Characters / Pokémon: Mew Duo

Main Character Index > Pokémon: Generation I Families > Bulbasaur to Parasect (1-47) | Venonat to Cloyster (48-91) | Gastly to Tauros (92-128) | Magikarp to Dragonite (129-149) | Eevee Line (133-136, 196-197, 470-471, 700) | Mewtwo and Mew (150-151)

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0150: Mewtwo (ミュウツー myuutsuu)
0151: Mew (ミュウ myuu)

The original Purposely Overpowered Pokémon, Mewtwo is a genetically modified clone of Mew created to be the ultimate fighting machine. It lacks compassion and lives only to fight, though some alternate continuities like Pokémon: The Series portray it as a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds troubled by its nature as an unnatural creature. It is the only Pokémon with a canonical birthday (February 6th according to the Cinnabar Lab journals).

Mewtwo has two Mega Evolutions introduced in Pokémon X and Y, called "Mega Mewtwo X" and "Mega Mewtwo Y". They are accessible only in battle and require using a special held item known as Mewtwonite X/Mewtwonite Y. Mega Mewtwo X becomes part Fighting-type, gets a large increase to its physical Attack and a minor boost to its defenses, and gains the ability Steadfast to increase its Speed whenever it flinches. Mega Mewtwo Y gets a boost to its Special stats and Speed, has less Defense, and gets the Insomnia ability to make it immune to the Sleep status.

Mew is the first Mythical Pokémon. It set a trend which would later be followed by Celebi, Jirachi, and others as a rare, powerful, and cute-looking Pokémon that was unable to be obtained outside of promotional events — a Mythical Pokémon. Though its stats might be lacking compared to Legendary Pokémon, it's notable in that it is compatible with every single TM and Move Tutor. As its name might suggest, it's related to Mewtwo; indeed, Mewtwo was cloned from its DNA, and Mew gave birth to it (just like real-life cloning procedures). Mewtwo may not be Mew's only relative, however — it's said to have the genetic composition of all other Pokémon, thus sparking theories among scientists that Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon. Reports on it have been scant, but it seems to prefer deep jungles, and earlier media pre-Earth Drift depict it as coming from Guyana, South America.

