Mewtwo (SSB4)

Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Psystrike
Tier	A (9)

“	Mewtwo Strikes Back!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Mewtwo (ミュウツー, Mewtwo) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Initially confirmed during the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23rd, 2014, Mewtwo was made available to the public on April 28th, 2015. However, players who registered both Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS on Club Nintendo before March 31st, 2015 would be allowed to download Mewtwo for free on April 15th, 2015. Its appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4 makes it both the first downloadable character in Super Smash Bros. history and the second of three Super Smash Bros. Melee characters that were cut from Super Smash Bros. Brawl to return to the series, succeeding Dr. Mario and preceding Roy.

Instead of retaining Masachika Ichimura as its voice actor, Mewtwo is now voiced by Keiji Fujiwara. However, like in Melee, Mewtwo has fully voiced victory quotes in Japanese that are re-recorded versions of its victory quotes from that game, although they were removed for international versions. Its phrases, as well as the majority of its grunts and other voice clips, are inspired by the ones Ichimura provided for it in Melee.

Mewtwo is currently ranked 9th out of 58 on the tier list, placing it in the A tier and making it the third highest ranking DLC character. This is a vast improvement from its low-tier placement in Melee, where it was ranked 21st out of 26. Mewtwo's moveset has been generally reworked to the point that it is less awkward, with Confusion and Disable in particular now being much more useful than they were in Melee. Its mobility has also considerably improved: its dashing and air speeds are among the fastest in the game, its walking speed is above average, and it is now capable of wall jumping.

However, Mewtwo retains its problematic combination of a tall frame and light weight, with the latter attribute having been significantly lowered since Melee. As a result, it is still vulnerable to combos and juggling, while its already poor survivability is even worse than before. Mewtwo's other issues include some of its attacks becoming slower, while its approach has been weakened due to the removal of wavedashing and moonwalking and the weakening of dash-dancing.

Initially a poorly perceived character upon its release, game updates noticeably improved Mewtwo's perception and viability over time, to the point that it achieved improved tournament results thanks to professionals such as Abadango, Rich Brown, and WaDi. Due to consistently achieving high placings in competitive play, Mewtwo's tier status underwent a significant improvement, as it has been assessed as a top-tier character as of the second tier list.

Attributes

Mewtwo possesses a variety of unusual, yet polarizing attributes. It has fast walking, dashing and air speeds, yet has an average falling speed, low traction, slow air acceleration, and average gravity. Despite being tall, it is the second lightest character in the game, being surpassed only by Jigglypuff. As a result of these attributes, landing and approaching safely can be difficult. Unlike other double jumps, Mewtwo's has slow acceleration at its start, which benefits its approach, but further hinders its defense.

Mewtwo's ground game is a mixed bag; while it is generally powerful and sometimes able to take advantage of some of its disjointed hitboxes, all but a few of its ground moves (including down smash) suffer from noticeable ending lag. As a result, its ground moves are risky to use if they are whiffed, shielded, or dodged. Its neutral attack is very useful, as it is easily capable of leading into jab cancels and it can out-prioritize many moves. This enables Mewtwo to better utilize its grab game, quickly initiate combos when followed up by its up or down tilts, or act as a set-up into Disable. Mewtwo's down tilt in particular is a very effective poke with long range, fast start up and low cooldown with combo potential. Mewtwo's up tilt can lead into its aerial moves and potentially itself on many characters even at high percentages if it hits them at the start of the move. Mewtwo's forward tilt has good range and angling capabilities, but it lacks enough knockback to KO at reasonable percentages.

Despite having been toned down since Melee, Mewtwo's throws are among the most potent in SSB4, courtesy of their high damage outputs and two of them being viable KOing options. Its forward throw is tied with Ganondorf and max Aura Lucario's forward throws as the most damaging throws of their kind in the game, which makes it useful for both damage racking and refreshing its stale moves. Its back and up throws are among the strongest throws in the game, making them reliable KOing options. While its down throw lacks true combo potential, it has some mindgame potential, due to it launching opponents just out of counterattacking range. However, Mewtwo's overall grab range, especially for a character of its size, and its pummel are only average at best.

Mewtwo's dash attack, while punishable, still provides respectable range and knockback, and its late hit is still able to hit opponents if they roll away from Mewtwo. Lastly, its smash attacks all have above average strength; its forward smash has the most range, its up smash is the most powerful and fastest of the three, while also functioning as a powerful anti-air option, and its down smash has the least ending lag of the three, making it safe on hit.

In comparison to its ground game, Mewtwo's air game is highly potent. Its air dodge makes it disappear for a brief time, which can make it difficult for the opponent to track, while also being the fastest in the game due to ending on frame 28. Its aerial moves deal respectable damage, high knockback, and can combo into themselves. Its neutral aerial has a long lasting active hitbox that can shield stab, outlast air dodges and start combos if landing as the enemy is being hit. Its forward aerial boasts impressive start-up, power, and range, alongside the ability to combo into itself at low percentages and the ability to KO at high percentages even when stale.

Its back aerial is similar to its forward aerial, but has slower start-up to offset the very large sweeping hitbox behind itself while also possessing the ability to combo into itself before becoming a KOing option at high percentages. Its long range can also hit opponents waiting below the edge, making it a useful move for edgeguarding. Its up aerial is a standard sweeping attack of moderate power and has good combo potential. Lastly, its down aerial is a very powerful meteor smash, with rather fast start-up for its power and KO potential at high percentages. However, it is also the slowest of its aerials, has the most landing lag, and generally cannot be chained into.

