Base Stats
HP: 106
Attack: 110
Defense: 90
Special Attack: 154
Special Defense: 90
Speed: 130
Abilities
Pressure: The Pokémon raises the foe’s PP usage.
Unnerve (Hidden Ability): You make the opponent tense and won't let them eat their berry.
Mewtwo, the staple legendary Pokémon of Generation I, has come back in X/Y with a vengeance. While being an overall nasty Pokémon to face under normal circumstances, GameFreak and Nintendo decided that this simply wasn’t enough and gave Mewtwo a mega evolution.
Not just one, but two of them; one for X, and one for Y.
Mewtwo’s stats themselves are pretty scary, and it has been a solid contender in the Ubers tier over the generations. With a base 154 Special Attack and 130 Speed, it makes a solid sweeper. Or, at least, it normally would - everything in the Ubers tier is ungodly bulky, but Mewtwo is able to muscle its way through regardless, 2KOing most of it after a Calm Mind boost or two. With not-so-solid defenses (by Ubers standards) of 106/90/90, Mewtwo is much more frail than other monsters that lurk in the tier, and can’t take too many hits while setting up. But Mewtwo doesn’t exactly need to set up to be dangerous, as it outspeeds the majority of the tier naturally and hits extremely hard without a boost - one might think a Choice set has merit, but this wastes the unparalleled coverage that Mewtwo’s movepool allows for. While Choice items are certainly an option, albeit a mediocre one at best, a Life Orb set lets you hit fast and hard with super-effective coverage.
The Ultimate Life Form
Mewtwo
Hold Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Sp. Attack, 4 HP
Psystrike
Aura Sphere
Fire Blast
Ice Beam
With maximum Speed investment and a Timid nature, Mewtwo is able to outpace the entire Ubers tier barring Deoxys-S, and hit back hard with its high Special Attack. Since Mewtwo has coverage that most Pokémon would die for, it’s a phenomenal user of Life Orb. In fact, it almost has too many options - but these are the most practical attacks to use. Psystrike is a more-powerful Psyshock, hitting the opponent with Mewtwo’s Special Attack stat on their physical Defense, and is Mewtwo’s most reliable STAB choice. Many of the top threats in Ubers, like Kyogre and Ho-oh, sport a huge Special Defense stat, and Psystrike hits them much harder than Thunderbolt ever could. Aura Sphere hits Steel types that would normally give Mewtwo’s STAB a run for its money, like Dialga and Ferrothorn, and also puts a stop to Kyurem-W. Fire Blast is there to obliterate Steel types that Aura Sphere doesn’t hit super-effectively (i.e. Skarmory), and also obliterates Shaymin-S, Forretress, and the outrageously dangerous Genesect, who might try and switch into a Psystrike and hit you with STAB, Choice Scarfed U-Turn. Ice Beam hits the Ubers tier’s many dangerous Dragon-type threats super-effectively, like Rayquaza, who will try to end you with a powerful priority Extremespeed.
While Mewtwo has a multitude of options available to it, these four attacks provide the best overall coverage in the Ubers tier. Grass Knot can be used to OHKO Groudon and Kyogre, but Ice Beam already hits the dinosaur for super-effective damage, and Psystrike is basically an OHKO on the whale anyway. Mewtwo can also choose to run a support set or bulky set, but these aren’t as immediately dangerous as Life Orb Mewtwo. A Modest nature might sound appealing to further boost Mewtwo’s power, but if Mewtwo isn’t running a Timid nature, a max-speed Darkrai can come in on a predicted Psystrike and put Mewtwo to sleep, then either force it out or annihilate it with Dark Pulse.
This set’s biggest vulnerabilities are Choice Scarf users, Pursuit trappers, and priority. Scizor can Pursuit-trap Mewtwo and threaten it with U-Turn if it lacks Fire Blast. Tyranitar can take whatever punishment Mewtwo dishes out if Mewtwo lacks Aura Sphere, and threaten it with Pursuit. Basically, you always want to run both Aura Sphere and Fire Blast in order to take out the most threatening checks to Mewtwo, especially Genesect, who might just be one of the biggest checks to the ultimate life form:
+1 4 Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 288-342 (81.5 - 96.8%)
After some Life Orb recoil, that’s basically an OHKO. Genesect still needs to be wary of Fire Blast, as one bad prediction can spell doom for the Paleozoic insect. Overall, nothing can safely switch into Mewtwo, and you should always handle it with extreme caution.
Mega Mewtwo-X
Base Stats
HP: 106
Attack: 190
Defense: 100
Special Attack: 154
Special Defense: 100
Speed: 130
Abilities
Steadfast: Raises Speed each time the Pokémon flinches.
