Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Mewtwo (SSBU): Difference between revisions

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!Round!!Opponent!!Stage!!Music!!Notes
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|1||{{CharHead|Ness|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Lucas|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Fourside]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|EarthBound|Fourside (Melee)}}''||
|1||{{CharHead|Ness|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Lucas|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Fourside]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|EarthBound|Fourside (Melee)}}''||This might be because both Ness and Lucas both use PSI powers which are similar to Mewtwo's psychic powers.
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|2||{{CharHead|Cloud|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Midgar]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|EarthBound|Snowman}}''||{{Head|Lucas|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}} Lucas is a CPU ally. His costume is based on the {{s|wikibound|Masked Man}}, a form his twin brother, {{s|wikibound|Claus}}, assumed upon being brainwashed by {{s|wikibound|Porky Minch}} in ''Mother 3''.
|2||{{CharHead|Cloud|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Midgar]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|EarthBound|Snowman}}''||{{Head|Lucas|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}} Lucas is a CPU ally. His costume is based on the {{s|wikibound|Masked Man}}, a form his twin brother, {{s|wikibound|Claus}}, assumed upon being brainwashed by {{s|wikibound|Porky Minch}} in ''Mother 3''.

Revision as of 22:23, June 17, 2021

This article is about Mewtwo's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Mewtwo.
Mewtwo
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Mewtwo SSBU.png
PokemonSymbol.svg
Universe Pokémon
Other playable appearances in Melee
in SSB4

Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Psystrike
Mewtwo (SSBU)

Mewtwo (ミュウツー, Mewtwo) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Like in Melee, Mewtwo is once again an unlockable character. Mewtwo is classified as Fighter #24.

Keiji Fujiwara's portrayal of Mewtwo from Smash 4 was repurposed for Ultimate. This is the last game for which Keiji Fujiwara voiced the character before he passed away in April 2020.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

  • Play VS. matches, with Mewtwo being the 60th character to be unlocked.
  • Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after Wolf.
  • Have Mewtwo join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Mewtwo must then be defeated on Spear Pillar.

Attributes

Mewtwo is a character that fills many archetypes, and despite being relatively large with a slew of powerful moves, a lightweight fighter. Its overall mobility is outstanding, as it boasts among the fastest walking, dashing, and air speeds in the game. It also has average falling speed, above average traction, and below average gravity.

Mewtwo has very high damage output on its grounded moves. Its neutral attack is a rapid jab that regularly racks up 20% or more damage if the opponent is caught at close range, but it is unsafe on shield. Its forward tilt has good range but noticeable startup, and a close hit with it can KO near the ledge at high percents. Its down tilt boasts relatively low ending lag and quick startup, while launching opponents at mostly vertical angles. This makes it a great combo tool, comboing into all of Mewtwo's aerials and up tilt. As with jab, however, it is not safe on shield. On the contrary, down smash is safe on shield. Nonetheless it is still a risky move to throw out in neutral. Up smash has the quickest startup of all Mewtwo's smash attacks and is a good anti-air, but also has the highest ending lag. Forward smash has decent range and is powerful when spaced, but is relatively slow and also not safe on shield. So although these moves are good if they hit, they're very punishable if they don't. This means that Mewtwo prefers not to play close to its opponent. It can, however, use its great ground speed to move in and punish mistakes using these moves.

Mewtwo's aerials are very good. Forward aerial is a safe poke, low percent combo starter and kill option. Neutral aerial is a multihit move, a combo starter at all percents, and also a safe poke when spaced. Both of these moves are fast and threatening, but they lack range. This makes Mewtwo's approach game with these moves significantly weaker against opponents that outrange it. Back aerial is slow and still gets beaten out by disjoints. It can't fulfill the role of giving Mewtwo good effective range in the neutral game, though it is useful for walling out offstage opponents who have poor range and/or recoveries. Down aerial has some startup but is a fairly strong meteor smash when sweetspotted.

Mewtwo's neutral special, Shadow Ball, has excellent versatility, as it can combo into virtually any of Mewtwo's quicker moves at any percent depending on the charge of the projectile. However, its function is not limited to combo starting; when fully charged, it becomes a reliable KO move at high percents. It also deals decent shield damage as well. In midair, it can even be used as a landing mixup, as the recoil from the fully charged variant pushes Mewtwo back a considerable distance. Mewtwo can utilize techs like wavebounces, B-reverses, Shadow Ball cancels and turnaround specials to make its movement even more tricky, improving its baits and punishes. Its side special, Confusion, is a command grab with decent range that doubles as a reflector and can be used for combo setups, though alert opponents can react out of it before Mewtwo below a certain percent (see the Moveset section). Its down special, Disable, is a risky option in any situation due to its startup, ending lag, short range, and its requirement that the opponent be facing Mewtwo for it to work. However, if landed at mid to high percents, it more often than not leads to a guaranteed KO as Mewtwo essentially will get a free charged smash attack on the opponent.

Mewtwo also possesses a strong grab game. Up throw and back throw are both among the strongest in the cast, while forward throw is excellent at racking up damage. Its down throw has great combo potential, connecting into forward aerial or up tilt at low to medium percents and even having strong KO setups into forward aerial at about 100% for the majority of the cast. To counteract this, however, Mewtwo's grab range is fairly average overall, which can sometimes hurt the utility of its throws.

Due to Mewtwo's varied attributes and special moves, its recovery potential is among the best in the game. Its combination of a quick air speed, a high double jump (the highest in the game), and average falling speed give it great offstage longevity, despite its low weight. Teleport, its primary recovery move, covers a long distance and provides full intangibility and directional maneuverability, making it very difficult to edgeguard. Furthermore, two of its other special moves offer a form of assistance with recovery; Shadow Ball's recoil can push Mewtwo back far enough to be a viable horizontal recovery option if facing away from the ledge, and Confusion temporarily stalls it in the air and can turn it around. With these options, Mewtwo has many ways to mix up its recovery and get safely back onstage, while still being able to punish reckless edgeguarders with its powerful and massive back aerial without losing recovery distance.

Lastly, Mewtwo has surprisingly good range for a lightweight fighter. All of its smash attacks have disjointed hitboxes that allow them to beat out attacks safely (especially up smash, as using it at the right time can prevent any stall-then-fall attack). Forward smash can be angled up or down to catch an airborne opponent or to edgeguard low recoveries, respectively. Its tail attacks also offer excellent range, despite not being as disjointed. Its back aerial in particular offers very large coverage behind Mewtwo and can be used in decently quick succession, making it a useful walling tool against opponents with low range attacks. Its tilts also use its tail, so they have good range as well. Tying into this is its aforementioned mobility; Mewtwo's extremely fast horizontal movement speed grants it a very potent punishment game with its range, allowing it to bait approaches and easily punish them with its long-reaching moves.

Despite Mewtwo's strengths, it has some noticeable weaknesses, the most glaring of which is its infamously poor endurance. Mewtwo's very light weight makes it easy to KO, while its tall, awkward frame, average falling speed and below average gravity make it easier to combo compared to other characters of its weight class. Furthermore, Mewtwo lacks an effective aerial move to disrupt combos, and an attempt to Teleport out of a combo can be punished due to its noticeable ending lag and momentum. While it has a multitude of KO options, it often has trouble landing them. Up and back throw can be risky to attempt because of Mewtwo's aforementioned average grab range. Forward and down smash have slow start-up lag, whereas up smash has minimal horizontal range below its blast of dark energy and high ending lag. Forward aerial and Shadow Ball's KO potentials can be hindered via staleness because of their frequent usage in Mewtwo's combos and neutral game, respectively. Lastly, its frame data is slightly below-average, which makes its attacks even more prone to punishment if they are not spaced well. As a result, Mewtwo can't pressure very effectively, yet is also vulnerable to pressure.