Finally, its special moves are powerful, although risky, much like its ground game. Shadow Ball is one of the strongest and fastest projectiles in the game when fully charged, while it can also pressure the opponent when uncharged due to its erratic movement pattern. Teleport's ending lag, momentum, and start-up have been increased since Melee, and while these traits make it generally more risky to use when warping to the ground, it is still useful due to it rendering Mewtwo invulnerable for a split second and granting it considerable horizontal momentum. Confusion, which was notorious in Melee for being virtually useless, has been buffed considerably and now helps Mewtwo's neutral game. It improves Mewtwo's defensive presence by now functioning as a proper reflector and its offensive presence due to it functioning as a long-ranged command grab that can grab through attacks with disjointed hitboxes, such as Ike's forward smash. Confusion's utility also extends to Mewtwo's recovery, as it grants a slight vertical boost during its first use in midair and it can completely reverse aerial momentum and direction. Lastly, Disable is a risky set-up option, but it can guarantee combos and potentially KOs if it connects, which is further supplemented by its stun duration having been increased since Melee.

Despite Mewtwo's strengths, it has notable and fairly exploitable weaknesses. The most notable of these is its frailty; Mewtwo's very light weight makes it very easy to KO, while its tall frame, average falling speed and average gravity collectively make it easier to combo and juggle compared to other characters of its size. Furthermore, Mewtwo lacks an effective aerial attack that can interrupt combos, and attempting to Teleport out of combos can lead to it being punished. This leads to Mewtwo being brought to KO percentages more easily than potentially any other character in the game. The majority of its moveset also possesses some restrictions despite their advantages; its tail-based attacks do not render Mewtwo's tail intangible during the attack, which makes Mewtwo's tail attacks unsafe aside from its down tilt.

Mewtwo's finishers are difficult to land except for its forward aerial; its grab range is average, limiting its the use of Mewtwo's throws, its forward and down smash have somewhat slow start-up, and its up smash is easily punishable due to its range being almost limited to above Mewtwo. While Disable can potentially set up for KOs, it is also risky to perform and can easily be punished if it whiffs. Lastly, Mewtwo is at a distinct disadvantage in a custom moveset environment, as it lacks custom moves due to its status as a DLC character.

In regard to playstyle, Mewtwo's is an odd combination of styles: it fits the archetype of a glass cannon that sacrifices attack speed and range for sheer damage and power, yet typically relies on bait and punish tactics and defensive maneuvers to keep opponents from performing rushdowns and capitalizing on its very tall frame and extremely light weight. This does not mean Mewtwo is forced to turtling, however, as its outstanding mobility, excellent air game, good frame data, and overall powerful moveset make it a force to be reckoned with. As such, Mewtwo is a "high-risk, high-reward" character with a fairly high learning curve, thanks to it boasting numerous KOing options and a potent air game, yet having to capitalize on reads more often than not due to being burdened with very light weight and a susceptibility to both combos and juggling.

In a similar manner to Marth, Mewtwo was initially poorly regarded in SSB4's metagame due to its most serious flaws from Melee being worsened, which resulted in it suffering from low representation and poor results. After being heavily buffed in game updates, Mewtwo has received more representation and better results in the tournament scene, with its notable players including Blue, Mew² and Abadango. Following Abadango winning Pound 2016 while almost solely using Mewtwo, it is now regarded as a much better character than initially thought, with the general consensus being that Mewtwo warranted a spot as a high-tier character before it was officially reassessed as a top-tier character within the current SSB4 tier list.

Changes from Melee

Mewtwo has received both buffs and nerfs in the transition from Melee to SSB4, but it has overall been buffed relative to the cast. Its aerials have been improved (its down aerial being the most heavily buffed in the game in regard to power), with highly reduced landing lag and increased power. More specifically, two specials that were previously viewed as useless, Confusion and Disable, were buffed in regard to speed and utility. Confusion in particular is now able to transfer projectiles to Mewtwo's ownership, which improves Mewtwo's general offense, its defense against projectiles, and assists it with mindgames. Mewtwo's smash attacks were also buffed, with significant increases in knockback being applied to both its forward smash and up smash, improving its previously poor KO ability.

Mewtwo also dashes significantly faster, which greatly helps its ground game and Mewtwo's overall mobility. The removal of directional air dodging and more landing lag with an air dodge is also a significant buff to its Shadow Ball, which can be used to trap landings much more easily. The new air dodge mechanics also give Mewtwo an additional option when attempting to safely land back on to the stage. Furthermore, Mewtwo retains a very powerful up throw and a forward throw that can both deal decent damage and help refresh moves affected by stale-move negation. Finally, its new wall jump improves its already exceptional recovery, while its techs have been vastly improved.

However, Mewtwo has received significant nerfs, especially to its survivability. One of Mewtwo's biggest nerfs in the transition is a large decrease to its already low weight (now being only six units heavier than Jigglypuff) and a slight increase to its already tall hurtbox, making Mewtwo significantly easier to KO. Teleport, formerly one of its reliable defensive options, has more landing lag, weakening its mix-up utility and its ability to escape pressure. Teleport is also more erratic in some situations, due to the altered mechanics to its aerial ending lag sometimes leading to Mewtwo bouncing off of the walls of certain stages. Mewtwo's attacks have also slightly slower start-up at the cost of their ending lag.

