Editing Mewtwo (SSBU)

{{iw|wikipedia|Keiji Fujiwara}}'s portrayal of Mewtwo from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' was repurposed for ''Ultimate''. This is also the last game for which Fujiwara voiced Mewtwo prior to his death in April 2020.

Mewtwo is ranked 66th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing it at the top of the D+ tier. This is a drastic drop from its 10th out of 54 placement in ''SSB4'', the largest drop for a veteran in the transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate''. Mewtwo's greatest strengths lie in its offensive capabilities, being able to rack up large amounts of damage via its strong normals and special moves. Most notably, [[Shadow Ball]] is a strong and versatile projectile that serves as a centerpiece to Mewtwo's main game plan, allowing it to apply pressure to opponents by being a strong tool for KOing and allowing for combos at its weaker charges courtesy of Mewtwo's high mobility. Additionally, Mewtwo has a multitude of viable KO tools which allows it to secure stocks reliably, such as the aforementioned Shadow Ball, forward aerial, back aerial, its powerful kill throws and smash attacks. Its other specials have their place in Mewtwo's game plan as well - [[Confusion]] and [[Disable]] allow Mewtwo to set up into KOs, with the former also acting as a reflector, giving it an answer to camping opponents with projectiles. In addition to being a strong tool for recovery especially when paired with Confusion and its [[double jump]], [[Teleport]] possesses low lag, allowing it to be used as an escape option should Mewtwo find itself in a bad spot.

Despite these strengths, Mewtwo packs some severe, glaring weaknesses, most notably in its weight and size. Mewtwo is tied for the seventh lightest character in the game and it is prone to losing stocks at low percents. Unlike the other characters in its weight class, Mewtwo is easier to hit and juggle because of how big and floaty it is, making matchups such as {{SSBU|Fox}} and {{SSBU|Falco}} notoriously difficult. Its slow double jump and lack of combo breaker moves, combined with the aforementioned downsides, leads to Mewtwo having a very poor disadvantage state (outside of recovery), made worse by its infamous tail hurtbox, making Mewtwo easier to be clipped by a lot of attacks while also adding extra risk to the usage of tail moves.

Overall, while Mewtwo possesses strong tools and high KO power, as well as a powerful projectile and combo game courtesy of Shadow Ball, it is difficult for it to find consistency due to its undesirable combination of being a very large and lightweight character. As a result, Mewtwo rarely sees representation in competitive play, with most of its major representation coming from {{Sm|WaDi}} prior to his leave from competitive play.

Mewtwo's aerials are some of the best in the game, with generally quick start-up, low landing lag, long range and great power. [[Forward aerial]] is a claw swipe that serves as a safe poke when spaced on landing, a useful combo starter at low percentages, and a reliable KO option; it is considered by many to be among the best forward aerials in the game due to its safety, speed, and power. [[Neutral aerial]] consists of Mewtwo emitting electricity from its hands and feet for multiple hits, before launching opponents away with a large electricity discharge surrounding its full body. The move is a capable combo starter at all percentages, and is a safe poke when it is spaced sufficiently; it is also Mewtwo's best out-of-shield option due to his aerial speed allowing it to safely escape pressure (compared to committing to its laggy up smash). Though its forward and neutral aerials are fast and threatening, they are only slightly disjointed and the former lacks range. This makes Mewtwo's approach game with these moves significantly weaker against opponents that have long weapons or strong projectiles.

[[Back aerial]] is Mewtwo's second slowest aerial, primarily being used to wall out offstage opponents who have poor range and/or recoveries. However, it can be beaten out by disjoints easily, cannot reliably hit close to ground at any height, and leaves Mewtwo's tail very vulnerable if it whiffs. Since it swings its tail upwards, it is also less effective when Mewtwo is falling downwards, and is better used while Mewtwo is rising from its midair jump. As a result, it cannot fulfill the role of giving Mewtwo good effective range in the neutral game. [[Up aerial]] is one of Mewtwo’s best moves, as it has decent start up, short end and landing lag, covers a large arc starting directly in front of Mewtwo’s face, and has incredibly strong power. Altogether, these traits make the move relatively safe to use in neutral and excellent for punishing landings or reckless edgeguards. [[Down aerial]] has the most startup of Mewtwo's aerials, but is a very strong [[meteor smash]] when sweetspotted, has a decently disjointed hitbox directly beneath Mewtwo that can [[Edge#2_frame_punish|two frame punish]], and can also serve as a situational combo starter at low to medium percentages.

To compensate for its large size, Mewtwo is granted with  traits and unique defensive options that allow him to escape pressure. Its forward and back rolls have among the longest traveling distances in the game, making them deceptively effective for movement compared to those of other characters of similar size. Its [[edge attack]] has among the longest ranges out of the roster, allowing it to punish ledgetrapping attempts. All of its air dodges render it invisible; combined with its fast air speed and moderate air acceleration, Mewtwo can play mind games with its aerial drift while invisible. Offstage, Mewtwo's incredibly long-distanced recovery enables it to use air dodges and safely recover in situations when many other fighters wouldn't. In addition, using a neutral air dodge immediately after using Mewtwo's double jump causes it to immediately gain height while maintaining intangibility and invisibility, making it useful to mix up opponents in the air. Mewtwo's Teleport travels a significant distance and can be used very quickly out of shield (frame 9 intangibility) as a long-ranged evasive maneuver, allowing it to gain more favorable stage positioning and space from aggressive opponents – especially when teleporting off of platforms to avoid pressure. And though it is brief, Disable provides intangibility frames just before Mewtwo emits the light from its eyes, giving it niche defensive use with good timing even in the air where the projectile cannot be [[Priority|clanked]] with.