Overall, Mewtwo is a non-traditional glass cannon who falls under the category of the zoner archetype; it must play cautiously and aware so the opponent does not capitalise on its tall hurtbox and light weight. However, this does not mean Mewtwo is forced to rely on turtling, as its outstanding mobility, excellent air game, and overall powerful moveset make it a force to be reckoned with. Instead, Mewtwo should be played patiently, controlling space (zoning), baiting and poking with Shadow Ball, its aerials and its movement. As such, Mewtwo is a character with a fairly high learning curve, as it has to capitalise on reads more often than not because of its frailty and susceptibility to pressure. While Mewtwo's moveset may not be as versatile as other glass cannons such as Wolf, it makes up for it with comparatively huge power and damage output. In short, Mewtwo has the attack power and range of an archetypal heavyweight character, but still retains the combo game and manoeuvrability of a lightweight character.

Mewtwo's competitive potential is up for debate as of now. Players like ESAM and Armada believe that Mewtwo should be ranked as a high-mid tier character due to its excellent mobility and damage racking game, while other players consider placing it as a low-tier due to its large hurtbox and light weight, as well as its potent neutral being toned down slightly. Mewtwo itself has a small playerbase, but the players who are dedicated to maining the character, like SDX, have managed to get decent placements. However, as SDX has recently dropped the character, its representation in tournaments has undergone a significant decline, with its results still remaining minimal.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

In the late metagame of SSB4, Mewtwo was ranked as a top-tier character (10th out of 55 characters), thanks to a combination of a powerful 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 was nerfed overall.

Mewtwo's largest direct nerf was to its hurtbox. Mewtwo has an additional hurtbox on its tail, which widened its hurtbox overall, makes it even easier to hit, and reduces the disjoint of its tail-based attacks. Considering as Mewtwo is already one of the lightest characters in the game and many of its attacks utilize its large tail, this forces Mewtwo to be much more cautious with using its tail attacks, as trading with even a decently strong attack can prove fatal. Additionally, this now causes Mewtwo to be usually clipped by attacks during some situations (such as when turning around). Overall, these changes worsen both its spacing and defensive game.

On top of this, Mewtwo also received many nerfs to its best moves, hindering both its previously strong neutral game and combo ability. Shadow Ball now deals negative shield damage, making it less viable as a zoning and pressuring option from a distance. Neutral attack, as with most others, can no longer effectively jab cancel, removing its wide range of previously true followups. Down tilt has more endlag, which combined with the changes to knockback, impairs its combo potential and narrows Mewtwo's KO setups. Neutral aerial has heavily increased ending lag, a shorter duration, and smaller hitboxes, making it less viable for covering options and removing its aerial combo potential, limiting Mewtwo to land with the move and read the opponent's trajectory accordingly. Forward aerial is slightly slower and launches at a slightly lower angle, worsening its combo ability into itself and almost completely removing its ability to initiate a deadly wall of pain at low to mid percentages.

The changes to air dodging in Ultimate have also hindered Mewtwo moreso than any other character. Since air dodges can now only be utilized once before landing or getting hit, combined with them generally having more ending lag, this especially affects Mewtwo as it previously held the distinction of having the air dodge with the lowest ending lag out of the entire roster (allowing it to be spammed rather safely to play mindgames), which renders it even more susceptible to combos and juggling, given its large hurtbox for its weight class.

However, Mewtwo has received a multitude of buffs in the transition as well. Mewtwo's KO potential is considerably better and more consistent overall; moves like its neutral attack, forward tilt and dash attack deal more damage and knockback, with all of them now gaining KO potential at high percentages. Other attacks, such as Disable and its smash attacks, have noticeably increased range, allowing them to secure KOs more easily from deceptive ranges. Shadow Ball has also received a slight increase in knockback when fully charged, making it an even more viable KOing option. Mewtwo has also seen slight improvements to its survivability, thanks to its heavier weight and faster falling speed, although it remains a rather easy character to KO.

Most of the universal changes to gameplay mechanics have also benefited Mewtwo. Although the changes to air dodging mostly hamper it, they has also made 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 ability to use any attack out of a run, also benefits Mewtwo, as it can now get around much quicker, ocasionally play mindgames on its approach, and punish more easily both in the neutral game and out of shield. Finally, the reductions to landing lag improve Mewtwo's safety on hit, opening some new combo routes due to its streamlined jumpsquat.

In the end, Mewtwo is considered to be notably less effective than its SSB4 iteration, as despite the improvements made to its mobility, survivability, kill power, and the benefits it received from Ultimate's mechanics, these changes do not completely compensate for the considerable nerfs it has received to its defensive game, combo ability, and hurtbox. As a result, Mewtwo has not made a significant impact in Ultimate's early metagame, as its playerbase is very small; players such as Abadango, WaDi and Rich Brown have dropped Mewtwo in favor of other characters, and although it initially received favorable success from Secret in Ultimate's early metagame, he has since dropped it in favor of Joker, resulting in Mewtwo's results to have a significant decline. Due to this, many top players now consider it a lower-mid or low tier character, and a few others even believe it to be one of the worst characters in the game. However, game updates have offered Mewtwo bountiful buffs that have either helped alleviate some of its issues, improved its strengths, or fixed a few inconsistencies; this has caused some professionals to reassess their opinions on the character, with some believing it to have untapped potential and to be viable. As of now, Mewtwo's true viability in competitive play remains debatable.

Aesthetics

  • Change As with other previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Mewtwo's appearance is largely unchanged, though its model features a more subdued color scheme. Its body appears to have a glossy sheen, and the end of its tail is also slightly larger.
  • Change Mewtwo's idle pose has been altered; it now keeps one of its arms lifted and stands more upright, similar to its stance in Pokémon Stadium. However, it will revert to its idle animation from SSB4 while holding a small item.
  • Change Mewtwo's falling animation has been altered; it does not keep its arms folded, only doing so when falling forward or backward.
  • Change Side taunt now has it slightly levitate over the ground.
  • Change Mewtwo's victory poses have been slightly altered:
    • Change The pose where Mewtwo laughs and floats has it float higher and look farther away from the screen.
    • Change The pose where Mewtwo thrusts its hand outward has an altered camera angle more towards its hand.
    • Change The pose where Mewtwo faces away from the screen has Mewtwo keep its eyes shut for slightly longer.
  • Change As with all previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Mewtwo now has a unique Palutena's Guidance conversation.

Attributes

  • Buff Like all characters, Mewtwo's jumpsquat takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
  • Buff Mewtwo is heavier (74 → 79), weighing as much as Kirby. This improves its survivability.
  • Buff Mewtwo runs faster (2.05 → 2.255).
    • Buff Mewtwo's initial dash is significantly faster (1.4 → 2.255).
  • Buff Mewtwo walks slightly faster (1.2 → 1.26).
  • Buff Mewtwo's traction is significantly higher (0.04 → 0.116), going from the second-worst in the game to above-average. This makes it easier for Mewtwo to punish out of shield.
  • Buff Mewtwo's air speed is higher (1.25 → 1.313).
  • Buff Mewtwo performs its double jump more quickly, improving its recovery and combo game.
  • Change Mewtwo's falling speed is faster (1.5 → 1.55). This improves its vertical survivability, but makes it more susceptible to combos.
  • Buff Both rolls grant more intangibility (frames 4-13 → 4-15 (forward), 5-16 (back)).
  • Nerf Back roll has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
  • Buff Spot dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-14 → 3-17).
  • Nerf Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3), with its total duration increased as well (FAF 25 → 26).
  • Buff Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-24 → 3-26).
  • Nerf Air dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3) and significantly increased ending lag (FAF 29 → 52), no longer being the fastest in the game. In combination with the removal of unlimited air dodging, this greatly hinders Mewtwo's approach and defensive options.
  • Nerf Mewtwo has an additional hurtbox in its tail that extends to near the tip. This reduces the disjoints of Mewtwo's attacks involving its tail, and gives it a bigger hurtbox overall.

