Mewtwo (SSBU)

Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in Melee in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Psystrike

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. It is the last game 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

• 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.
• 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.
• Mewtwo's falling animation has been altered; it does not keep its arms folded, only doing so when falling forward or backward.
• Side taunt now has it slightly levitate over the ground.
• Mewtwo's victory poses have been slightly altered:
  • The pose where Mewtwo laughs and floats has it float higher and look farther away from the screen.
  • The pose where Mewtwo thrusts its hand outward has an altered camera angle more towards its hand.
  • The pose where Mewtwo faces away from the screen has Mewtwo keep its eyes shut for slightly longer.
• As with all previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Mewtwo now has a unique Palutena's Guidance conversation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Mewtwo's jumpsquat takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Mewtwo is heavier (74 → 79), weighing as much as Kirby. This improves its survivability.
• Mewtwo runs faster (2.05 → 2.255).
  • Mewtwo's initial dash is significantly faster (1.4 → 2.255).
• Mewtwo walks slightly faster (1.2 → 1.26).
• 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.
• Mewtwo's air speed is higher (1.25 → 1.313).
• Mewtwo performs its double jump more quickly, improving its recovery and combo game.
• Mewtwo's falling speed is faster (1.5 → 1.55). This improves its vertical survivability, but makes it more susceptible to combos.
  • Mewtwo's fast falling speed is faster (2.4 → 2.48).
• Both rolls grant more intangibility (frames 4-13 → 4-15 (forward), 5-16 (back)).
• Back roll has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
• Spot dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-14 → 3-17).
• Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3), with its total duration increased as well (FAF 25 → 26).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-24 → 3-26).
• 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.
• 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:
  • The first hit has a longer hitbox duration (frame 5 → frames 5-6) and less ending lag (FAF 25 → 22).
  • The first hit transitions into the infinite faster (frame 10 → 7).
  • 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.
  • 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%):
    • 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.
    • It has a different launch angle to keep grounded opponents closer to Mewtwo (70°/89° → 361°).
    • It deals less knockback (14 base/30 scaling → 8/10) and each hit has a hitstun modifier of 3.
    • It has a larger hitbox (5.2u → 5.6u).
  • The infinite's finisher has a longer hitbox duration (frame 6 → frames 6-7).
  • The finisher deals slightly more damage (2% → 2.5%) with no compensation on knockback, allowing it to KO under 200% near the edge.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • The finisher has more ending lag (FAF 36 → 41).
  • The first hit and the finisher have higher hitlag multipliers (1× → 1.8× (hit 1), 2× (finisher)).
  • 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:
  • 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.
    • However, this removes its ability to lock opponents at low percents.
  • 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.
  • It has an altered animation: Mewtwo spins its full body around before swinging its tail.
• Up tilt:
  • 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.
    • 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.
  • The clean tipper hitbox launches towards Mewtwo like the rest of the hitboxes (361° → 110°), improving the move's consistency.
  • 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:
  • Down tilt has slightly more ending lag (FAF 21 → 24), hindering its combo potential.
  • It has an altered animation: Mewtwo sweeps its tail inward instead of outward.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has a new animation that puts Mewtwo's body more parallel to the ground during the attack.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.25×), making it easier to DI.
  • 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:
  • Forward smash can be angled.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 19-21 → 19-22).
  • 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).
  • The sweetspot is larger (5.6u → 6.3u), improving its range.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's first hit sends at an autolink angle (100° → 368°), allowing it to connect better into the subsequent hits.
  • The last hit has a longer duration (frames 34-35 → 22-25).
  • The last hit has more knockback scaling (107 → 111), improving its KO potential.
  • The move hits four times instead of seven. However, the first three hits deal more damage (1% → 2%), leaving its total damage output unchanged.
    • 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.
  • 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.
  • The energy swirl is opaque and stylized, instead of a translucent whirl of particles.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 44 → 41).
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 21-22 → 21-23).
  • 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.
  • It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.3×), making it easier to DI.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (13 frames → 10 (neutral), 14 → 8 (forward), 17 → 10 (back), 13 → 8 (up), 18 → 11 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • 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.
  • The move takes longer to interrupt (FAF 46 → 50).