The removal of wavedashing also harms Mewtwo, as it aided its combo game and approach in Melee. The removal of double jump canceling is a double-edged sword: although it improves Mewtwo's recovery and allows for new types of combos, it nonetheless inhibits its combo game overall similarly to the loss of wavedashing. Its throw-oriented combo game has been toned down significantly, thanks to both the removal of chain grabbing and the rest of the cast possessing generally slower falling speeds. This is further compounded by its down throw having slightly more ending lag, which makes Mewtwo one of the very few characters to have a down throw that cannot combo properly.

Overall, Mewtwo has been re-balanced so that its moveset is generally more consistent than in Melee, but its survivability, approach and combo options have been nerfed due to its lighter weight and the changes in mechanics from Melee to SSB4. As such, Mewtwo still has a fairly high learning curve and risky playstyle, though it functions as a very effective glass cannon when mastered.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Mewtwo's skin is slightly more vibrant and its eye color is more subdued. Additionally, its proportions are more akin to its appearances in the Pokémon core series as of generation VI. This includes a slightly smaller and rounder head, more bulbous fingertips and slightly more pronounced ear-like protrusions. However, these changes do not apply to its initial trophy.
• Mewtwo's front side now faces the screen regardless of which direction it is looking. This also changes some of its prior animations.
• Mewtwo is less vocal overall, as it no longer emits a voice clip when using Confusion, Disable and battering items.
• Double jump and tail-based attacks' sound clips are much lower pitched.
• Mewtwo now has an on-screen appearance, an up taunt and a down taunt.
• Walk's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now hovers while at a slight angle, rather than being parallel to the ground.

Attributes

• Mewtwo is slightly taller. This slightly improves its range, but makes its hurtbox slightly larger.
• On top of the above change, Mewtwo's tail is also longer. This gives all of it's tail based moves naturally more range.
• Some tail-based attacks do not match their trails.
• Mewtwo is lighter (85 → 74), going from being tied for the seventeenth heaviest in Melee to being the second lightest in SSB4.
• Mewtwo walks faster (1.0 → 1.2).
• Mewtwo dashes faster (1.4 → 2.05), going from being tied for the tenth slowest in Melee to the seventh fastest in SSB4.
• Mewtwo's air speed is faster (1.2 → 1.25).
• Mewtwo's fast falling speed is faster (2.3 → 2.4). When combined with the new air dodge mechanics, this improves Mewtwo's landing options.
• Short hop, jump, and double jump are slightly higher. This enables its forward, back and up aerials to autocancel from a short hop, despite their later autocancel windows.
• Mewtwo can now wall jump.
• Mewtwo crouches lower.
• Techs' animations have changed. They are now more traditional, making it less susceptible to tech-chases.
• Item swings' animations have changed. Dash swings also consist of one hit instead of multiple ones.
• The removal of double jump canceling improves Mewtwo's recovery, as it can now use aerials or air dodges while keeping its momentum. However, it also hinders Mewtwo's combo game.
• The removal of wavedashing and moonwalking and the weakening of dash-dancing significantly hinder Mewtwo's approach.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack deals less damage (6% (hit 1)/2% (infinite) → 4%/1%).
• Neutral attack has decreased start-up (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 25 (hit 1), FAF 52 → 36 (infinite)). Neutral infinite also has a finisher, an upward swipe.
• Sweetspotted dash attack deals 1% more damage (9% → 10%). Dash attack also deals more knockback (80 (base)/60 (scaling) → 80/70 (clean), 40 (base)/60 (scaling) → 80/70 (late)).
• Dash attack's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now performs a palm thrust with one hand, rather than with both. Compared to the previous animation, it is more fluid and pronounced. This increases its range and grants it a hitbox that is disjointed from Mewtwo's body, but shortens its lingering hitbox's duration (frames 12-29 → 12-20).
• Forward tilt has increased start-up (frame 6 → 10) and ending lag (FAF 29 → 36). It also has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 10-11).
• Down tilt deals less damage (9%/8%/5% → 5%/4.5%/4%), has increased start-up lag (frame 5 → 6) and has a shorter duration (frames 5-7 → 6-7).
• Up tilt deals less damage (10%/8%/6%/5% → 6%/5%/4.5%/4%/3%) and has increased start-up (frame 6 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 28 → 30).
• Up tilt has altered base knockback (0/70/70/0/60/60/50/40 → 70/60/50/50/60/50/40), improving its combo potential.
• Down tilt has decreased ending lag (FAF 30 → 21), improving its combo potential.
• Up smash has decreased ending lag (FAF 69 → 70).
• Sourspotted forward smash deals 4% more damage (12% → 16%).
• Forward smash has increased knockback scaling (75 (sweetspot)/80 (sourspot) → 85/90), a larger hitbox (2u → 3u) and has a longer duration (frames 19-20 → 19-21). Its sweetspot is also easier to land than its sourspot.
• Sweetspotted forward smash deals 1% less damage (20% → 19%). Forward smash also has increased start-up lag (frame 18 → 19) and slightly decreased range.
• Due to the changes to stale-move negation, up smash deals 1.39% more damage (15.61% → 17%) and has altered knockback (40 (base)/118 (scaling) → 60/107), improving its KO potential.
• Up smash's first hit has increased weight-based knockback (40/18/18/8 → 90) and its remaining six hits connect together better due to having larger hitboxes.
• Up smash's first hit's hitbox is very slightly smaller.
• Up smash's last hit has slightly decreased vertical range, but slightly increased horizontal range.
• Down smash has increased knockback scaling (103 → 118), improving its KO potential. It also has slightly increased range.
• Down smash has increased start-up (frame 20 → 21) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 44).