Ground attacks

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff The first hit has a longer hitbox duration (frame 5 → frames 5-6) and less ending lag (FAF 25 → 22).
    • Buff The first hit transitions into the infinite faster (frame 10 → 7).
    • Buff The first hit has altered angles to keep opponents closer to Mewtwo (76°/70° → 361°/180°), and a hitstun modifier of 6, allowing it to lock opponents and connect better into the infinite.
    • Buff The infinite has received several changes to allow it to connect much more effectively and rack up more damage overall, despite dealing slightly less damage per hit (1% → 0.8%):
      • Buff It has less startup (frame 8 → 5), a shorter gap between hits (6 frames → 3), and a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.5×) and SDI multiplier (1× → 0.4×), making it harder to escape.
      • Buff It has a different launch angle to keep grounded opponents closer to Mewtwo (70°/89° → 361°).
      • Buff It deals less knockback (14 base/30 scaling → 8/10) and each hit has a hitstun modifier of 3.
      • Buff It has a larger hitbox (5.2u → 5.6u).
    • Buff The infinite's finisher has a longer hitbox duration (frame 6 → frames 6-7).
    • Buff The finisher deals slightly more damage (2% → 2.5%) with no compensation on knockback, allowing it to KO under 200% near the edge.
    • Nerf The first hit deals less damage (4% → 3%) and knockback (50/20 base/20/60 scaling → 25/20 base/15 scaling), removing its guaranteed jab cancel setups from Smash 4, despite its lower ending lag and hitstun modifier.
    • Nerf Like other neutral attacks, the first hit can transition into the infinite by simply holding the attack button or pressing it once more if it hits an opponent, rather than only by pressing it multiple times. This makes it harder to jab cancel, as the window to input other attacks instead of triggering the infinite is effectively shortened.
    • Nerf The finisher has more ending lag (FAF 36 → 41).
    • Change The first hit and the finisher have higher hitlag multipliers (1× → 1.8× (hit 1), 2× (finisher)).
    • Change The infinite has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 4×. This allows it to lock opponents into their shields between each hit, and thus pressure them more effectively, but also allows them to cancel shieldstun and punish Mewtwo more easily if they shield 10 hits or more.
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff Forward tilt deals more damage (10%/9%/8% → 11%/10%/9%) and knockback (20 base/100 scaling → 70/75), increasing its safety on hit at low percents and greatly improving its KO potential.
      • Nerf However, this removes its ability to lock opponents at low percents.
    • Buff It has larger hitboxes (4.3u/3.7u/2.9u → 5u/4.6u/4.2u) with altered placements (X offset: 0u/1.8u/0u → 1.5u/2.5u/2u, Z offset: 0u/-2u/0u → 0u/0u/0u (Z-offset)), improving its range.
    • Change It has an altered animation: Mewtwo spins its full body around before swinging its tail.
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Up tilt deals more damage (6%/5%/4.5%/4.5% → 7%/6%/5.5%/5.5% (clean), 5%/4%/3% → 6%/5%/4% (late)), with knockback mostly compensated on all but the clean fourth hitbox (114/80/55 → 105/71). This slightly improves the move's KO potential, without worsening its combo ability due to Mewtwo's faster jumpsquat.
      • Change The clean fourth hitbox has more knockback scaling (50 → 71). This makes it safer on hit at lower percents, but hinders its combo potential at higher percents, removing guaranteed KO setups into up smash.
    • Buff The clean tipper hitbox launches towards Mewtwo like the rest of the hitboxes (361° → 110°), improving the move's consistency.
    • Change The move has a slightly altered animation, with Mewtwo beginning its tail swipe lower to the ground and landing on its feet immediately after the flip. This improves its overall reach on both sides, but makes landing the clean fourth hitbox noticeably harder due to being outprioritized by the other hitboxes.
  • Down tilt:
    • Nerf Down tilt has slightly more ending lag (FAF 21 → 24), hindering its combo potential.
    • Change It has an altered animation: Mewtwo sweeps its tail inward instead of outward.
  • Dash attack:
    • Change Dash attack has a new animation that puts Mewtwo's body more parallel to the ground during the attack.
    • Buff Its clean sweetspot and late sourspot deal more damage (10%/4% → 12%/4.5%) with no compensation on knockback, granting the clean sweetspot KO potential at realistic percentages.
    • Buff It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.3×. In combination with its higher damage and the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it safer on shield.
    • Nerf Due to the changes to jostle mechanics, it can no longer cross-up shields unless done at point-blank on smaller characters, allowing it to be punished more easily despite its increased shieldstun.
    • Nerf It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.25×), making it easier to DI.
    • Change It launches at lower angles (60°/70°/80° → 54°/60°/70°), further improving the clean hit's KO potential, but hindering the late hit's combo potential.
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Forward smash can be angled.
    • Buff It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 19-21 → 19-22).
    • Buff The sweetspot deals more damage (19% → 20%) and knockback (21 base/85 scaling → 30/90), significantly improving its KO potential (allowing it to KO under 90% from the center of Final Destination, compared to previously not KOing until around 110% under the same circumstances).
    • Buff The sweetspot is larger (5.6u → 6.3u), improving its range.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash's first hit sends at an autolink angle (100° → 368°), allowing it to connect better into the subsequent hits.
    • Buff The last hit has a longer duration (frames 34-35 → 22-25).
    • Buff The last hit has more knockback scaling (107 → 111), improving its KO potential.
    • Change The move hits four times instead of seven. However, the first three hits deal more damage (1% → 2%), leaving its total damage output unchanged.
      • Nerf The last hit has less startup to accommodate for this change (frame 34 → 22). This significantly shortens the move's hitbox duration, while its total duration remains unchanged, greatly increasing its ending lag as well. As a result, the move is much less effective as an anti-air, and easier to punish if it misses or is shielded.
    • Nerf Due to the changes to jostle mechanics, the first hit is notably more difficult to land, sometimes missing opponents even at point blank range due to Mewtwo's character model pushing them away. As a result, the move is much less consistent at hitting opponents than in Smash 4, especially as an out-of-shield punish.
    • Change The energy swirl is opaque and stylized, instead of a translucent whirl of particles.
  • Down smash:
    • Buff Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 44 → 41).
    • Buff It deals more damage (15% → 16%) with no knockback compensation, improving its KO potential. Alongside its reduced ending lag, this also makes it safer on shield.
    • Buff It deals additional shield damage (0 → 8 (close)/4 (far)), allowing it to better wear down shields, even with the potential of breaking them depending on charge.
    • Buff It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 21-22 → 21-23).
    • Buff It has much larger hitboxes (4u/8.7u → 7.5u/11u) that are placed higher (Y offset: 3.5u/3.5u → 4u/4u), improving its range. In combination with its longer hitbox duration, this makes it more effective for 2 frame punishes.
    • Nerf It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.3×), making it easier to DI.