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Tropes Applying to Both

• The Artifact:
  • The Pokémon Mansion journals in FireRed/LeafGreen are recycled from the original Pokémon Red and Blue text, thus Mewtwo was born through a live birth even after the introduction of Pokémon eggs. Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! changes this to say that Mewtwo was "obtained from Mew," but still makes no mention of eggs.
  • Mew's classification as the New Species Pokémon meant something when there were only 150 other species. Nowadays, with well over a thousand Pokémon species, and even more being "discovered" every three to four years, it doesn't seem very new at all (course most new generation Pokémon are not treated in-universe as being new at all).
  • While there is wiggle-room in that it's consistently portrayed as in-universe theorizing and thus may not be hard fact, Mew's status as the original Pokémon from whom all others are descended seems rather questionable nowadays, given the presence of living computer programs, sentient robots, a Pokémon that evolved from an alien virus, Arceus the Alpha Pokémon and its creations, the Ultra Beasts, and Eternatus.
  • Considering how current mentions of Mew double down on the emphasis of its genetic code, in spite of all other characters in the present, its status — and more importantly, purpose — as an 'ancestor' can be considered more biological than historical, especially in the forward tense. It would appear that its status as the New Species Pokémon was called into question at some point and turned over to mean it's the progenitor of new species, not referring to itself anymore.
• Badass Adorable:
  • Mega Mewtwo Y, as a hybrid of sorts between "badass" standard Mewtwo and "adorable" Mew.
  • Isn't Mew just the most adorable thing ever?!?
    That Dude in the Suede: BEHOLD! The ancestor of all Pokémon! The most diverse of all creatures on this planet! Able to change form at whim and second in overall stance only to those considered gods among 'Mon! Behold Mewtwo's folly! The being that singlehandedly destroyed one of the greatest threats to humanity ever unleashed. [clip of Mew mewing] Aww!
• Confusion Fu:
  • Mew can learn absolutely every TM, HM, and TR, as well as most Move Tutor attacks. And with stats that favor no one skillset, good luck predicting its moves. The fact that it can use Metronome and Transform solidifies its reputation for being capable of using every move.
  • Mewtwo cannot learn as much as Mew, but it can still learn a plethora of attacks; discounting Hidden Power, it can learn an attacking move for every type except Dragon and Fairy, and learns a ton of useful status moves too. In the games where it's capable of Mega Evolution, you cannot even predict whether it's going to blast you to smithereens or punch you to death, as Mega Mewtwo X is a physical attacker. To some extent, this is true even in the games where Mega Evolution is not available, as Mewtwo's signature move Psystrike attacks physical defenses.
• Divergent Character Evolution:
  • In Gen I, Mewtwo and Mew were the ultimate Pokémon, and were almost inseparable and often packed together. From Gen II onwards, though, Mewtwo is treated like the major "mascot" Legendaries are, while Mew hangs out with the often-cuter Mythical Pokémon, and the similarities between the two grew muted as Mewtwo later gained a Secret Art in Psystrike and two Mega Evolutions, while Mew gained an exclusive Z-Move, Genesis Supernova.
  • Mewtwo's Mega Evolutions also feature this. Mega Mewtwo X amps up Mewtwo's differences from Mew, becoming more humanoid, gaining a secondary Fighting-type, and having a high Attack while keeping its Special Attack the same. Mega Mewtwo Y, however, draws from Mew much more closely, shrinking in size, having very small limbs and a big head, and earning an astronomical boost to its Special Attack.
• Flight: Both can fly via telekinesis in the movies.
• Foreshadowing: Their existence is hinted at in the Pokémon Mansion journals. In FireRed/LeafGreen, the statues that open/close doors are all shaped like Mewtwo.
• Green Thumb: Both can learn Energy Ball and Grass Knot through TMs.
• Heal Thyself:
  • Thanks to its versatility, Mew has three ways of recovering HP — Recover (which it learns naturally), Roost, and Soft-Boiled (though this can only be learned in Gen I and Gen III).
  • Mewtwo naturally learns Recover, and it often has it in its moveset when fought in the wild, making it difficult to capture.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Both of them are some of the several Pokémon to learn Aura Sphere, and they can learn Focus Blast by TM/TR.
• Light 'em Up: Both can learn Signal Beam via move tutor. This is particularly useful for bringing down other Psychic-types, as both of them resists their STAB attacks.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • Mewtwo's weak point are its defenses. They are on par with those of the starters labeled as Mighty Glaciers.
  • Mega Mewtwo X is this even more so; its defenses are slightly higher, and its speed stays the same and can be boosted through its ability Steadfast (which raises Speed whenever it flinches). Not only does it keep its great Sp. Atk stat, but its Attack stat increases to an astonishing 190.