  • The looping hits have smaller hitboxes (3u → 2.5u), reducing the move's range for most of its duration.
    • However, the last hit has a larger hitbox (10.9u → 13.5u).
  • 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.
    • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • The move has altered visuals: rather than emitting multicolored orbs, Mewtwo discharges electricity around itself while flashing with a blue overlay.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's arm hitbox is larger (3.9u → 4.5u).
  • It sends at a lower angle (50° → 47°), slightly improving its KO potential near the edge.
  • 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.
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 36 → 37).
• Back aerial:
  • 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:
  • 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.
    • Its increased knockback hinders its combo potential at higher percents, especially out of an immediate double jump.
  • It has an altered animation: Mewtwo no longer faces the screen after finishing its tail sweep.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's sweetspot is placed lower (Y offset: -6.5u → -7.7u), improving its vertical range.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 46 → 48).
  • The sourspot has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×), making it easier to DI.
  • It now uses a darkness effect.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 36 → 40 (standing), 43 → 48 (dash), 41 → 43 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 9 → 10 (dash), 10 → 11 (pivot)).
  • Dash grab has less range (Z2 offset: 12.7u → 12u).
  • Pivot grab has more range (Z2 offset: -15.2u → -17.3u).
• Pummel:
  • 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.
  • It deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It has a new animation where it clenches its hand to attack. Additionally, Mewtwo no longer leans into the opponent when performed.
  • It now attacks with dark energy rather than electricity, accompanied by the attack having a darkness effect instead of an electric one.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw's Shadow Balls launch at a lower angle (43° → 38°), slightly improving its ability to set up edgeguards.
  • The Shadow Balls have a lower SDI multiplier (1× → 0.8×), making them harder to escape.
  • The speed of the throw is no longer weight dependent, causing the shots to connect less reliably against lightweights, but more reliably against heavyweights.
  • 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.
    • 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.
  • The throw has more set knockback (30 → 35).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals more damage (10% → 11%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO potential.
  • It has an altered animation: Mewtwo tosses the opponent over its shoulder nonchalantly.
• Down throw:
  • 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:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Shadow Ball:
  • Like other charge-cancelable moves, Mewtwo can cancel Shadow Ball by spot dodging or jumping.
  • It has less startup (frame 23 → 18) and ending lag (FAF 49 → 40).
  • It reaches its full charge more quickly (138 → 123 frames).
  • Uncharged Shadow Ball deals more damage (2.5% → 4%).
  • Fully charged Shadow Ball has more knockback scaling (67 → 71), improving its KO potential.
  • 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.
  • The move can no longer be charge-canceled immediately, instead incurring 4 frames of lag beforehand.
  • 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.
  • Mewtwo always vocalizes when releasing a fully charged Shadow Ball, regardless whether the full charge was stored or not.
• Confusion:
  • Confusion has less startup and reflects projectiles faster (frame 12 → 10), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 45 → 43).
  • It has larger hitboxes (6.4u/9.2u → 7.4u/10.2u), improving its range.
  • 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.
  • It halts Mewtwo's horizontal momentum in the air, hindering its utility as a recovery move and landing mixup.
  • 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:
  • Teleport has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 53 → 45).
  • It has less landing lag (30 frames → 20).
  • It can grab onto ledges more easily, with the new ledge grab range being roughly twice its original size.
  • It grants slightly more intangibility frames (frames 9-17 → 9-19).
  • It retains less horizontal momentum on the ground due to Mewtwo's increased traction, making ledge-canceling notably harder to perform.
  • It has a darker, more distinct visual effect when Mewtwo disappears and reappears.
• Disable:
  • Disable grants full intangibility during frames 10-16.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 48 → 53).
  • The ground-only hitbox is slightly smaller (2.34u → 2.3u).
• Psystrike:
  • Psystrike deals more damage (30% → 40%).
  • It has altered knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 80/40), making it stronger on smaller stages but weaker on larger stages.
  • 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.
  • 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. In update 2.0.0, its recovery became safer as Teleport grabs edges more reliably, which also reduces the risk of a self-destruct when attempting to directly Teleport to the edge. In update 3.0.0, Mewtwo's endurance was improved due to its increased weight, and some of its moves deal more damage and gained more range. This same update also increased Shadow Ball's knockback, but made it significantly less of a threat on shield. In update 4.0.0, Mewtwo's tail hurtbox was shrunken slightly, which made spacing with its tail attacks more effective. Additionally, some of its primary KO moves were improved, while Confusion was given slightly less start-up.