Aerial attacks

  • Buff All aerials have less landing lag (13 frames → 10 (neutral), 14 → 8 (forward), 17 → 10 (back), 13 → 8 (up), 18 → 11 (down)).
  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff The looping hits' deal more set knockback (22/46 → 30/60), and their feet hitboxes send at an autolink angle (110° → 367°), allowing them to connect more reliably.
    • Nerf The move takes longer to interrupt (FAF 46 → 50).
    • Nerf The looping hits have smaller hitboxes (3u → 2.5u), reducing the move's range for most of its duration.
      • Buff However, the last hit has a larger hitbox (10.9u → 13.5u).
    • Change The move hits six times instead of nine. However, the first five hits deal more damage (1% → 1.6%), leaving its total damage output unchanged.
      • Nerf The last hit has less startup to accommodate for this change (frame 39 → 27), This considerably shortens the move's hitbox duration, and significantly increases its ending lag in combination with its slower interruptibility, no longer allowing Mewtwo to act only five frames after the hitboxes cease.
    • Change Due to the change to the Sakurai angle against aerial opponents (45.2637° → 38°), the move has improved edgeguarding potential, but coupled with its increased ending lag, it has almost entirely lost its combo potential into other aerials without landing.
    • Change The last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×), making it easier to DI, but giving Mewtwo more time to react to the direction the opponent is sent into.
    • Change The move has altered visuals: rather than emitting multicolored orbs, Mewtwo discharges electricity around itself while flashing with a blue overlay.
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial's arm hitbox is larger (3.9u → 4.5u).
    • Buff It sends at a lower angle (50° → 47°), slightly improving its KO potential near the edge.
    • Nerf It has more startup (frame 6 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 40). In combination with the new knockback speed up effect decreasing hitstun for higher knockback values, this removes its combo potential into itself.
    • Nerf It auto-cancels later (frame 36 → 37).
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial's sweetspot has increased knockback scaling (90 → 101) while its middlespot and sourspot deal more damage (11%/9% → 12%/11%), improving its KO potential.
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial deals more damage (11%/10%/9% → 12%/11%/10%) and has increased knockback scaling on the sweetspot, with its middlespot and sourspot mostly compensated (97 → 98/92/92), notably improving its KO potential.
      • Nerf Its increased knockback hinders its combo potential at higher percents, especially out of an immediate double jump.
    • Change It has an altered animation: Mewtwo no longer faces the screen after finishing its tail sweep.
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff Down aerial's sweetspot is placed lower (Y offset: -6.5u → -7.7u), improving its vertical range.
    • Nerf It has more ending lag (FAF 46 → 48).
    • Nerf The sourspot has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×), making it easier to DI.
    • Change It now uses a darkness effect.

Throws and other attacks

  • Grabs:
    • Nerf All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 36 → 40 (standing), 43 → 48 (dash), 41 → 43 (pivot)).
    • Nerf Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 9 → 10 (dash), 10 → 11 (pivot)).
    • Nerf Dash grab has less range (Z2 offset: 12.7u → 12u).
    • Buff Pivot grab has more range (Z2 offset: -15.2u → -17.3u).
  • Pummel:
    • Buff Pummel deals more hitlag (7 frames → 14), but has less startup (frame 4 → 1) and significantly less ending lag (FAF 19 → 7), shortening its duration.
    • Nerf It deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
    • Change It has a new animation where it clenches its hand to attack. Additionally, Mewtwo no longer leans into the opponent when performed.
    • Change It now attacks with dark energy rather than electricity, accompanied by the attack having a darkness effect instead of an electric one.
  • Forward throw:
    • Buff Forward throw's Shadow Balls launch at a lower angle (43° → 38°), slightly improving its ability to set up edgeguards.
    • Buff The Shadow Balls have a lower SDI multiplier (1× → 0.8×), making them harder to escape.
    • Change The speed of the throw is no longer weight dependent, causing the shots to connect less reliably against lightweights, but more reliably against heavyweights.
    • Change The universally increased hitlag causes the shots to connect more reliably at lower percents, while the knockback speed-up effect causes them to connect less reliably at higher percents.
      • Nerf However, the new mechanic of hitlag being reduced as the number of players in a match increases worsens the shots' ability to connect in battles with more than two players.
    • Change The throw has more set knockback (30 → 35).
  • Back throw:
    • Buff Back throw deals more damage (10% → 11%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO potential.
    • Change It has an altered animation: Mewtwo tosses the opponent over its shoulder nonchalantly.
  • Down throw:
    • Buff Down throw has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 42), granting the move combo potential; most notably, it now has a KO setup into forward aerial at high percentages.
  • Edge attack:
    • Buff Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

  • Shadow Ball:
    • Buff Like other charge-cancelable moves, Mewtwo can cancel Shadow Ball by spot dodging or jumping.
    • Buff It has less startup (frame 23 → 18) and ending lag (FAF 49 → 40).
    • Buff It reaches its full charge more quickly (138 → 123 frames).
    • Buff Uncharged Shadow Ball deals more damage (2.5% → 4%).
    • Buff Fully charged Shadow Ball has more knockback scaling (67 → 71), improving its KO potential.
    • Buff The changes to Shadow Ball in combination with the universally increased hitlag and Mewtwo's faster mobility allow it to combo into other attacks at various percentages depending on charge and positioning, such as dash attack and forward aerial.
    • Nerf The move can no longer be charge-canceled immediately, instead incurring 4 frames of lag beforehand.
    • Nerf Rather than gaining additional shield damage when charged that increases alongside the charge level, it has negative shield damage even when uncharged, which further decreases as it is charged (0 (minimum), 3 (maximum) → -0.6, -4). This worsens fully charged Shadow Balls' ability to break shields.
    • Change Mewtwo always vocalizes when releasing a fully charged Shadow Ball, regardless whether the full charge was stored or not.
  • Confusion:
    • Buff Confusion has less startup and reflects projectiles faster (frame 12 → 10), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 45 → 43).
    • Buff It has larger hitboxes (6.4u/9.2u → 7.4u/10.2u), improving its range.
    • Buff It incapacitates opponents for a certain amount of time after they are swirled around, which increases alongside their percent. Mewtwo has an advantage of one frame over the opponent starting at 15%, which increases by one frame for each additional 25%, until capping at six frames with a percentage of 140%. This grants the move followup potential, notably enabling a near-inescapable KO setup into forward aerial when performed in the air with the opponent at 140% or higher.
    • Nerf It halts Mewtwo's horizontal momentum in the air, hindering its utility as a recovery move and landing mixup.
    • Change It no longer corrects the opponent's position to the center of the ripple, which may leave them too far away to follow up with an attack, but far enough to be unable to punish Mewtwo with an aerial attack after using the move.
  • Teleport:
    • Buff Teleport has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 53 → 45).
    • Buff It has less landing lag (30 frames → 20).
    • Buff It can grab onto ledges more easily, with the new ledge grab range being roughly twice its original size.
    • Buff It grants slightly more intangibility frames (frames 9-17 → 9-19).
    • Nerf It retains less horizontal momentum on the ground due to Mewtwo's increased traction, making ledge-canceling notably harder to perform.
    • Change It has a darker, more distinct visual effect when Mewtwo disappears and reappears.
  • Disable:
    • Buff Disable grants full intangibility during frames 10-16.
    • Buff The hitboxes are placed lower (Y offset: 0u → -1.7u) and further out (Z offset: 0u → 2.5u), improving the move's range against short opponents, as well as horizontally alongside the previous change.
    • Change It has an altered animation: Mewtwo spreads its arms out without leaning forwards, which resembles its official artwork. The particle effect has also been changed to become a green flash of light that travels outwards at eye level, making its hitbox clearer.
    • Nerf It has more ending lag (FAF 48 → 53).
    • Nerf The ground-only hitbox is slightly smaller (2.34u → 2.3u).
  • Psystrike:
    • Buff Psystrike deals more damage (30% → 40%).
    • Change It has altered knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 80/40), making it stronger on smaller stages but weaker on larger stages.
    • Change It has modified visual effects. The projectile is colored purple and white throughout the orb instead of purple at the edge and black/yellow/blue in the center. The center of the orb resembles a burst of energy instead of a vortex, and the move causes more intense visual effects when it hits an opponent.
    • Change The final blow of the attack now happens on all opponents simultaneously rather than one at a time.

Update history

Mewtwo has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates, but has been buffed significantly overall. Update 1.1.0 nerfed Disable by increasing its ending lag, which made it even riskier to use. Following this, update 2.0.0 improved Mewtwo's recovery became by making Teleport grab edges more reliably, which also reduces the risk of a self-destruct when attempting to directly Teleport to the edge. However, this update also made dash attack much less safe on shield by noticeably decreasing its shieldstun multiplier.