• Magic Knight: Regular Mewtwo has a quite decent physical attack (comparable to Snorlax) to go with its insane Special Attack, but its Mega forms take the cake: Mega Mewtwo X keeps its Special Attack, but its Attack gets a huge boost, becoming the highest in the game, while Mega Mewtwo Y gets a large boost to its Special Attack (also becoming the highest in the game), and its Attack becomes comparable to that of Groudon or Rayquaza. Mew also fits the bill due to its even stats in Attack and Special Attack.
• Master of All:
  • Mewtwo was effectively this in Generation 1. While not as balanced as Mew's stats, Mewtwo boasts one of the highest all-around stat totals in the game, with its lowest stat being Defense, which was still very good at 90. Its speed was exceptionally high, and its Special Stats were unmatched. It could also learn every viable attacking move in the game and could use both effectively. Subsequent nerfs through the Generations and Power Creep made it more of a Glass Cannon.
  • Mew's stats are equal, but high (though Power Creep has slowly conspired against this). It is also unique in that it can learn every TM, HM, and almost every Move Tutor move.
• No Biological Sex: Neither Mewtwo nor Mew have a defined sex. The anime has two different specimens of Mewtwo that take masculine and feminine gender roles. Though unlike most legendaries, Mew is implied to be able to reproduce, if one having "given birth" to Mewtwo is any indication. As Mew is both unable to breed and treated as genderless in gameplay, however, the particulars of how this works are unclear, although the ones in PokéPark Wii and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games are referred to with masculine pronouns.
• Olympus Mons:
  • Despite Mewtwo being relatively young among other Legendary and Mythical Pokémon and thus having no real "legend" to accompany it, it's still considered a Legendary Pokémon owing to its rarity and immense power (being a successor to an actual Mythical Pokémon also helps). Notably, it's probably the most generally well-known Legendary in the franchise.
  • Mew is the (supposed) ancestor of all Pokémon, even the ones that appeared before it. (Just don't ask how it can be the ancestor of a computer program, a mutated space virus, the creator of the universe, or a bunch of eldritch creatures from another universe.)
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse:
  • Mewtwo is only slightly taller than the average human, but short (or even minuscule) compared to other Pokémon of its power rank. Mega Mewtwo Y is even smaller, yet more powerful, as a Mega Evolution.
  • Mew weighs 8.8 lbs/4 kg, is 1'04"/0.4 m tall, and can learn almost absolutely every move with the stats to use them to dangerous effect.
• Power Glows: Both of their sprites in Pokémon Crystal have them glowing with psychic power.
• Psychic Powers: Both of them. In the games, as a Psychic-type, Mewtwo uses psychic powers to attack. In the movies, Mewtwo displays extremely potent psychic abilities of all kinds. Its telekinesis can whip up a huge storm, repel all forms of attack, and carry dozens of Pokémon (some of which are quite heavy) at a time. It overpowers an Alakazam, which are known for their immense psychic power, in a psychic battle in the first movie. It speaks to others telepathically, and can suppress people's minds to make them do its bidding and speak through them. It's also able to erase events from people's memories.
• Purposely Overpowered: The games limit their use in the various Battle facilities, most cups in 3D fighters, most official tournaments, and random Wi-Fi battles.
• Related in the Adaptation:
  • Inverted — while Mewtwo and Mew have always been related, the games imply (via the Pokémon Mansion journals) that Mewtwo is more akin to Mew's genetically enhanced child, with the latter having "given birth" to the former. Most adaptations (such as Pokémon: The Series), however, make it more akin to the popular idea of how clones are made; being made in a tube using Mew's DNA as opposed to live birth.
  • In Pokémon Adventures, Mewtwo was created by Blaine, a character wholly unrelated to it in most continuities. It's taken a step further as the two share each other's DNA, giving them a psychic link that persists until it is severed by Entei in the Gold/Silver/Crystal chapter.
• Secret Art:
  • Mewtwo has Psystrike, introduced in Generation V. It's a more powerful version of Psyshock, being a Special attack that deals Physical damage instead.
  • Mew has the unique Z-Move Genesis Supernova. It generates a massive ball of psychic energy to bomb the opponent, which also automatically creates Psychic Terrain.
• Secret Character:
  • In the Super Smash Bros.., Mewtwo is in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • So secret that even Nintendo didn't know about it at first, Mew was created just two weeks before the first copies of Red and Green shipped, and was squeezed into the 300 bytes of space freed up by removing debugging leftovers. It was largely by word of mouth that knowledge of its existence spread after players encountered it via glitches before it was officially acknowledged to exist. Afterward, the only legitimate way to obtain it was through special distributions, or meeting specific requirements in My Pokémon Ranch for the Wii.
• Single Specimen Species:
  • The scientist who lived in Cinnabar's Pokémon Mansion probably won't be making any more Mewtwos, especially if they were the kindly Mr. Fuji. Averted in the anime, where a new, feminine Mewtwo appears as The Hero of Genesect and the Legend Awakened.
  • Seemingly averted with Mew, though it is still considered extremely rare and is often believed to be extinct.