Update 7.0.0 buffed Mewtwo once again, although not to the same extent as 4.0.0. Mewtwo's shield was increased, and its posture was altered while shielding, making it less likely for it to be shield poked. Additionally, Mewtwo's down tilt now reaches further into the plane of gameplay on frame 6 of its hitbox, preventing it from missing some characters entirely in certain situations.

Mewtwo would receive even more buffs in the 8.0.0 patch, improving some inconsistencies; most notably, down throw now has combo potential due to its lower ending lag, granting it a new KO setup into forward aerial at high percentages. Back and up aerials have also gotten stronger, improving their already above average KO potential. Lastly, Teleport has less landing lag, making Mewtwo less vulnerable if it Teleports directly onstage.

As a result, Mewtwo fares much better compared to release.

1.1.0

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

2.0.0

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

3.0.0

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

4.0.0

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

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased by 1.1×.
• Mewtwo's shielding pose has been altered to reduce the possibility of a shield stab.
• 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.

8.0.0

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

Moveset

• Mewtwo can cancel the upward momentum of its double jump by inputting a special move.
• Mewtwo can wall jump.
• The inner hitboxes of all of Mewtwo's tail attacks deal more damage and knockback.

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. 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 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 and has 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 moderately high 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. 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 can KO 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 higher percents.
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, 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. One of the strongest up throws in the game, KOing 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 90%-140%. 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, ensurinf a KO unless the opponent has a frame 1 combo breaker. 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.

• 

  Mewtwo's on-screen appearance

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.

• 

  Mewtwo's up taunt.

• 

  Mewtwo's side taunt.

• 

  Mewtwo's down taunt.

Idle poses

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

• 

  Mewtwo's first idle pose

• 

  Mewtwo's second idle pose

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 has been believed to be even better than its iteration in SSB4 despite its top tier placement. 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 overall.

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 the character in favor of other characters, leaving it to have a below average representation. Although Mewtwo has 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. The plentiful amount of buffs, as well as decent regional placements by players such as Zenkai and ????, has led some people to believe that the character could potentially be viable and a threat; ever since it gained more buffs in 8.0.0, Mewtwo is now generally considered an upper-mid tier character, and some believe it to be a high tier character. However, the character's playerbase still remains somewhat small, as well as some of its more meaningful buffs being given 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.

Active

•  ???? - Co-mains Mewtwo with Ice Climbers and is considered the best Mewtwo player in the Midwest. Placed 1st at Midwest Arcadian, 17th at Holiday Heist 5, and 49th at Frostbite 2020. Ranked 10th on the Michigan Power Rankings.
•  Cigotoast - The best Mewtwo player in Spain. Placed 33rd at Tech Republic IV and is ranked 12th on the Spanish Power Rankings. Has wins over sisqui, AndresFn, Rydle, El_Bardo, and ForTseKe.
•  Grade - The best Mewtwo player in Canada. Placed 7th at The Pinnacle 2018 with both Mewtwo and Wolf, and 17th at Play With Heart with solo Mewtwo. Ranked 11th on the British Columbia Power Rankings.
•  Kento - The best solo Mewtwo player in Japan. Placed 33rd at Sumabato SP 1, has wins over players such as Nishiya, Lunamado, Jihanki and Desumo.
•  WaDi (#20) - Uses Mewtwo as a secondary. Placed 1st at Ultimate at The Cave, 2nd at Clash Of The Carolinas III, and 3rd at SwitchFest 2019 Kickoff as one of his characters. Has wins over Seagull Joe and Dexter with Mewtwo.
•  Zenkai - The best Mewtwo player in the United States after SDX dropped the character. Placed 17th at both Tri-state Showdown: Fall 2019 and Overclocked Ultimate IV, 25th at Return to Yoshi's Island, 33rd at Smash at The Paramount, and 49th at Frostbite 2020. Has wins over Ralphie, Mr. E, Sandstorm, and Magister.