In update 3.0.0, Mewtwo's endurance was improved slightly thanks to its weight increasing slightly. Some of its moves also gained greater utility, such as up tilt having improved combo potential, and Shadow Ball's already impressive power being increased even further. However, this same update also decreased Shadow Ball's shield damage output as part of a near-universal nerf to projectiles.

In update 4.0.0, Mewtwo's tail hurtbox was shrunken slightly, which made spacing with its tail attacks somewhat more effective. Additionally, some of its primary KO moves were improved, while Confusion's start-up, ending lag and reflection hitbox were each sped up by 2 frames. Update 7.0.0 buffed Mewtwo in a few minute ways. Its shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff, and its posture was altered while shielding, both of which make it less likely for it to be shield poked. Aside from these changes, down tilt's consistency was improved: it now reaches further into the plane of gameplay on frame 6 of its hitbox, which prevents it from missing some characters entirely in certain situations.

Most recently, update 8.0.0 granted Mewtwo arguably its most notable buffs. Shadow Ball, in particular, improved noticeably thanks to its decreased ending lag, faster traveling speed, and its uncharged version's higher damage output. Altogether, these buffs not only supplement its fully charged version's KO potential, but also made its uncharged version significantly better for both spacing and set-ups. Although somewhat less impactful than Shadow Ball's buffs, down throw's decreased ending lag is nevertheless noteworthy, as it repurposed Mewtwo's least useful move into a decent combo starter that even possesses a KO combo (albeit one heavily dependent on DI)[1] into forward aerial at high percentages.

Aside from these buffs, back and up aerials were strengthened, improving their already above-average KO potentials at the cost of slightly worsening their combo potentials. Teleport's landing lag was decreased significantly, which makes Mewtwo less vulnerable when it Teleports directly on-stage in order to recover, escape pressure, or play mindgames. Lastly, Mewtwo's pummel was enlarged and repositioned to improve its consistency.

Overall, Mewtwo fares much better than it did at Ultimate's launch.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 1.1.0

  • Nerf Disable has more ending lag (FAF 47 → 52).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Nerf Dash attack has a lower shieldstun multiplier. (1.875x → 1.3x).
  • Change Forward tilt now always sends opponents in front of Mewtwo.
  • Buff Teleport can grab on to ledges more easily, with the new ledge grab range being roughly twice its original size.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0.0

  • Buff Mewtwo's weight was increased (77 → 79), slightly improving its endurance.
  • Buff Neutral attack has less start-up lag (frame 6 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 23 → 22).
  • Buff Forward tilt deals more damage (10%/9%/8% → 11%/10%/9%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (80 → 75).
  • Buff Up tilt deals more damage (6%/5%/4.5% → 7%/6%/5.5% (early), 5%/4%/3% → 6%/5%/4% (late)), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (114/114/80/80 → 105/105/71/71 (clean), 114 → 105 (late)).
  • Buff Up tilt's tip hitbox's angle has been adjusted (361° → 110°). This improves its combo potential.
  • Buff Forward smash has more range (5.6u → 6.3u).
  • Buff Up aerial deals more damage (11%/10%/9% → 12%/11%/10%)
    • Change Up aerial's knockback scaling was overcompensated (97 → 86), KOing later but improving its combo potential.
  • Buff Edge roll grants more intangibility (1-21 → 1-27).
  • Buff Edge attack has slightly more range (Z offset: 19u-5.5u → 19u-3.5u).
  • Buff Fully charged Shadow Ball has more knockback scaling (67 → 71).
  • Nerf Shadow Ball deals less shield damage (0/3 (uncharged/fully charged) → -0.6/-4).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0.0

  • Buff Mewtwo has a slightly shorter and thinner hurtbox on its tail.
  • Buff Up smash's last hit has more knockback scaling (107 → 111).
  • Buff Up smash's last hit has a longer hitbox duration (frames 22-23 → 22-25).
  • Buff Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 44 → 41).
  • Buff Back throw deals more damage (10% → 11%) with no compensation on knockback.
  • Buff Confusion has less startup lag (frame 12 → 10) with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 45 → 43).
  • Buff Confusion starts reflecting projectiles earlier (frame 12 → 10).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 7.0.0

  • Buff Overall shield size has been increased by 1.1×.
  • Buff Mewtwo's shielding pose has been altered to reduce the possibility of a shield stab.
  • Buff Down tilt's hitboxes have altered positions on frame 6 to reach more into the plane of gameplay, preventing it from missing characters completely during certain animations.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 8.0.0

  • Back aerial:
    • Buff The sweetspot has more knockback scaling (97 → 101).
    • Buff The middlespot and sourspot deal more damage (11%/9% → 12%/11%).
  • Buff Up aerial has more knockback scaling, especially on the sweetspot (86 → 98/92/92).
  • Buff Pummel has a larger hitbox (7u → 7.5u) that is placed further horizontally (Z offset: 7u → 7.5u), allowing it to connect more consistently.
  • Buff Down throw has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 42), granting it true combos into forward aerial from mid to high percents.
  • Shadow Ball:
    • Buff The move has less ending lag (FAF 44 → 40).
    • Buff The Shadow Ball travels faster.
    • Buff Uncharged Shadow Ball deals more damage (2.5% → 4%).
  • Buff Teleport has less landing lag (30 frames → 20).