Tropes Applying to Mewtwo

Mewtwo

^{Mega Mewtwo X}

^{Mega Mewtwo Y}

Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y debut in X and Y

• Adaptation Expansion: Mewtwo's backstory and characterization are much more detailed in the anime and (various) manga continuities.
• Always Accurate Attack: Mewtwo learns Aura Sphere, which never misses. It can also learn Swift and Aerial Ace.
• Artificial Human: Mewtwo is thus far the only Pokémon created as a clone of another. It even has some human material mixed into its genes in a few continuities, and sometimes behaves like one.
• Ascended Extra:
  • While it received prominent roles in adaptations, Mewtwo only became a part of a main game's story in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (21 years after its debut!), where Giovanni of Team Rainbow Rocket has it under his control. Granted, it only appears as a part of Giovanni's team and doesn't really have a story role, but this still promotes it to the role of the storyline True Final Boss.
  • Detective Pikachu gives Mewtwo not only a prominent role in the story, but also a voice (whereas all other Pokémon besides the title character use Pokémon Speak). Said story even makes use of the Berserk Gene, which to date has only ever appeared in Pokémon Gold and Silver.
• Ax-Crazy: Sometimes Mewtwo is described as having been driven berserk by all that genetic experimentation. The Berserk Gene, an item that raises its holder's Attack by two stages at the cost of causing it permanent confusion (i.e. like a self-induced Swagger attack), can be found where Cerulean Cave collapsed in Gold and Silver, possibly referencing Mewtwo's behavior.
• Backstory Horror: The first players ever heard of Mewtwo was through the journals found within the decrepit and ruined Pokémon Mansion, with the last journal (written in the completely untouched basement) revealing its power and viciousness burnt it down. It gets worse with Mewtwo's Pokédex entries, which tell how it was created through years of nightmarish gene splicing experiments that irreparably corrupted its heart and mind into that of a dedicated Blood Knight. And Mewtwo's creator? One Dr. Fuji, who is implied to be Mr. Fuji, who cares for orphaned and abused Pokémon.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Mega Mewtwo X is part Fighting-type.
• The Berserker: Indirectly. In Generation II, you could find an item named the Berserk Gene, which almost doubles the attack of whatever Pokémon holds it in exchange for subjecting it to confusion. Both the location^note in the waters of Cerulean City, near where Cerulean Cave was and the very nature of this item imply it to be Mewtwo's leftover DNA.
• Bishōnen Line: Mega Mewtwo Y is essentially a Super Mode for Mewtwo, but it looks significantly more fragile and dainty than the base form. Averted with Mega Mewtwo X, which gains the Fighting type and is quite burly.
• Blood Knight: Mewtwo really likes fighting and shows no mercy towards its opponents.
• Body Horror: When compared to Mew, Mewtwo's entire physiology is this. It has an extra neck that resembles a fleshy tube, its genes are seemingly able to make any Pokémon go berserk, and where Mew has three fully-formed toes, Mewtwo only has two, with the third barely formed at all (its Mega Evolutions make it more natural, however). The Pokémon Mansion journals claim it was born of "horrific gene-splicing experiments".
• Boring, but Practical: Mewtwo has a whopping four abilities^note its standard ability Pressure, its hidden ability Unnerve, Mega Mewtwo X's Steadfast, and Mega Mewtwo Y's Insomnia, yet none of them are particularly noteworthy, nor can they be used for any intricate strategies (as each of those abilities rely on what the opponent does, as opposed to what Mewtwo is doing). However, none of them are particularly useless; for example, Mega Mewtwo Y's high speed and Insomnia make it a fantastic answer for beating Darkrai's dreaded Dark Void (and its improved Special Defense and Recover help to keep it from being smacked down by Dark Pulse). Aside from abilities, many of its attacks fall under this category, such as Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Aura Sphere.
• Bragging Rights Reward: Mewtwo in the original Gen I games was this for anyone who only played single-player (or with friends who banned it), as there is literally nothing left to do in-game after catching Mewtwo, unless you decided to use it in the Pokémon Stadium games or trade it over to the Generation II games (or in the case of the Virtual Console release, transfer it to the Generation VII games).
• Breakout Character: Like Pikachu, Charizard, and Jigglypuff, Mewtwo is commonly regarded as one of the "staple" characters of the franchise due to its popularity and significance. Along with Necrozma, it's also the closest thing there is to a truly antagonistic Pokémon, with all others simply being dangerous wild animals or under the control of antagonist human trainers. Mewtwo has always stood apart as both fully sentient and independently malicious, which lends itself to starring in several adaptations.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: As powerful as Mewtwo is, it never exercises, preferring to stay motionless for long periods of time. However, it does this to conserve energy, allowing it to unleash its full power in battle.
• Cartoon Creature: Mewtwo is a "cat" in the same way that Bulbasaur is a "toad". While Mew is more obviously modeled after a kitten, Mewtwo is a mish-mash of cat, kangaroo, alien, and human, and is likely meant not to be treated the same as any Earth species. This holds even more true for Mega Mewtwo Y, whose tail has turned into a head tendril and looks even less like an extant animal.
• Casting a Shadow: Like many Psychic-types, Mewtwo can learn Shadow Ball.
• Cats Are Mean: Sort of — while Mewtwo looks like a hostile genetically mutated cat (and one that will surely tear you apart if you piss it off), it's not "mean" so much as it is just incapable of feeling compassion towards its enemies. This is taken further in the Anime, in which it was only trying to protect its fellow clones that it felt were being treated poorly. Mew, on the other hand, is shown to have a rather playful and child-like personality compared to Mewtwo's more aggressive nature.