Inactive

•  Compact - Formerly used Mewtwo as a main, but has since dropped it for Palutena. Placed 25th at KVOxTSB 2019 and 33rd at Umebura SP using Mewtwo.
•  Moke - Placed 5th at North East Smash Arena 3 and 9th at Manchester Conquest 1 before switching to Greninja. Had wins over Willz, RobbieAK47, and demon_B.
•  SDX - The best Mewtwo player in the world prior to his hiatus. Has since dropped the character for Joker. Placed 2nd at No Fun Allowed 3, 9th at Glitch 6, 17th at GENESIS 6, 25th at Let's Make Moves, and 33rd at Frostbite 2019. He has defeated Awestin, Jw, NickC, Gen, Abadango, and NAKAT.
•  Tezii - Ranked 9th on the Oregon Ultimate Power Rankings and placed 65th at Glitch 8. Has wins over Biggymouth, Active, and H4DS.

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 and Lucas	Fourside	Fourside (Melee)
2	Cloud	Midgar	Snowman	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 and Ken	Suzaku Castle	Fight On!	Cloud is a CPU ally. Cloud's mind was briefly taken over by Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII.
4	Richter	Dracula's Castle	Vega Stage	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 and Pit	Skyworld	Lament of Innocence	Richter is a CPU ally. Richter was brainwashed by Shaft in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
6	Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario	Kalos Pokémon League	Destroyed Skyworld	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 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	Grab	12,000	Spear Pillar (Ω form)	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar

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.

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  411. Mewtwo

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  464. Mega Mewtwo Y

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		ReDead	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Mewtwo Team (×4)		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		Abra	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		2,000	Saffron City	N/A	•Timed battle •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Abra)	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
464		Mega Mewtwo Y	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		9,500	Spear Pillar (hazards off)	•Sudden Final Smash	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
465		Mew	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		13,900	Kongo Jungle	•Invisibility •Hazard: Fog	•The stage is covered in fog •Timed battle •The enemy is invisible after a little while	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
486		Celebi	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		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		Milotic	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		4,200	Kalos Pokémon League (Flood Chamber only)	•Defense ↑	•Timed battle •The enemy has increased defense •The enemy shields often	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
502		Deoxys (Normal Forme)	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		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		Uxie, Mesprit, & Azelf	Pokémon Series	•Tiny Mewtwo (×3) ()		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		Palkia	Pokémon Series	•Mewtwo		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		Necrozma	Pokémon Series	•Gold Mewtwo		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		Orbulon	WarioWare Series	•Mewtwo		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		Inspired	Bayonetta Series	•Mewtwo Team (×4)		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	Ever Oasis	•Mewtwo		9,200	Mushroom Kingdom II	•Flowery	•You constantly take minor damage •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Dawn in the Desert
1,400	File:SSBU spirit The Devil (Cuphead).jpg	The Devil (Cuphead)	Cuphead	•Giant Mewtwo		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

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,068		Medusa Head	Castlevania Series	•Meta Knight •Tiny Mewtwo (×5)		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	Trade & Battle: Card Hero Series	•Shulk •Mewtwo •Ridley •Bowser		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

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.

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  Mewtwo's fighter card.

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  Mewtwo's unlock notice.

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  Mewtwo idling on Wily Castle.

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  Taunting on Lylat Cruise.

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  Releasing a Shadow Ball on Spirit Train.

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  Taunting with Lucario and Fox on Coliseum.

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  Using Disable on Rosalina on Pokémon Stadium.

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  In its black alternate color with Pikmin on Onett.

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  Battling Pichu on Spear Pillar.

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.
• 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 characters of which 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 wear off.
• Mewtwo is one of two Pokemon characters in Ultimate whose Japanese voice actors in the game are deceased, the other being Incineroar. Unlike Incineroar however, Mewtwo's voice actor passed away after Ultimate's release rather than before.
• 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.