Moveset

For a gallery of Mewtwo's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3% Extends its arm to emit a pulse of dark energy. Repeatedly pressing the attack button causes Mewtwo to sway its arm up and down to emit multiple pulses of dark energy before finishing with a dark energy-infused upward swipe. The first hit can jab reset. It is one of the most damaging jabs in the game, usually able to deal around 20-30% even with good SDI from the opponent, especially when backed up against a wall or ledge.
0.8% (loop), 2.5% (last)
Forward tilt   11% (near), 10% (mid), 9% (far) Mewtwo spins, then swings its tail forward. It is surprisingly strong for a move of its kind, with its near hitbox KOing at around 90% near the ledge and even its far hitbox KOing at around 130%. It can be angled up to function as an anti-air, and angled down to hit opponents hanging on the ledge. Its long range and high power allows it to function as an effective whiff punish, especially out of a pivot.
Up tilt   7% (clean near), 6% (clean mid, late near), 5.5% (clean far, close), 5% (late mid), 4% (late far) Telekinetically backflips to swing its tail in an overhead arcing motion. One of Mewtwo's best combo starters, as its hitboxes launch opponents at favorable angles for comboing into itself, an up smash, an aerial, or Confusion at low percentages. It can also be used for juggling and as an anti-air beginning at medium percentages, and can even KO at high percentages (around 145% for middleweights). It covers a very wide range, hitting opponents near Mewtwo's back, making it a reliable move for catching landings. Most of Mewtwo's tail is a hurtbox, however, so it is less useful as an anti-air against other characters with disjointed hitboxes that can beat it out.
Down tilt Tail Sweep 5% (near), 4.5% (mid), 4% (far) Crouches and spins around to swing its tail in front of itself. It is Mewtwo's fastest tilt with long range and low endlag, making it good for close quarters combat. It is also among Mewtwo's best combo starters, being able to combo into an up tilt or any of Mewtwo's aerials. However, the sourspot on the tip of the tail does not lead to any combos, making it only useful for poking in the neutral. If landed on an opponent below the ledge, it can confirm into a forward aerial at KO percentages.
Dash attack   12% (clean sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 6% (late sweetspot), 4% (late sourspot) A lunging, dark energy-infused palm thrust. Its clean sweetspot deals above average knockback, which can KO at around 140% at the ledge. It is relatively fast and covers a decent distance, making it suitable for whiff punishes. However, it has moderate ending lag, making it punishable on shield. The late hit can lead into a buffered forward aerial at very low percentages.
Forward smash Shadow Blast 20% (blast), 16% (arms) Quickly cups its hands to its side, and then thrusts them forward to perform a double palm thrust that emits a blast of dark energy. It is Mewtwo's strongest attack and an incredibly powerful punish out of a shield break or Disable, with its sweetspot KOing at around 70% near the ledge uncharged and its sourspot having respectable power as well. Due to it hitting on frame 19 and having 31 frames of ending lag, however, it is very punishable when whiffed or shielded at close range. It can be angled.
Up smash Galaxy Force 2% (hits 1-3), 10% (hit 4) Thrusts its arm upward to emit a swirling blast of dark energy resembling the shape of a galaxy. It can KO middleweights at around 90% if all hits connect and is very fast for its power, with its initial scooping hitbox coming out on frame 9 and its overhead hitbox frame 10. However, due to jostling, the initial hitbox can sometimes miss even at point blank range, making it unreliable as an out of shield punish unless the opponent lands very close to Mewtwo's shield. The large, disjointed, long-lasting overhead hitbox can work as an anti-air against landing aerials, but opponents can air dodge through it with good timing. It has an enormous 43 frames of ending lag, making it very easy to punish if it misses due to the reasons above and making it a very high-risk, high-reward maneuver.
Down smash Shadow Bomb 16% Extends its arm at a diagonal angle toward the ground to emit a blast of dark energy from its fingertip. It is one of the few down smashes that does not hit on both sides. It is incredibly powerful, KOing at around 90% and sending at an awkward 55° angle that makes optimal DI ambiguous. While it has noticeable startup at frame 21, its ending lag relative to its power and startup is extremely low, as Mewtwo can act out of it after 41 frames. Combined with its extra shield damage, it is safe on shield against most characters, and potentially even on whiff. This makes it a non-committal punish against landings, spotdodges, etc., helped by its lack of a sourspot. It can also act as a powerful 2-frame punish at the ledge due to its generous hitbox and three active frames. While it lacks a traditional sourspot, its outer hitbox only affects grounded opponents and deals less shield damage than its inner hitbox.
Neutral aerial Body Spark 1.6% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6) Discharges electricity around itself with its limbs spread out. With only 7 frames of startup, it is tied with forward aerial for having the lowest startup lag out of Mewtwo's aerials. Its hitboxes are positioned at Mewtwo's hands and feet and keep the opponent trapped, whereas its last hitbox launches them. Its fast startup and long duration make it great for catching jumps. It is Mewtwo's best out-of-shield option, hitting on both sides, although it is hard to consistently connect because of the extremely small hitboxes. Its linking hits can also drag opponents down if fast-falling, which can lead to follow-ups, gimps and kill confirms, most reliably into up smash.
Forward aerial Shadow Scratch 13% A dark energy-infused swipe. Coming out on frame 7, it is tied with neutral aerial for having the lowest start-up lag out of Mewtwo's aerial attacks. It is one of Mewtwo's best KO options, KOing middleweights at around 90% near the ledge. It also boasts combo potential at low percentages, as it can also combo into itself, down tilt, Shadow Ball and more. It is a very safe poking option because of its range, safety on shield and low landing lag. However, it is susceptible to anti airs as it is not disjointed. It can also be used as an edgeguarding tool, albeit with some difficulty due to the hitbox.

Its speed, safety, range, and utility at all percentages make it a staple in Mewtwo's neutral game and moveset, and it is not uncommon for it to be considered the best forward aerial in the game.

Back aerial   13% (near), 12% (mid), 11% (far) Swings its tail behind itself in an upward arc. It covers a very wide area and deals high knockback, making it great at edgeguarding, particularly against double jumps, and allows it to easily wall out opposing aerial approaches. However, it has the second highest amount of start-up lag out of Mewtwo's aerial attacks at frame 13. Additionally, it possesses a blindspot below Mewtwo, and disjointed attacks like swords will beat out its hitbox, reducing its utility against some characters and making it a liability in disadvantage. It can KO at around 100% near the ledge, and much earlier offstage.
Up aerial   12% (near), 11% (mid), 10% (far) Backflips to swing its tail in an overhead arcing motion, similarly to its up tilt. It covers a wide range, making it great for juggling, and it deals high knockback for an up aerial, KOing at around 110% near the upper blast line. It can be used to catch high recoveries and jumps onto the stage. If used when landing, it can combo into all of Mewtwo's aerials and Shadow Ball, potentially leading to KOs. Most notably, a rising double jump up aerial can lead into a forward aerial as a situational KO confirm. However, it is difficult to hit short opponents when landing with the move.
Down aerial   14% (grounded opponents, aerial sourspot), 15% (aerial sweetspot) Backflips to perform a dark energy-infused stomp. It is Mewtwo's most damaging aerial attack. It is also a very powerful meteor smash when sweetspotted in the air and has a rather large disjoint that extends below Mewtwo, making it a good edgeguarding and 2-framing option. Due to it hitting on frame 15, however, it has the highest amount of start-up lag out of Mewtwo's aerials. Its sourspot boasts respectable power and can combo into tilts at low percents and aerials at mid percents, or even KO by itself at high percentages, at around 140%.
Grab   Telekinetically holds an opponent. Mewtwo's grab range and speed are average.
Pummel   1.3% Releases a pulse of darkness into the opponent.
Forward throw Shadow Cannon 3% (throw), 2% (Shadow Balls) Telekinetically lifts the opponent diagonally in the air before firing five Shadow Balls at them. It deals 13% if all hits connect, making it among the most damaging throws in the game. However, the Shadow Balls can be reflected by a Hero with Bounce or any opponent wearing a Franklin Badge, and other nearby opponents with reflectors and/or absorption moves can choose to intercept it, while opponents can also DI to avoid some of the projectiles at higher percentages and mitigate the throw's damage. While it does not possess any true follow-ups, it has relatively low endlag and leaves the opponent in a favorable position to cover their options with a running up tilt, dash attack, back aerial, etc. If the opponent fails to DI all of the Shadow Balls correctly, it can KO at around 140% from the combined knockback of every projectile.
Back throw   11% Telekinetically throws the opponent backward. Its high damage and knockback makes it one of the strongest back throws in the game and one of Mewtwo's most viable KO options, KOing middleweights at around 100% near the ledge.
Up throw Psychic Whirlwind 12% Telekinetically whirls the opponent around itself before launching them upward above its head. Tied with Incineroar for the third strongest up throw in the game, only losing to Charizard's and Olimar's Blue Pikmin variant. It KOs middleweights at around 140% from ground level, and even earlier when standing on a platform.
Down throw   4% (hit 1), 5% (throw) Telekinetically slams the opponent to the ground, and then somersaults in order to strike them with its tail. It can combo into up tilt at low percentages, and forward aerial at mid-high percentages, which can KO reliably at around 80%-130% depending on the opponent's weight and size. The aforementioned follow-ups are susceptible to DI, although its quick startup is difficult to react to, and it can be used as a mixup to forward throw. At mid to high percentages, it can force the opponent onto a platform if used below one, leading to a tech-chase situation where Mewtwo can potentially follow up with an aerial, up smash, or even Disable with the right read.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Telekinetically spins around to swing its tail before getting up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Telekinetically spins around to swing its tail before getting up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Performs a dark energy-infused swipe behind itself and then in front of itself while getting up.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  9% Swings its tail in front of itself while climbing up. It has the second highest range of all ledge attacks in the game, right behind Bowser.
Neutral special Shadow Ball 4% (uncharged), 25% (fully charged) Cups its hands to its side and creates a large, blackish violet sphere of dark energy between its hands, then thrusts its hands forward to launch the sphere. Depending on its charge and the opponent's percent, Shadow Ball can combo into almost any move, including, but not limited to, down tilt, up tilt, grab, dash attack, forward aerial, and up smash, potentially even leading to a KO with the latter two. It can be b-reversed and wavebounced, giving Mewtwo tricky movement mixups to use in the neutral and when landing. Like all of Mewtwo's specials, it can be used to cancel the upward momentum of Mewtwo's double jump. When fully charged, Shadow Ball travels faster, is harder to clank with and can KO at mid-high percents. Because of these attributes, it is one of Mewtwo's best tools in the neutral game.
Side special Confusion 1.15% (hits 1-7), 1% (throw), 1.4× (reflected projectiles) Swipes forward to emit a ripple of psychic energy from its hand. It has impressive utility, courtesy of it functioning both as a reflector and a command grab, making it a viable option when landing, recovering or getting up from the ledge. As a grab, the ripple spins opponents around and leaves them tumbling at a frame disadvantage dependent on their damage. If used in the air at 140%, it can combo into forward aerial, ensuring a KO unless the opponent has a frame 1 combo breaker. If the opponent doesn't have a combo breaker as fast as frame 2, it can also combo into up tilt past these percentages, which can KO at around 150%. It functions as a Fall Break, making it useful for mixing up landings and recovery timings.
Up special Teleport Teleports to a different location. It is completely invulnerable after frame 9. It has 20 frames of landing lag, making it a potentially effective, albeit punishable escape option when being juggled. It carries Mewtwo's vertical momentum out of a double jump very well, giving it deceptively long recovery distance, though it carries limited horizontal momentum. Its combination of intangibility, long distance, and quick startup makes it a very effective recovery move, which combined with the stalling capabilities of its double jump and other special moves makes Mewtwo exceedingly difficult to edgeguard.