Aerial attacks

• All aerial attacks' landing lag was decreased (25/12 frames → 14 (forward), 28/14 frames → 17 (back), 20/10 frames → 13 (up), 28/14 frames → 18 (down)), although forward, back, up and down aerials still have more landing lag than when L-canceled in Melee.
• Neutral, forward, back and up aerials autocancel later (frame 37> → 46> (neutral), frame 35> → 36> (forward), frame 30> → 38> (back), frame 33> → 36> (up)).
• Neutral aerial's first eight hits connect together better and its last hit deals increased knockback (70 (base)/80 (scaling) → 40/110) and has a larger hitbox.
• Neutral aerial deals less damage (1%-2% (hits 1-8)/6% (hit 9) → 1%/4%), has increased start-up lag (frame 5 → 7) and its landing hitbox has been removed.
• Neutral aerial's aesthetic visuals have changed. The electricity now flashes green, yellow, blue, cyan and purple at varying intervals, rather than flashing mauve and cyan at a consistent rate.
• Forward aerial deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%) and has a shorter duration (frames 6-9 → 6-8).
• Forward aerial's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now swipes forward while lunging, rather than shifting its body in unison with the swipe. Compared to the previous animation, it produces a less narrow hitbox with increased horizontal range and results in its hitboxes being more disjointed from Mewtwo's arm.
• Forward aerial's angle has been altered (84° → 50°), improving its combo potential into itself.
• Neutral, forward, back, and up aerials have increased ending lag (FAF 42 → 46 (neutral), FAF 36 → 38 (forward), FAF 32 → 40 (back), FAF 35 → 40 (up)).
• Back aerial's x-axis offset is larger (5.1u → 5.5u), improving its horizontal range.
• Back aerial has increased start-up lag (frame 12 → 13).
• Near up aerial deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%) and has a longer duration (frames 10-13 → 10-14), improving its KO and combo potentials.
• Mid and far up aerials deal less damage (11% (mid)/14% (far) → 10%/9%) and have increased start-up lag (frame 9 → 10).
• Up aerial's sweetspot has been re-positioned near the base of Mewtwo's tail, rather than at the tip of its tail.
• Aerial sweetspotted down aerial deals 1% less damage (16% → 15%).
• Down aerial's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now stomps in a more pronounced motion. Compared to the previous animation, it produces larger and more disjointed hitboxes that improve its vertical and horizontal ranges. Additionally, it has decreased start-up (frame 18 → 15) and ending lag (FAF 47 → 46). Lastly, it autocancels earlier (frame 45> → 42>), now autocanceling from a short hop due to Mewtwo's increased jump height.
• The removal of meteor canceling improves down aerial's KO potential.

Throws/other attacks

• Dash grab has increased start-up (frame 8 → 9) and ending lag (FAF 41 → 43). Standing grab also has increased ending lag (FAF 31 → 36).
• The removal of chain grabbing hinders Mewtwo's damage racking ability.
• Pummel deals 1% less damage (3% → 2%).
• Pummel is faster.
• Forward throw's Shadow Balls are larger, but cover less distance.
• Back throw deals 1% less damage (11% → 10%) and has decreased knockback scaling (80 → 75), hindering its KO potential.
• Back throw's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now looks away while throwing the opponent, rather than looking at them while throwing them.
• Up throw has decreased knockback (100 (base)/70 (scaling) → 72/65), significantly hindering its KO potential. However, it is still the strongest up throw in the game if directional influence is taken into account. It also has slightly increased ending lag, slightly hindering its safety at low percentages.
• Down throw deals 2% less damage (11% → 9%) and has slightly increased ending lag, hindering its combo potential.
• Down throw has an altered angle (69° → 74°).
• Down throw's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now performs a front flip to strike with its tail, rather than spinning its entire body. Compared to the previous animation, it is slightly faster.

Special moves

• Fully charged Shadow Ball has decreased knockback (50 (base)/70 (scaling) → 30/67), hindering its KO potential. Shadow Ball's charge time has also increased and it no longer has a hitbox while charging.
• Fully charged Shadow Ball has a larger hitbox and increased range.
• Shadow Ball's movement pattern is much less erratic. This improves its accuracy, but makes its trajectory more predictable.
• While saving a fully charged Shadow Ball, dark energy now emanates from both of Mewtwo's hands, rather than just one.
• Confusion deals ≈0.9505% less damage (10% → ≈9.0495%) due to consisting of nine small hits instead of one large hit.
• Confusion now functions like a traditional reflector, as it changes reflected projectiles to Mewtwo's ownership and has a damage multiplier (1.4x). It also has decreased ending lag (FAF 56 → 45).
• Aerial Confusion grants a slight vertical boost after its first use, granting it recovery potential.
• Confusion's aesthetic visuals have changed. It now appears as a translucent ripple, rather than a white sparkle. Compared to the previous animation, it is almost identical to the animation Confusion used in generations V and VI.
• Teleport grants a small amount of forward and/or backward momentum, slightly improving its recovery potential. However, it plays out its momentum-based ending lag even if Mewtwo re-appears on the ground, slightly making it more punishable.
• Teleport has slightly increased start-up lag. This slightly improves its maneuverability, but makes it slightly more punishable.
• Teleport has decreased intangibility frames (frames 8-17 → 9-17).
• Disable's stun duration has increased, improving its set-up potential.
• Disable now deals minor knockback to an aerial opponent, rather than launching or tumbling them. It also has increased start-up (frame 15 → 16) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 48).
• Disable's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now slightly tilts its head and its eyes turn green, rather than looking straight ahead and turning yellow, respectively.
• Mewtwo now has a Final Smash, Psystrike. Mewtwo undergoes Mega Evolution to become Mega Mewtwo Y and then immediately uses Psystrike, a powerful sphere of psychic energy that can pass through walls and will powerfully launch any opponents it hits.

