying, Mewtwo and its “passengers” are surrounded by a white/blue aura.

Apparently due to Team Rocket’s desire for a Pokémon war weapon that can always be understood, Mewtwo is also completely fluent in telepathy, communication through the mind as opposed to the mouth. In fact, one never hears its real voice because it chooses to communicate by projecting into the minds of all in its area. In its telepathy it is fluent in English, the language of humans in the Pokémon world, and it communicates telepathically with humans and Pokémon alike in perfectly grammared English sentences, projected in the resonant voice of an adult human male, helping Mewtwo seem a human-like character all on its own. Yet because it is a Pokémon, it can understand the speaking of any other Pokémon around it, making Mewtwo as effective a Human-Pokémon interpreter as Meowth of Team Rocket.

Considering Mewtwo’s capacity for all the talents described above, it should come as no surprise that Mewtwo is one of the most powerful battlers in the Pokémon world. It can wield many types of energy attacks, including balls of destructive energy which it can form and launch at its opponents, as well as use telekinesis to blow its target away. In special circumstances it can even delve deeply into the minds of people and alter the neural structure of their brains to achieve the effect of erasing their recent memories. To conserve its energy for any of these such cases, Mewtwo usually remains motionless wherever it resides alone.

As a sentient being, Mewtwo has displayed the capacity for conscious actions that can be considered evil in nature (see anime section), and it has strong feelings of embitterment and distrust towards the humans that have created it artificially, but it also has felt compassion and concern for certain other life forms, including Pokémon and a select few humans. It ultimately seems as though its personality is developed enough to allow for the virtues and failings of a human being.

In the video games

Mewtwo is often considered the most powerful Pokémon of all time (despite being in the same tier as Ho-oh, Lugia and Rayquaza, he is distinict in his single-type advantages) and is a favorite among trainers.

Outside of trading Mewtwo can be obtained only after defeating the Elite Four and returning to the Cerulean Cave (aka, the Unknown Dungeon). Considering Mewtwo's power, it was recommended in Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow to for the player to save the Master Ball for capturing it. However, in the remakes (Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen), players are usually advised to use their Master Ball on Entei, Suicune, or Raikou, since they run away and can Roar out of battle. Mewtwo can be caught by using any type of Poké Ball, but it should have extremely low health and be afflicted with a status ailment. For the majority of the time, this requires a lot of Poké Balls, whether one is using Luxury Balls, Premier Balls, Great Balls, or even Ultra Balls. As the battle is likely to go on for a long time timer balls are also worth considering.

It can learn a large variety of moves, including the commonly used Psychic, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower. It is notable for having the highest special attacking stat to date (excluding Deoxys). Furthermore, in Red/Blue/Yellow, it learned Amnesia, which boosts its Special stat by 2, making it able to sweep entire teams with Special attacks like Psychic (Psychic also got STAB) since there was no distinction between Special Attack and Special Defense then. In FireRed/LeafGreen, it learned Calm Mind, which boosts its Special Attack and Special Defense by 1 each, making it not as deadly as in the color games. Amnesia was also changed to only raise Special Defense by 2, not Special Attack. Still, it can sweep entire teams because of its immensely powerful Special Attack. Because of this, Mewtwo is often banned in competitive play (the exception being the Uber metagame). When up against Mewtwo, Dark-type attacks such as Crunch, Bug-type attacks such as Megahorn, and Ghost-type attacks such as Shadow Ball are a main way to go.(Rayquaza can learn Crunch)

In Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow (as well as Red and Green's enhanced remakes, FireRed and LeafGreen), the burned-down Pokémon Mansion has several diaries scattered about which tell the story of Mewtwo. Something that seems to have been either forgotten or ignored officially is that they say that Mew gave birth to Mewtwo and that it is its child, rather than the anime and manga, which say that Mewtwo is Mew's clone. This is actually an incorrect use of the word "clone"; even though Mew's (and, in the manga's case, Blaine's) DNA was used in Mewtwo's creation, Mewtwo is not genetically identical to Mew and thus is not Mew's clone. This use of the word "clone" is similar to the series' use of the word "evolution" to refer to a Pokémon metamorphosing.

Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Melee

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mewtwo is available as an unlockable character. It is unlocked after one plays 20 combined hours in VS. Mode or 700 VS. matches. Mewtwo's abilities include Shadow Ball, Teleport, Confusion, and Disable. Nintendo kept the original Japanese dialogue in the game instead of hiring the English actor from Pokémon: The First Movie. It jumps and Teleports with a distinctive whistling sound.

Ironically, most of the competitive Smash Bros. community considers Mewtwo a bottom-tier character: it is slow and light, contrary to its Pokémon stats, and lacks a solid method of approach; therefore, it is somewhat easy to knock around. Some players object to his bottom-tier placement, often claiming that Mewtwo can be an effective defensive character - however, there is no evidence that Mewtwo can compete in tournaments to the same extent as even his fellow Pokémon Jigglypuff and Pikachu.

Most players have speculated that Mewtwo's weakness was intentional, in order to ensure a balance between the other characters, such as Jigglypuff and Pikachu, and to keep Mewtwo from being too powerful, so that it wouldn't be banned from tournaments or competitive play like it was in the Pokémon series.

In the Anime

See main article on Mewtwo (Anime):

Mewtwo is easily among the most dynamic characters in the continuity of the Pokémon anime and movies, despite relatively small amounts of screen time. Compared to the Pokémon that appear as regulars in all episodes, including Pikachu and Meowth, Mewtwo has woven a dramatic substory that weaves through the various seasonal arcs of the anime.

Manga appearances

In the manga, instead of being cloned from Mew by Professor Fuji, it was Blaine who had cloned it, during his times as a Rocket scientist under Giovanni. Mewtwo was created using the DNA of both Mew and Blaine, and in an accident during the process, Blaine gained some of Mewtwo's DNA in his hand, allowing him to track the location of Mewtwo. Mewtwo recently makes a return in the Fire Red Leaf Green addition of the manga where he helps Red comfront Deoxys.

In the card game

Mewtwo has had quite a history in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Its many appearances include showings in the following sets:

• Base Set
• Gym Challenge (as Rocket's Mewtwo)
• Legendary Collection
• Neo Destiny (as Shining Mewtwo)
• Expedition
• EX Ruby and Sapphire (as Mewtwo EX)
• EX Team Rocket Returns (as Rocket's Mewtwo EX, as a Dark-type)
• EX Delta Species (as a Steel/Fire dual type)

In addition to the above cards, a strong promotional Mewtwo card was circulated with different artwork through the TCG League and as a card packed in with the home video release of Pokemon the First Movie.

Base Set Mewtwo was widely used in a stall deck that consisted of one Mewtwo and fifty-nine Psychic Energy cards, which was banned in competitive play.

Rocket's Mewtwo in Gym Challenge was actually the first Pokemon card to feature three attacks at once. It is also one of the few Pokemon cards to have an altered art format as a result of it; in order to fit the three moves, the picture was drawn smaller than usual.

In the Legendary Collection, a different Mewtwo was found instead of the original Base Set version. It features and is known for the Telekinesis attack.

The Expedition version has what many fans consider to be the best artwork ever drawn on a Pokemon card.

Mewtwo EX in EX: Ruby & Sapphire is a powered-up version of the promotional card.