It can also be used to ledge-cancel, although its precise ledge-canceling window and tendency to "bounce" off surfaces can often cause Mewtwo to overshoot the ledge entirely, leading to accidental self-destructs offstage and making it a very risky endeavor.

Down special Disable 1% Emits a minuscule spark of psychic energy from its eyes toward the opponent, stunning them if they are on the ground and launching 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 from frames 10 to 16, allowing it to beat out attacks when timed properly. Combined with its deceptively long range, it can also be used as a surprise landing option against unaware opponents.
Final Smash Psystrike 40% Mega Evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y and performs Psystrike, its signature move in the Pokémon games. Psystrike is a powerful sphere of psychic energy that plows through both opponents and walls, and any opponent caught will be stunned before being launched by an intense, mind-shattering blow. Incredibly powerful, KOing at around 50% from center stage.

On-screen appearance

  • Teleports onscreen, and descends to the ground as dark energy disperses from its body.

Taunts

  • Up Taunt: Folds its arms as it telekinetically spins around on the spot while laughing ominously. Resembles the animation Mewtwo performs while using a physical move in the Pokémon Stadium games. If Mewtwo is holding an item, the item will telekinetically twirl around with it on the final spin.
  • Side Taunt: Surrounds itself in a flame-like aura of dark energy, similarly to Lucario's up taunt.
  • Down Taunt: After turning to face the screen, it waves its hand in a circular motion in front of itself. It then proceeds to thrust its opposite arm forward while emitting a small spark of dark energy from its palm. If Mewtwo is holding an item, the item will orbit telekinetically around its body as it does this.

Idle poses

  • Crosses its arms and then moves them outward.
  • Holds out one hand in front of itself.

Crowd cheer

Cheer (English) Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) Cheer (Italian) Cheer (Dutch) Cheer (French)
Cheer
NTSC

PAL
Description Mewwww-two! Mewwww-two! Mewwww-two! *claps 3 times* Mewwww-two! Allez Mew - two!
Cheer (German) Cheer (Spanish) Cheer (Russian) Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description Mewwww-two! *claps 3 times* Mewwww-two! Mew -- two! Mew - two!

Victory poses

  • Left: While radiating a dark aura, Mewtwo raises its left hand in front of itself while pulling back its right hand. Mewtwo then thrusts its right hand forward, emitting dark energy sparks from its palm. Mewtwo emits an ominous growl throughout the pose. In Japanese, it says "私は負けるわけにはいかない!", which translates to "I cannot afford to lose!"
  • Up: Mewtwo crosses its arms as it turns its back to the screen, and looks back over its shoulder, scoffing. In Japanese, it says "私はなぜ ここにいるのか…?", which translates to "Why am I here...?"
  • Right: Does a single spin while levitating, then poses with a dark aura bursting from its body as it laughs. In Japanese, it says "愚かな!", which translates to "Foolish!"
A small excerpt of the title theme of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme and the title theme for the entire series.

In competitive play

Initially, Mewtwo was believed to be even better than its SSB4 iteration, despite its top-tier placement in that game. This was because of its improved KO power and its main weakness, its endurance, being seemingly toned down as its weight was increased, while the universal mobility changes significantly benefit Mewtwo. As such, many pre-release tier lists thought of Mewtwo to be a high- or even top-tier character, and potentially one of the best characters in the game.

However, as time went by, many have noticed Mewtwo's flaws becoming more prominent; most notoriously, Mewtwo's tail hurtbox has been extended, which has caused it to be clipped by many attacks from a noticeable range. Additionally, its disadvantage state has been significantly nerfed due to the changes to air dodging, made even worse due to its increased hurtbox size.

As a result of its nerfs from Smash 4, Mewtwo has not made an impact in Ultimate's metagame. Most of Mewtwo's playerbase from Smash 4 have dropped it in favor of other characters, leaving it with a below average representation. Although Mewtwo initially received favorable success from SDX, he has since dropped the character.

Game updates slightly addressed some of Mewtwo's biggest flaws, allowing it to gain more attention in the eyes of some players. After decent regional placements by players such as Zenkai and ????, MkLeo managing to beat Tweek with Mewtwo, and gaining more buffs in patch 8.0.0, Mewtwo is generally considered to be around mid-tier. The character's playerbase still remains somewhat small, and some of its more meaningful buffs have come during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it hard to tell how these changes will improve Mewtwo's viability in the long run.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.

See also: Category:Mewtwo professionals (SSBU)

Active

Inactive

Classic Mode: Psychic Control

Mewtwo's congratulations screen.

Each round, Mewtwo is allied with previous opponents under the notion that its teammates are under its mental control; these teammates typically represent characters that have been brainwashed in their respective home series.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 Ness (SSBU) Ness and Lucas (SSBU) Lucas Fourside Fourside (Melee) This might be because both Ness and Lucas both use PSI powers which are similar to Mewtwo's psychic powers.
2 Cloud (SSBU) Cloud Midgar Snowman Lucas (SSBU) Lucas is a CPU ally. His costume is based on the Masked Man, a form his twin brother, Claus, assumed upon being brainwashed by Porky Minch in Mother 3.
3 Ryu (SSBU) Ryu and Ken (SSBU) Ken Suzaku Castle Fight On! Cloud (SSBU) Cloud is a CPU ally. Cloud's mind was briefly taken over by Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII.
4 Richter (SSBU) Richter Dracula's Castle Vega Stage Ken (SSBU) Ken is a CPU ally. His costume is based on Violent Ken, a form he assumed upon being brainwashed by M. Bison in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers.
5 Palutena (SSBU) Palutena and Pit (SSBU) Pit Skyworld Lament of Innocence Richter (SSBU) Richter is a CPU ally. Richter was brainwashed by Shaft in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
6 Pikachu (SSBU) Pikachu, Pichu (SSBU) Pichu, Jigglypuff (SSBU) Jigglypuff, and Lucario (SSBU) Lucario Kalos Pokémon League Destroyed Skyworld Pit (SSBU) Pit is a CPU ally. Pit lost control of his body due to the Chaos Kin sealing his soul into a ring in Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Bonus Stage
Final Master Hand and Crazy Hand Final Destination Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia) Pikachu (SSBU) Pikachu is a CPU ally. Ash's Pikachu was cloned by Mewtwo in Pokémon: The First Movie.