Update history

Mewtwo has been heavily buffed as of update 1.1.5. Some of its attacks have had their damage outputs increased, their lag decreased, and their hitboxes' sizes and durations increased, all of which improve its offense. Additionally, update 1.1.3 made Mewtwo considerably faster by increasing its walking and dashing speeds, which enables it to chase after opponents and thus allows it to mix up its playstyle to sport a more consistent offensive presence alongside its typically defensive presence. Mewtwo's dash speed was increased even further in update 1.1.5, now being slightly faster than Sheik's. Said update also slightly increased Mewtwo's incredibly light weight, which marginally improved its survivability issues.

Mewtwo also slightly benefits from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1: the universal increase to shieldstun allows Shadow Ball, some of its sweetspotted attacks and Confusion-reflected projectiles (such as Timber's tree, a fully charged Charge Shot or a fully charged Shadow Ball) to heavily damage a shield. Due to these aforementioned changes, Mewtwo is considered much more viable than it was upon its return to the series.

1.0.8

• Neutral aerial's landing lag decreased: 19 frames → 16.
• Up smash's first hitbox's size decreased: 6.2u → 3u.

1.1.0

• Forward throw deals 2.5% more damage: 10.5% → 13%.
• Down smash's knockback scaling increased: 112 → 118, improving its KO potential.
• Air dodge's animation slightly changed. If Mewtwo air dodges while holding an item, the item will disappear as well. This enables Mewtwo to avoid giving away its location, improving its safety. However, this can be mitigated if its name tag is visible or if the bottom screen marker is placed on it.

1.1.3

• Mewtwo walk speed: 1.0 → 1.2.
• Mewtwo dash speed: 1.696 → 1.9
• Mewtwo's air speed is faster: 1.15 → 1.25.
• Forward smash sourspot damage: 15% → 16%.
• Forward smash hitbox size: 2.0 → 3.0.
• Neutral air landing lag: 16 → 13.
• Forward air startup: 7 frames → 6.
• Forward air landing lag: 18 → 14.
• Back air x-axis offset: 5.1 → 5.5.
• Back air landing lag: 21 → 17.
• Up air damage: 9% → 10%.
• Up air landing lag: 16 → 13.
• Down air hitbox duration: 2 frames → 4.
• Down air landing lag: 22 → 18.
• Down throw angle: 69° → 74°.
• Shadow Ball is slightly increased in size.
• Shadow Ball deals less recoil.

Technical changelist 1.1.3

Change	Old value	New value
Walking speed	1.0	1.2
Dashing speed	1.696	1.9
Forward smash hitbox	2u	3u
Sourspotted forward smash damage	15%	16%
Neutral & up/forward/back/down aerial landing lag	16/18/21/22	13/14/17/18
Forward aerial start-up	7 frames	6
Back aerial x-axis offset	5.1	5.5
Up aerial damage	7.5% (far)/ 9% (mid)	9%/10%
Up aerial hitboxes' size	4.7u (hitbox 0)/ 3.9u (hitbox 1)/ 3.1u (hitbox 2)	5u/4.5u/4u
Up aerial knockback	0 (base)/100 (growth)	40/97
Down aerial hitbox duration	2 frames	4
Down throw angle	69°	74°

1.1.5

• Mewtwo is slightly heavier: 72 → 74.
• Mewtwo dashes faster (1.9 → 2.05), now being slightly faster than Sheik.
• Up smash ending lag decreased by five frames.
• Neutral aerial's multi-hits hitboxes are larger: 2.3u → 3u.

