Mewtwo
Type: Psychic
Base stats: 106 | 110 | 90 | 154 | 130
Words do not describe the sheer might of Mewtwo in RBY. It is a force unlike any other, as it is nigh unfaintable and its enormous offensive presence warps the entire tier around it. Its base stats speak for themselves—a monstrous mix of power and speed to go along with gargantuan mixed bulk. Its movepool certainly doesn't let it down either, boasting Recover and Amnesia in addition to STAB Psychic and the BoltBeam combination. If it's an example of dominance you want, then look no further, for few fit that description better than Mewtwo.
How to overcome Mewtwo
I originally had the section on constructing Mewtwo's set first but I decided it's probably best to outline the best ways of dealing with opposing Mewtwo, just so you have some idea of what different coverage options are targeting. Generally, there are three methods of dealing with Mewtwo:
1- Freeze: Keep the opposing Mewtwo free from paralysis and spam Ice Beam with something that walls it. Good candidates are your own Mewtwo, Light Screen variants of Chansey and Starmie, Mew, and Ice Beam Slowbro (I don't think I've ever seen someone run this, but it could work). Bear in mind that Mewtwo has ways around any of the aforementioned Pokemon except for itself.
2- Paralyse and threaten with physical attackers (Exploders): This can be a tough one, since Mewtwo's physical bulk is fantastic and exactly zero physical attackers are capable of withstanding Mewtwo for long. Fortunately, many players are wary of catching an Explosion that can put Mewtwo in an uncomfortable position and can change the momentum of the game. Good candidates for this are Mew, Snorlax, and Exeggutor.
3- PP Stall. Mewtwo has enormous difficulty breaking through opposing Mewtwo, and if neither Mewtwo is able to freeze, the match will usually progress into a PP stall war. There are only three things that should attempt to PP stall Mewtwo- opposing Mewtwo, Slowbro if Mewtwo lacks Thunderbolt and Chansey and Amnesia Snorlax if Mewtwo lacks Psychic. An unparalysed Mew is also of great benefit if you're stalling with your own Mewtwo, as it alleviates some of the burden on Mewtwo. Letting your Mewtwo take paralysis bears some advantage due to not depleting PP as fast, although it is not without its risks. Also note that Mewtwo is capable of haxing all of the aforementioned walls to death, particularly Slowbro and Lax as an untimely critical hit can spell trouble.
Constructing a Mewtwo set
Absolute requirements
Amnesia: You will regularly call upon your Mewtwo to wall opposing Mewtwo. Mewtwo with Amnesia beats those without, and if you can't wall Mewtwo, you lose. So yeah, you kinda need Amnesia.
Recover: Do I even need to go into this? Keeps you alive, and your alternative is Rest.
Pick two
=========
Common
Psychic: Gets boosted by STAB, effectively making it Mewtwo's most powerful attack and the best option if there's no type advantages between it and Mewtwo's coverage options (e.g. versus Normal-types). It is also capable of breaking down literally anything without Amnesia, most notably Chansey. In fact, if Mewtwo lacks Psychic, Chansey can actually be very difficult to break through.
Ice Beam: Ice Beam is not about coverage, rather it's about playing for a freeze, mainly against opposing Mewtwo. Freezing Mewtwo is so important that that alone makes it one of Mewtwo's better options, and you should be sure to plan accordingly—make sure you keep opposing Mewtwo free of paralysis while getting your own paralysed.
Thunderbolt: Most notable thing this move does is shred Slowbro, which would otherwise threaten to stall out variants lacking Thunderbolt, as well as also beating Starmie without wasting a ton of PP. It offers little beyond that, but if you're ever in a PP war, it does have an extra 8 PP compared to Ice Beam.
TL;DR: No Ice Beam means no freeze (particularly notable versus Mewtwo), no Psychic means Chansey and Amnesia Snorlax wall you, and no Thunderbolt means Slowbro walls you.
Uncommon
Barrier: I've never seen anyone besides myself run this, but I think it's a really good option on Mewtwo. It shuts down any physical counter on offense while giving you a massive advantage in PP stall wars. The downside is that Mewtwo becomes very limited in its attacking PP, which limits your ability to play aggressively.
Mewtwo
- Amnesia
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Thunderbolt
Other Comments
The funny thing is that despite being so fat, Mewtwo tends to be played as if it's frail, because it's just so important that risking it to early-game Pokemon like Snorlax or Ice-type attacks from Jynx isn't worth it when you should have plenty of other stuff to handle that. Never let Mewtwo take unnecessary Ice-type attacks, as frozen Mewtwo often means you lose the game. Likewise, just because it can deal with things like Snorlax, doesn't mean it should, since you never want to risk an Explosion that does a ton of damage.
Type: Psychic
Base stats: 106 | 110 | 90 | 154 | 130
Words do not describe the sheer might of Mewtwo in RBY. It is a force unlike any other, as it is nigh unfaintable and its enormous offensive presence warps the entire tier around it. Its base stats speak for themselves—a monstrous mix of power and speed to go along with gargantuan mixed bulk. Its movepool certainly doesn't let it down either, boasting Recover and Amnesia in addition to STAB Psychic and the BoltBeam combination. If it's an example of dominance you want, then look no further, for few fit that description better than Mewtwo.
How to overcome Mewtwo
I originally had the section on constructing Mewtwo's set first but I decided it's probably best to outline the best ways of dealing with opposing Mewtwo, just so you have some idea of what different coverage options are targeting. Generally, there are three methods of dealing with Mewtwo:
1- Freeze: Keep the opposing Mewtwo free from paralysis and spam Ice Beam with something that walls it. Good candidates are your own Mewtwo, Light Screen variants of Chansey and Starmie, Mew, and Ice Beam Slowbro (I don't think I've ever seen someone run this, but it could work). Bear in mind that Mewtwo has ways around any of the aforementioned Pokemon except for itself.