Note: Each round uses a track taken from the series fought in the previous round.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Mewtwo has Victory Road - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Mewtwo in World of Light

Mewtwo was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Mewtwo was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Mewtwo and Zelda attempted to reflect the beams using Confusion and Nayru's Love respectively; this effort failed, with both being vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment, along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

Mewtwo was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. It can be found in the Mysterious Dimension sub-area, where its location will be accessed during the quiz segment asking which spirit cannot be inhaled by Kirby (the answer for Mewtwo being Whispy Woods).

Fighter Battle

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
24
Mewtwo SSBU.png
Mewtwo
Grab
Grab
12,000 Spear Pillar (Ω form) Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar

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Spirits

Mewtwo's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Mewtwo in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, one of Mewtwo's Mega Evolved forms appears as a Primary Spirit.

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
204
SSBU spirit ReDead.png
ReDead The Legend of Zelda Series Mewtwo Team Mewtwo (SSBU)×4 (50 HP)
Grab
2,100 Hyrule Castle (Battlefield form) N/A •The enemy has super armor but moves slower
Stamina battle
•The enemy favors down specials
Song of Storms
436
SSBU spirit Abra.png
Abra Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Grab
2,000 Saffron City N/A •Timed battle (1:00)
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Abra)
Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
464
SSBU spirit Mega Mewtwo Y.png
Mega Mewtwo Y Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Grab
9,500 Spear Pillar (hazards off) •Sudden Final Smash •The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
465
SSBU spirit Mew.png
Mew Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Neutral
13,900 Kongo Jungle •Invisibility
•Hazard: Fog
•The stage is covered in fog
•Timed battle (1:30)
•The enemy is invisible after a little while
Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
486
SSBU spirit Celebi.png
Celebi Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Grab
13,600 Garden of Hope (Battlefield form) •Flowery
•Hazard: Fog
•The stage is covered in fog
•You constantly take minor damage
•The enemy heals over time
Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
491
SSBU spirit Milotic.png
Milotic Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Neutral
4,200 Kalos Pokémon League (Flood Chamber only) •Defense ↑ •Timed battle (1:30)
•The enemy has increased defense
•The enemy shields often
Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
502
SSBU spirit Deoxys (Normal Forme).png
Deoxys (Normal Forme) Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Grab
13,300 Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form) •Attack Power ↑ •The enemy has increased attack power
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Deoxys)
Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia)
508
SSBU spirit Uxie, Mesprit, & Azelf.png
Uxie, Mesprit, & Azelf Pokémon Series •Tiny Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)Mewtwo (SSBU)Mewtwo (SSBU)
Grab
9,000 Spear Pillar (Battlefield form) •Health Recovery •The enemy's special moves have increased power
•The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage
Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar Uxie (yellow costume)
Mesprit (pink costume)
Azelf (blue costume)
510
SSBU spirit Palkia.png
Palkia Pokémon Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Shield
9,400 Spear Pillar (Palkia only) •Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left •Left and right controls will suddenly reverse after a little while Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
560
SSBU spirit Necrozma.png
Necrozma Pokémon Series •Gold Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU) (160 HP)
Neutral
9,400 Spear Pillar (hazards off) •Giant •The enemy is giant when the enemy's at high damage
•The enemy's special moves have increased power
Stamina battle
Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala) Ultra Necrozma
737
SSBU spirit Orbulon.png
Orbulon WarioWare Series Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Attack
3,700 Balloon Fight (Battlefield form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Starman) •Hostile assist trophies will appear
•The enemy deals damage when falling
•The enemy has increased jump power
WarioWare, Inc.
1,022
SSBU spirit Inspired.png
Inspired Bayonetta Series Mewtwo Team Mewtwo (SSBU)×4
Grab
1,900 Umbra Clock Tower N/A •The enemy's physical attacks have increased power
•The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt
One Of A Kind
1,281
Esna
Esna Ever Oasis Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Shield
9,200 Mushroom Kingdom II •Flowery •You constantly take minor damage
•The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly
Dawn in the Desert
1,400
SSBU spirit The Devil (Cuphead).png
The Devil (Cuphead) Cuphead •Giant Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Neutral
4,000 Castle Siege (Underground Cavern) •Attack Power ↑
•Assist Trophy Enemies (Bomberman)
•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while
•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage
•The enemy starts the battle with a Death's Scythe
Flashes of Fear
Floral Fury[SB 1]

As a minion

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
1,068
SSBU spirit Medusa Head.png
Medusa Head Castlevania Series Meta Knight Meta Knight (SSBU)
•Tiny Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)×5
Attack
3,600 Dracula's Castle •Move Speed ↓ •You have reduced move speed after a little while
•The enemy falls slowly
•Defeat an army of fighters
Starker / Wicked Child Medusa Head's snakes
1,148
Satoru
Satoru Trade & Battle: Card Hero Series Shulk Shulk (SSBU)
Mewtwo Mewtwo (SSBU)
Ridley Ridley (SSBU)
Bowser Bowser (SSBU)
Grab
1,700 Pokémon Stadium 2 •Move Speed ↓ •Defeat the main fighter to win
•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Worthy Rival Battle Zombie
  1. ^ This alternative occurs when the corresponding DLC has been purchased and downloaded.

Alternate costumes

Alternate costume (SSBU)
Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU) Mewtwo (SSBU)

Gallery

Character Showcase Video

Trivia

  • Mewtwo's artwork for Ultimate resembles its artwork for Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen, albeit with its hands and legs posed slightly differently.
  • Mewtwo was confirmed to be a playable character in Ultimate before Pikachu, making this the first time Pikachu was not the first Pokémon to be announced as part of the roster.
  • Mewtwo was the last non-DLC character added to the Super Smash Bros. Blog.
    • However, due to Mr. Game & Watch's blog page only being available on the Asian websites until December 7, Mr. Game & Watch was the last character added to the blog on non-Asian websites.
  • Mewtwo is the only character who has its victory grunts/laughter omitted from the English Sound Test.
    • Additionally, if the game's language is currently set to either Spanish, German, Dutch or Russian, all victory poses will have Mewtwo mute. This is due to game incorrectly loading up the voice clips from the Japanese version, which is not present on international versions.
  • Mewtwo is one of three characters whose Classic Mode route centers around protagonists and heroes for opponents. The other two who share this attribute are Dark Samus and Ganondorf. All three of these characters face heroes/protagonists from their own series.
    • Similar to Dark Samus, Mewtwo's teammates are based on being possessed to fight other opponents for its Classic Mode route, thus making Mewtwo's route an inverse of Joker's.
  • There's currently a positioning glitch when Mewtwo performs an air dodge when facing left. It will be facing away from the screen when disappearing and reappearing.
  • Mewtwo is the only character who can stun other fighters in Ultimate without the use of items or breaking shields.
  • Mewtwo, Cloud, the Hero and Sephiroth are the only four playable characters to speak in Japanese in at least one version of the game to never speak in English in any version of the game.
    • Out of those four, Mewtwo is the only one who is not a property of Square Enix and is a first-party character.
  • Uniquely, when Mewtwo is under the effect of either Poison, Joker's Eiha / Eigaon, or any of Olimar's Pikmin, it uses the same expression used for the startup of Disable, and as a result, its eyes flash green until the effect wears off.
  • Mewtwo’s Classic Mode route is the only one which features music that is neither from the stage’s universe nor that of the played fighter's universe. Instead the music is from the ally's universe, with the exceptions being the first round (which has no allies) and the final round (where Mewtwo and Pikachu are both from the Pokémon universe).
  • Datamining Mewtwo's sound files reveal its defeat voice clip when KO'd by reaching 0 HP during its final stock in Stamina Mode has a "Japanese" variant, much like its victory voice clips. However, the clip is otherwise identical to the "international" variant.