Moveset

• Mewtwo can wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Extends its arm and emits 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 be jab canceled, which allows it to combo into itself, a throw or any other attack.
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt			10% (near), 9% (mid), 8% (far)	Swings its tail forward. It is Mewtwo's strongest tilt attack, has good range and can be angled, all of which make it useful for spacing beginning at 40%. However, its low base knockback makes it unsuitable for KOing.
Up tilt			6% (nearest), 5% (near), 4% (far), 3% (farthest), 4.5% (farthest hitbox to opponents in front of Mewtwo)	Telekinetically backflips to swing its tail in an overhead arcing motion. Its near hitboxes launch at angles, which allows them to combo into themselves, an up smash, a back aerial or an up aerial beginning at 0% and up to low percentages. They can also be used for juggling beginning at medium percentages. In comparison, it far hitboxes can be used for spacing. It has long range overall, as it can hit opponents near Mewtwo's back.
Down tilt			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 due to coming out on frame 6, and has respectable utility as a good out of shield option. It is also Mewtwo's best combo starter and, like up tilt, has hitboxes that launch at different angles. As a result, it can combo into an up tilt, a dashing up smash, a neutral aerial, a forward aerial or an up aerial.
Dash attack			10% (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. Depending on the hitbox it hits with and the opponent's damage, it can combo into a neutral, forward or up aerial. It also has impressive range for a dash attack thanks to its disjointed hitbox, making it a decent punishment option at certain distances and potentially difficult for the opponent to punish from a proper distance.
Forward smash			19% (blast), 16% (arms)	A double palm thrust that emits a blast of dark energy. It has noticeable start-up and moderate ending lag, but deals impressive damage. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at 114% while near the edge, while its sourspot KOs them at 117% while near the edge.
Up smash			1% (hits 1-6), 10% (hit 7)	Thrusts its arm upward to emit a swirling, galaxy-shaped blast of dark energy. It can miss small opponents, but is good for trapping aerial opponents, particularly those near the edge. It KOs middleweights at 122% if all of its hits connect.
Down smash			15%	Extends its arm at a diagonal angle and emits a blast of dark energy from its fingertip. One of the few down smashes that does not hit on both sides, but it is powerful nonetheless and has the highest knockback scaling out of Mewtwo's entire moveset. It KOs middleweights at 118% while near the edge.
Neutral aerial			1% (hits 1-8), 4% (hit 9)	Discharges electricity around itself. Its hitboxes stay at Mewtwo's body and its last hit launches the opponent away. However, it no longer has a landing hitbox like in Melee, which means that opponents can end up close to Mewtwo if the move ends early. Regardless, it is very useful for disrupting opponents, as Mewtwo has full control over its aerial movement even while using the move, allowing it to weave in and out to prevent approaches.
Forward aerial			13%	A dark energy-infused swipe. It is Mewtwo's fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 6, while its respectable damage output and high knockback scaling allows it to KO middleweights at 130% while near the edge. At low percentages, it can also combo into itself or be used as a follow-up after a down tilt or a neutral aerial. Despite its aforementioned dark energy visuals, it produces both darkness and slash effects.
Back aerial			13% (near), 11% (mid), 9% (far)	Swings its tail in an upward arc. It has highly disjointed range and is a decent gimping tool if timed properly. However, it has a noticeable amount of start-up lag and the second highest amount of landing lag out its aerial attacks. Its near hitbox KOs middleweights at 151% while near the edge.
Up aerial			11% (near), 10% (mid), 9% (far)	Backflips to swing its tail in an overhead arcing motion, similarly to its up tilt. Despite its appearance, it is unable to hit opponents beside Mewtwo. Its near hitbox KOs middleweights at 113% while near the upper blast line.
Down aerial			14% (grounded opponents, aerial sourspot), 15% (aerial sweetspot)	A backflipping, dark energy-infused stomp. It is Mewtwo's slowest aerial due to coming out on frame 15, but it has high knockback scaling, which allows it to KO middleweights at 148%. It is also a powerful meteor smash when sweetspotted in the air. Despite its aforementioned dark energy visuals appearing right where Mewtwo stomps, it does not have produce a darkness effect upon contact.
Grab			—	Telekinetically holds an opponent. Mewtwo's overall grab range is average.
Pummel			2%	Electrocutes the opponent. It has average speed.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 2% (Shadow Balls)	Telekinetically lifts the opponent diagonally in the air before firing five Shadow Balls at them. As of update 1.1.0, it is tied with Ganondorf and max Aura Lucario's forward throws as the most damaging forward throws in the game. However, the Shadow Balls can be reflected if the opponent wears a Franklin Badge, while other nearby opponents with reflectors and/or absorption moves can choose to intercept it.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent backward. Despite having its damage output and knockback scaling lowered since Melee, it is one of the strongest back throws in the game, as it can KO middleweights at 148% while near the edge.
Up throw			12%	Telekinetically spins the opponent around itself before launching them upward. Even though its overall knockback has been considerably lowered since Melee, it is still a strong throw, as it KOs middleweights at 154%. In regard to knockback, it is the second strongest up throw in the game, surpassed only by Charizard's up throw as of update 1.0.8. While Charizard's can KO earlier when landing on high platforms, such as the ones on Battlefield or Town and City, it is still susceptible to DI. When not including platforms, Mewtwo's can KO earlier in comparison, as DI has little effect on it due to it launching at 90°.
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 has low knockback and somewhat high ending lag. As a result, it cannot properly combo into most of its moves, though it can be used to react to an opponent's option and punish them.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Telekinetically spins around to swing its tail.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Telekinetically spins around to swing its tail.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a dark energy-infused swipe behind itself and then in front of itself.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Swings its tail in front of itself while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Shadow Ball	2.5% (uncharged), 25% (fully charged)	Cups its hands to its side and creates a large, dark purple sphere of dark energy between its hands, then thrusts its hands forward to launch the sphere. It can be fired immediately, which, when coupled with its erratic movement pattern, allows it to function as a pressuring option like Fireball. Conversely, it can be charge canceled and then charged up again. While its charging time is quite long, a fully charged Shadow Ball is a viable KOing option, as it KOs middleweights at 116% while near the edge. A fully charged Shadow Ball also deals considerable shield damage and possesses transcendent priority, though it cannot break one with full health and can still cancel out certain projectiles, respectively. A fully charged Shadow Ball also deals recoil upon being fired; as a result, using it in midair will moderately propel Mewtwo backward, which can help or hinder its recovery.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	Confusion	≈9.0495% (throw), 1.4x (reflected projectiles)	Swipes forward to emit a ripple of psychic energy from its hand. Has impressive utility due to functioning as a reflector, a grab, and even a recovery option. As a grab, the ripple spins opponents around and leaves them tumbling downward, dropping them in front of Mewtwo and allows it to follow-up with other attacks. As a recovery option, its first use in midair gives Mewtwo a slight vertical boost.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	Teleport	—	Teleports to a different location. It is completely invulnerable during the move. It has less ending lag if Mewtwo Teleports directly back onto the ground, while it gives Mewtwo some horizontal momentum if ended in midair.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	Disable	1%	Kneels on one knee and emits a minuscule spark of psychic energy from its eyes toward the opponent, stunning them. It only works if the opponent is facing Mewtwo and making eye contact with it. If the opponent is in the air, they are slightly launched backward with set knockback, instead of being stunned. Useful at high percentages to guarantee a KO, but difficult to land. It should be noted that Disable can be reflected by a particularly vigilant opponent.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		Psystrike	30%	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. It KOs middleweights at 68% while near the edge.