Sporting a massive 190 base Attack stat, Mega Mewtwo-X specializes in nailing the opponent hard and right where it hurts. Mega Mewtwo-X also gains the Fighting type upon mega evolution, providing it with a neutrality to its previous weaknesses, Dark and Bug, and slightly beefed-up defenses. In fact, its new stats are able to take advantage of its access to Bulk-Up and its plethora of physical attacking options.
Super Saiyan-X
Mewtwo
Hold Item: Mewtwonite-X
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Speed, 4 Attack
Zen Headbutt
Drain Punch
Bulk-Up
Ice Punch/Earthquake
Thanks to the Move Tutors in Black2/White2, Mewtwo has all sorts of options for physical attacks. The idea here is to use Bulk-Up and get ready to sweep with your powerful STAB and coverage moves. Zen Headbutt is powerful and has a chance to flinch the opponent. Drain Punch heals the damage you’ve taken while setting up. Ice Punch hits the Dragons mentioned above hard (mainly Rayquaza - that Extremespeed hurts), while Earthquake has good overall coverage in conjunction with Mewtwo’s STAB attacks.
This set in particular is vulnerable to status inflictions, especially burns and paralysis from Giratina and Lugia, respectively, who will switch in to resist your Drain Punch. For this reason, Ice Punch is a valuable tool to take them down, but unless you have Heal Bell or Aromatherapy support, you want to be careful of them. The thing that makes Mega Mewtwo-X so dangerous is its combination of high Attack and Speed - without one or the other, it’s much easier to take care of.
Another thing to notice about Mega Mewtwo-X is its impressive mixed sweeping potential. You could run a defensive-boosting nature like Hasty in order to run a mixed wallbreaker set, but this is generally inferior to the Bulk-Up set.
Mega Mewtwo-Y
Type: Psychic
Base Stats
HP: 106
Attack: 150
Defense: 70
Special Attack: 194
Special Defense: 120
Speed: 140
Abilities
Insomnia: Prevents the Pokémon from falling asleep.
On the other end of the spectrum is Mega Mewtwo-Y. It has all of the powerful mixed attacking options that Mega Mewtwo-X does, but Mega Mewtwo-Y is a special-attacking killing machine. With improved Special Attack and Speed, Mega Mewtwo-Y is zipping around the Ubers tier firing off nuclear-powered attacks at its enemies. Additionally, it also has significantly-improved Special Defense, letting it sponge neutral hits and some non-STAB super-effective hits. But all of this comes at a cost - its Defense is significantly lower than normal Mewtwo, making it much more susceptible to powerful priority attacks, and physical attacks in general.
Super Saiyan-Y
Mewtwo
Hold Item: Mewtwonite-Y
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Psystrike
Ice Beam
Aura Sphere/Fire Blast
Calm Mind
Look familiar? This is basically the exact same set as the Life Orb set, only with higher Speed and boosting capabilities with Calm Mind. Unfortunately, the Speed boost just isn’t enough for Mega Mewtwo-Y to outpace Choice Scarf Genesect, and this set is even more vulnerable to the bug with lesser Defense.
Psystrike is the standard STAB choice, and it rips anything apart that doesn’t resist it. Ice Beam is for awesome coverage on most of the tier, and after a Calm Mind boost it’ll KO stuff that normal Mewtwo only wishes it could. The choice between Aura Sphere and Fire Blast is an important one, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you forego Fire Blast for Aura Sphere, you’re going to be even more vulnerable to the Bug/Steel-types, and you put Mega Mewtwo-Y in danger of being Pursuit-trapped or annihilated with U-Turn. However, if you don’t run Aura Sphere, you are putting it in danger of being hurt by Dark types like Tyranitar.
Because of how frail Mega Mewtwo-Y is, it could use all of the support it can get. Entry hazards set by Ferrothorn or Forretress are great for whittling down the opposition, as Mega Mewtwo’s presence is sure to cause some switching. It could also use Screen support to compensate for its weakened Defense, but Mega Mewtwo-Y is a glass cannon, and probably won’t last long against anything faster than it, or anything using a Choice Scarf (especially Genesect).
Unfortunately, due to the unpredictability of its mega evolutions, countering it is similar to Charizard in Overused. Scout with Protect or slap it with paralysis - these are two of the better ways to approach Mewtwo. Slowing it down makes it much more manageable, and Protect will keep your Pokémon safe while figuring out which set Mewtwo is running.
To make a long story short, Mewtwo is a top-tier threat in Ubers, and you should always be prepared to face it, regardless of what set it’s running.
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