In the late metagame of ''SSB4'', Mewtwo was ranked as a top tier character (specifically 10th out of 54), thanks to its combination of a potent neutral game, excellent mobility, a powerful projectile, and a dangerous combo game. Mewtwo has received a large mix of buffs and nerfs in its transition to ''Ultimate'', but despite receiving more buffs than nerfs, the latter are especially more prevalent due to the weakening of its most useful options. Because of this, Mewtwo was greatly nerfed overall.

Most of the universal changes to gameplay mechanics have also benefited Mewtwo. Although the changes to air dodging mostly hamper it, they also make its edgeguarding game more potent, thanks to its quick air speed, large variety of aerial attacks, useful projectile, long double jump and powerful recovery. The universal increase in mobility and traction across the cast, the reintroduction of [[dash-dancing]], and the expanded utility of [[dash-canceling]] each benefit Mewtwo, as it can now move around much quicker, occasionally play mindgames on its approach, and punish opponents easier both in the neutral game and [[out of shield]]; notably, the increase on its mobility has granted Shadow Ball a significant increase on its combo potential, with access to combos it previously didn't have. Finally, the near-universal reduction to landing lag has made Mewtwo's aerials safer on hit and opened some new combo routes due to its streamlined [[jumpsquat]].

Overall, despite the improvements made to Mewtwo's mobility, endurance, KO power, and the distinct benefits it received from ''Ultimate''{{'}}s mechanics, these changes do not completely compensate for the considerable nerfs it has received to its defensive potential, combo game, and hurtbox. Game updates have offered Mewtwo numerous buffs that have either helped alleviate some of its issues, improved its strengths, or fixed a few of its moveset's inconsistencies, though these haven't fully compensated for its more drastic issues. Because of this, Mewtwo is much less effective than it was in ''SSB4'', retaining its reward but with its much further defined weaknesses impairing its effectiveness.

|ftiltname=Tail Whip ({{ja|テイルウィップ|Teiru Uippu}})

|grabdesc=[[bulbapedia:Psychic (move)|Telekinetically]] holds an opponent. Mewtwo's grab range and speed are average, though the particle effect used makes it deceptively shorter than it looks.

|pummeldesc=A point-blank burst of dark energy. Average power and speed.

|dsdesc=[[bulbapedia:Disable (move)|Emits a minuscule spark of psychic energy]] from its eyes that travels forward. If it hits an opponent facing Mewtwo, it [[stun]]s them if they are on the ground. Conversely, it will launch them backward with weak knockback if they are airborne. It only works if the opponent is facing Mewtwo and will have no effect otherwise, making it useless for punishing back aerials, [[cross-ups]], etc. It stuns the opponent for longer the more damaged they are, allowing it to confirm KOs from as low as 50%. Since opponents face the same direction during all of their getup options, it is especially effective at tech-chasing, essentially guaranteeing the power of a charged smash attack with the startup of a uncharged one, though its aforementioned properties make it situational to land otherwise. Due to being a projectile, Disable can also be reflected. Disable grants intangibility on frames 10-16, allowing it to beat out attacks when timed properly. When coupled with its deceptively long range, it can also be used as a surprise landing option against unaware opponents.

Game updates addressed some of Mewtwo's biggest flaws to varying degrees, and dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Zenkai}} and {{Sm|????}} began to gather respectable placements online. In addition, Mewtwo received meaningful buffs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and saw online success from players such as {{Sm|WaDi}} and {{Sm|Chewie}}. Because of these occurrences, Mewtwo's perception started to rise, as many players held hope for the character and considered it to have potential to be a strong upper mid-tier character at the time. However, following the return of offline competitive play, Mewtwo's results would continue to remain sparse, with WaDi being the only player who consistently saw respectable placements with the character, and even then his results with Mewtwo were often complemented with other characters. With Mewtwo having absolutely no notable reputation in tournaments following WaDi's ban as well as its weaknesses becoming further and further pronounced as the meta continued to develop, opinions of the character sank. The current perception on Mewtwo holds that it is a low tier or a lower mid tier at best.

 

As it stands, collective opinions on Mewtwo are largely negative, resulting in a much worse reputation than it had in its ''SSB4'' days, and it ranks 66th on the current tier list, at the top of the D+ Tier.

Aside from Round 1, Mewtwo is allied with opponents it fought in previous Rounds under the premise that its teammates are under its mental control. These teammates typically represent characters that have been brainwashed in their respective home series.

*Mewtwo is the only playable Pokémon in ''Ultimate'' whose special moveset contains more than 4 moves from the ''Pokémon'' {{iw|bulbapedia|core series}}.

*Mewtwo's shielding sound effect plays one frame earlier that everyone else's.