On-screen appearance

• Emerges from a large mass of dark energy and then falls gently to the ground. It is similar to Lucario's on-screen appearance, albeit with dark energy involved instead of Aura.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Closes its eyes and folds its arms as it telekinetically spins around on the spot while laughing in a sinister tone. This taunt returns from Melee.
• Side taunt: Surrounds itself in a flame-like field of dark energy, similarly to Lucario's up taunt.
• Down taunt: Its eyes briefly shine before it faces the screen, then thrusts its arm towards the screen while emitting a small spark of dark energy while posing similarly to its official art in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Motions toward itself with its arm further from the screen.
• Draws its arms towards itself and strikes a pose.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Mewwwww-two!	Myuuuuu-tsu!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

An orchestral excerpt of the title theme from Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions, which has since become the main theme of the Pokémon series.

• Turns its back to the screen and looks back over its shoulder, saying "Hmm..." In the Japanese version, it says "私はなぜここにいるのか...？" ("Why am I existing here?")
• Thrusts its hand forward, emits dark energy from its body, and growls. Appears very similar to its down taunt. In the Japanese version, it says "私はまけるわけにはいかない！" ("It is impossible for me to lose!")
• Does a single spin and then poses while laughing ominously and emitting a flame-like field of dark energy around itself. In the Japanese version, it says "愚かな！" ("How foolish!")
  • Mewtwo speaks in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. 4.

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Abadango - The best Mewtwo player in the world. Placed 1st at Pound 2016, 4th at CEO 2016, 5th at EVO 2016, 1st at Clutch City Clash, 7th at Super Smash Con 2016, 2nd at UGC Smash Open, and 5th at GENESIS 4. Ranked 7th on both the Panda Global Rankings and JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Blue - Placed 13th at KTAR XVII, 17th at Shots Fired 2, and 9th at Collision XIV. Ranked 9th on the New Jersey Power Rankings.
•  Deathorse - Placed 7th at Canada Cup 2016, 13th at Frostbite 2017, and 17th at Glitch 3. Ranked 2nd on the Ottawa Power Rankings.
•  Ginko - Placed 3rd at Hyper Sumabato, 4th at KSB 2016, and 13th at KSB 2017.
•  Hitaku
•  KillerJawz - Placed 5th at B.E.A.S.T 7.
•  Mew² - Ranked 12th on the Dallas Forth Worth Power Rankings. He has a double elimination win over Mew2King at Super Bit Wars 4.
•  MagiMagi - Ranked 1st on the Ireland Power Rankings.
•  Rich Brown - Placed 25th at CEO 2016, 17th at EVO 2016, 2nd at Syndicate 2016, 7th at 2GGT: Abadango Saga, and 25th at The Big House 6. Ranked 3rd on the SoCal Power Rankings.
•  WaDi - Placed 13th at The Big House 6, 7th at 2GGT: Abadango Saga and KTAR XIX, 5th at KTAR XX, and 1st at Glitch 3. Ranked 1st on the MD/VA Power Rankings.
•  Zoan - Placed 13th at KTAR XX.

Inactive

•  9B
•  Trela

Tier placement and history

Mewtwo's return to the series was initially met positively, as players had soon noticed its increased mobility, power and range, which in turn led to it being perceived as a mid-tier character. However, players also lamented the nerfs to Mewtwo's already poor survivability and, when coupled with other issues that became more prominent over the time, players gradually started to agree that Mewtwo's improved offense was not sufficient enough to compensate. While these drawbacks saw Mewtwo's perception plummet, some players insisted that Mewtwo was underrated, and that critics were too focused on its frailty to see its positive traits. As time went on, Mewtwo received buffs via game updates, most notably to its mobility and aerials. These improvements led it to be ranked 37th on the first tier list, placing it in the F tier and, like in Melee, establishing it as a low-tier character.

However, after Mewtwo's dashing speed was further buffed in update 1.1.5, players such as Abadango, Rich Brown and WaDiRob began placing higher with it in tournaments, and showed that its powerful offensive potential and combo game now outweighed its defensive shortcomings. This resulted in a drastic improvement to Mewtwo's perception within the community, which was reflected in it being ranked 10th on the second tier list. This new ranking was notable for not only reassessing it as a top-tier character, but for also being the largest tier rise between the first and second tier lists. Mewtwo's continued success lead to it being ranked 9th on the third and current tier list, which reaffirmed its status as a top-tier character. As such, Mewtwo is one of the two characters to have improved the most from their previous appearance, with the other being Mario.