2- Paralyse and threaten with physical attackers (Exploders): This can be a tough one, since Mewtwo's physical bulk is fantastic and exactly zero physical attackers are capable of withstanding Mewtwo for long. Fortunately, many players are wary of catching an Explosion that can put Mewtwo in an uncomfortable position and can change the momentum of the game. Good candidates for this are Mew, Snorlax, and Exeggutor.
3- PP Stall. Mewtwo has enormous difficulty breaking through opposing Mewtwo, and if neither Mewtwo is able to freeze, the match will usually progress into a PP stall war. There are only three things that should attempt to PP stall Mewtwo- opposing Mewtwo, Slowbro if Mewtwo lacks Thunderbolt and Chansey and Amnesia Snorlax if Mewtwo lacks Psychic. An unparalysed Mew is also of great benefit if you're stalling with your own Mewtwo, as it alleviates some of the burden on Mewtwo. Letting your Mewtwo take paralysis bears some advantage due to not depleting PP as fast, although it is not without its risks. Also note that Mewtwo is capable of haxing all of the aforementioned walls to death, particularly Slowbro and Lax as an untimely critical hit can spell trouble.
Constructing a Mewtwo set
Absolute requirements
Amnesia: You will regularly call upon your Mewtwo to wall opposing Mewtwo. Mewtwo with Amnesia beats those without, and if you can't wall Mewtwo, you lose. So yeah, you kinda need Amnesia.
Recover: Do I even need to go into this? Keeps you alive, and your alternative is Rest.
Pick two
=========
Common
Psychic: Gets boosted by STAB, effectively making it Mewtwo's most powerful attack and the best option if there's no type advantages between it and Mewtwo's coverage options (e.g. versus Normal-types). It is also capable of breaking down literally anything without Amnesia, most notably Chansey. In fact, if Mewtwo lacks Psychic, Chansey can actually be very difficult to break through.
Ice Beam: Ice Beam is not about coverage, rather it's about playing for a freeze, mainly against opposing Mewtwo. Freezing Mewtwo is so important that that alone makes it one of Mewtwo's better options, and you should be sure to plan accordingly—make sure you keep opposing Mewtwo free of paralysis while getting your own paralysed.
Thunderbolt: Most notable thing this move does is shred Slowbro, which would otherwise threaten to stall out variants lacking Thunderbolt, as well as also beating Starmie without wasting a ton of PP. It offers little beyond that, but if you're ever in a PP war, it does have an extra 8 PP compared to Ice Beam.
TL;DR: No Ice Beam means no freeze (particularly notable versus Mewtwo), no Psychic means Chansey and Amnesia Snorlax wall you, and no Thunderbolt means Slowbro walls you.
Uncommon
Barrier: I've never seen anyone besides myself run this, but I think it's a really good option on Mewtwo. It shuts down any physical counter on offense while giving you a massive advantage in PP stall wars. The downside is that Mewtwo becomes very limited in its attacking PP, which limits your ability to play aggressively.
Questionable: these moves may have some value but generally aren't worth it.
Rest: OK, this one is in place of Recover rather than one of the pick two slots. Excellent means of wasting turns in PP stall wars and it clears status. Whether you actually want status cleared is another question and there's also the fact that conceding that many free turns is never a good thing.
Blizzard: Mewtwo's most powerful coverage option. There are some situations when this can come in handy, but the greatly reduced PP is really bad.
Thunder Wave: Against anything that isn't Mewtwo, you're better off attacking or boosting.
Physical Attacks: Most Pokemon in Ubers are very physically bulky, so Mewtwo's Attack stat isn't quite good enough to make it work. If I had to pick a physical attack, I guess Hyper Beam could sneak some surprise KOs, but it bears significant opportunity cost. Submission and Thunderbolt are effective against Chansey and Slowbro teams but is suboptimal otherwise. Everything else is terrible. Self-Destruct may seem alluring for taking out opposing Mewtwo, but it only deals 52-61%, and you're sacrificing your Mewtwo, making it a generally awful option
Rest: OK, this one is in place of Recover rather than one of the pick two slots. Excellent means of wasting turns in PP stall wars and it clears status. Whether you actually want status cleared is another question and there's also the fact that conceding that many free turns is never a good thing.
Blizzard: Mewtwo's most powerful coverage option. There are some situations when this can come in handy, but the greatly reduced PP is really bad.
Thunder Wave: Against anything that isn't Mewtwo, you're better off attacking or boosting.
Physical Attacks: Most Pokemon in Ubers are very physically bulky, so Mewtwo's Attack stat isn't quite good enough to make it work. If I had to pick a physical attack, I guess Hyper Beam could sneak some surprise KOs, but it bears significant opportunity cost. Submission and Thunderbolt are effective against Chansey and Slowbro teams but is suboptimal otherwise. Everything else is terrible. Self-Destruct may seem alluring for taking out opposing Mewtwo, but it only deals 52-61%, and you're sacrificing your Mewtwo, making it a generally awful option
Mewtwo
- Amnesia
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Thunderbolt
Other Comments
The funny thing is that despite being so fat, Mewtwo tends to be played as if it's frail, because it's just so important that risking it to early-game Pokemon like Snorlax or Ice-type attacks from Jynx isn't worth it when you should have plenty of other stuff to handle that. Never let Mewtwo take unnecessary Ice-type attacks, as frozen Mewtwo often means you lose the game. Likewise, just because it can deal with things like Snorlax, doesn't mean it should, since you never want to risk an Explosion that does a ton of damage.
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