Trophies

Mewtwo comes with matching character trophies, which are unlocked as usual. However, its alt. trophy will also be automatically granted upon booting up the version. Its existing non-fighter trophy remains in the game, completely unchanged; both it and the Classic trophy are simply labeled as "Mewtwo" in-game.

Mewtwo

Mewtwo puts its psychic powers to great use in this game. Not only does it have floaty jumps, but its telekinesis gives its attacks extra reach and its throws added power. However, its light body makes it easy to launch, so if you're willing to take the risk of getting in close, it might just be worth it!

Mewtwo puts its psychic powers to great use in this game. Not only can it float in midair, but its telekinesis gives its attacks extra reach and its throws added power. However, its light body makes it easy to launch, so if you're willing to take the risk of getting in close, it might just be worth it!

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Mewtwo (Alt.)

Mewtwo's Confusion side special not only repels projectiles—it also reflects the damage back on your opponent. Its down special, Disable, stuns an enemy for longer the higher its damage is. Disable only works on foes that are facing Mewtwo.

Mewtwo's Confusion side special not only lets you repel projectiles—it also reflects the damage back on your opponent. Its down special, Disable, stuns an enemy for longer the higher its damage is. As it works by having Mewtwo glare at its foe, this only works if they make eye contact.

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Psystrike

Mewtwo's Final Smash starts as Mewtwo Mega Evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y. It then fires a huge psychic projectile that penetrates enemies and obstacles. This projectile doesn't do any damage, but it freezes every foe it hits in place. They can even be frozen midjump! Afterward, every foe hit with this projectile will take a powerful psychic hit to the head.

Mewtwo (non-fighter)

Created from modified Mew DNA, Mewtwo was designed to be the ultimate Pokémon. It didn't take on any of Mew's kinder traits and only uses its intelligence to destroy its enemies. Or...so it seems. Perhaps it just feels frightened or even tormented, and that's why it lashes out. Whatever the reason, Mewtwo is not to be messed with.

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen (09/2004)

• 

  Non-fighter (3DS)

• 

  Non-fighter (Wii U)

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Final Smash (Psystrike)

Alternate costumes

Trailers

<youtube>P-zJOntZRHo</youtube>

Gallery

• 

  The differences between Mewtwo's models for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The latter version's model was used for Mewtwo's official artwork on Club Nintendo prior to its official trailer.

• 

  The teaser confirming Mewtwo's return to the series.

• 

  Mewtwo's splash art.

• 

  Mewtwo's amiibo.

• 

  Using its up down taunt.

• 

  Mewtwo fighting Fox.

• 

  Using its forward throw on Luigi.

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  Using its down smash on Ike.

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  Mewtwo alongside Mew.

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  Using Disable on Little Mac.

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  Mewtwo Mega Evolving into Mega Mewtwo Y as part of its Final Smash.

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  Using Psystrike, its Final Smash, on Dr. Mario and Wario.

• 

  Using its forward aerial on Toon Link.

• 

  Using its forward tilt on Greninja.

Trivia

• Mewtwo's pose in its official artwork for SSB4 is nearly identical to its pose in its official artwork for Melee.
• As a possible callback to Melee, Mewtwo has only one voice clip for when it is KO'd.
• Mewtwo folds its arms in numerous instances, including during its up taunt, up tilt, Hammer animation, helpless animation, its losing/No Contest animation, its screen KO animation, while asleep and while teetering.
• Prior to update 1.0.7, it was possible to access glitched versions of Mewtwo's custom moves via a glitch involving shared Mii Fighters. Most of these crash the game, with the exception of both variations of Confusion, a non-functional version of Disable that renders Mewtwo helpless, and a version of Disable which zooms the camera in on Mewtwo and temporarily slows down time, all of which have limited functionality. It is unclear whether the glitch involved accessing custom moves that were incomplete or data not intended for use of custom moves. One of the variations of Mewtwo's glitched custom Confusion is very similar to the soul breaker glitch. It is speculated that these were unfinished custom moves and that DLC characters were intended to have custom moves. While the glitch was removed by update 1.0.7, it was still possible to view replays containing these special moves prior to update 1.0.8.
• Mewtwo is the only veteran DLC character with a new voice actor, and the only character in SSB4 to speak only in the Japanese version.
• Mewtwo is the only DLC character to have been downloadable for free.
• Mewtwo is the only DLC character who does not share equipment types with any other DLC character.
• The model of Mewtwo's non-fighter trophy has very slightly different features from its model as a playable character and for its fighter trophies. Compared to the non-fighter trophy, Mewtwo's character model has a slightly smaller and rounder head, slightly larger eyes, a very slightly longer tail, and a darker shade of purple for its midsection and tail. Overall, the trophy resembles the Mewtwo from the first Pokémon movie, while it and its fighter trophies resemble how the species appears in the Pokémon core series as of generation VI, with eyes and ears still somewhat reminiscent of its movie appearance that make it closely resemble Mewtwo's D-Arts action figure.
• Mewtwo and Lucario are the only two playable Pokémon in SSB4 who do not emerge from a Poké Ball as part of their on-screen appearances.
• Although Mewtwo's Final Smash involves Mega Evolution, it differs from Charizard and Lucario's in a few distinct ways. Mewtwo's is used for a single attack and renders it both invincible and stationary for its duration, whereas Charizard and Lucario's function as transformations that grant improved offense, mobility and armor for their durations. Additionally, Mewtwo's Final Smash is referred to by its primary attack's name (Psystrike), rather than simply as "Mega Evolution".