• Critical Hit Class: Mewtwo is one of the few Pokémon that can learn Psycho Cut, which has a high critical hit ratio. Despite it only having 70 base power, Mewtwo's high base Attack (especially in its Mega X form) lets it do heavy damage with the move.
• Cutting Off the Branches: Given Mewtwo's continued reappearances in later games such as HeartGold/SoulSilver and X/Y, and the fact that it is unquestionably one of a kind, then the player probably never canonically captures it. That, or its appearances past Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen are meant to be non-canon.
• Dark and Troubled Past: In the games, Mewtwo's violent behavior was caused by the manner of its creation, which various Pokédex entries describe as "horrific gene splicing and DNA experiments" that ultimately failed to give it a compassionate heart. It's made even more troubled in the anime, where it being treated as little more than a slave/pet/experiment caused it to finally snap and declare war against non-clone life.
• Death Glare: Mewtwo's glare is said to strike fear into its enemy. Its Hidden Ability of Unnerve is likely a reflection of this.
• Depending on the Writer:
  • In the games, Mewtwo is a simple Blood Knight, while in the movies it started out as an Anti-Villain before its Heel–Face Turn into an Anti-Hero who looks after its clone Pokémon.
  • Likewise, the Mewtwo from Genesect and the Legend Awakened is more of a straightforward hero, and also has a female voice. This one is a distinct character from the old one, and its mere existence also diverges from the games, where the backstory heavily implies (if not outright spells out) that only one exists and ever will exist.
  • Mewtwo turning into Mega Mewtwo Y in Genesect and the Legend Awakened is done without a Mega Stone, and is treated like a forme change.
  • The Origins depiction of Mewtwo, being more faithful to the games' version, is much more feral than any of its other animated counterparts and it seemingly lacks the high intelligence those Mewtwo are known for.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Rock Tomb, Earthquake, Mud-Slap, Earth Power, and Power Gem are all Rock or Ground-type attacks that Mewtwo is capable of learning though TMs or Move Tutors.
• The Dreaded: Be it in the anime, the subsequent movies, or the games, there is one very apparent constant with Mewtwo: it is by and large the most violent and dangerous Pokémon of them all, and it will be more than delighted to show you why if you come within twenty feet of it. Let it be remembered that, in all three animated tellings of its backstory, there has always been a nightmarish image of Mewtwo wreathed in flames in the remains of the Pokémon Mansion/whatever lab is used to create it, and possibly atop the corpses of those who'd been working there.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Mega Mewtwo Y appears in Genesect and the Legend Awakened (albeit known as "Awakened Mewtwo"), before the release of Pokémon X and Y. Mega Mewtwo Y also functioned as such for the entire Mega Evolution mechanic, being the first one revealed (though it was initially presented as "merely" a new Forme).
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Mewtwo's original Gen I design◊ portrayed it as a fairly stocky creature with a giant head and grey-white coloring. Mewtwo's FireRed and LeafGreen art shrunk its head slightly, colored it a deeper purple, and made it more humanoid, and starting with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the sprites followed suit.
• Elemental Punch: Mewtwo can learn the Fire, Ice, and Thunder Punches through Move Tutors or TMs.
• Energy Ball: Can learn a Grass-type move of the exact same name, as well as Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball.
• Evil Counterpart: Where Mew is a small and cute creature with a playful personality and immense power, Mewtwo is a vicious, cruel, and savage Blood Knight with more humanoid proportions and power even greater than Mew's. Notably, Mega Mewtwo Y takes a drastic leap away from Mewtwo's base form into something more impish or fairy-like, implying it's possibly trying to evolve towards being Mew.
• Expy: Of Giegue/Giygas, Creatures Inc being the successor to Ape Inc and retaining many of the same staff. Both are lilac, cat-like humanoids and each is the ultimate psychic of their respective franchises.
• Fetus Terrible: Kind of — Mewtwo is primarily based off a fetus, and while not evil, it's certainly powerful and dangerous to its enemies.
• Final Boss: Mewtwo is the Final Boss of Pokémon Stadium: after completing every cup in the game, as well as the Gym Leader Castle, the final battle against Mewtwo is unlocked. It reprises the role as part of Silver's team in Pokémon Stadium 2, and is also the Final Boss in some other spin-off games, such as the original Pokémon Rumble.
• For Science!: In the games, it's not said why the researcher who lived in the Pokémon Mansion wanted to create Mewtwo beyond (as implied in Pokémon Origins and a few Pokédex entries) making a new Pokémon species that was the strongest of all. In the anime's continuity, the original Mewtwo was given an ulterior raison d'etre (being Giovanni's ultimate weapon), while the second is given no reason at all for why it was made.
• Fragile Speedster: Mega Mewtwo Y has very low Defense (for an Olympus Mon — it's only slightly below average for fully-evolved Pokémon), but it's even faster than both of its other forms.
• Freudian Excuse: Mewtwo's FireRed Pokédex bio claims its vicious nature is a result of the horrific DNA experiments done to create it.
  A Pokémon whose genetic code was repeatedly recombined for research. It turned vicious as a result.
• Genetic Abomination: Mewtwo's was created from horrific genetic experiements, and its leftover DNA (in the form of the Berserk Gene of Pokémon Gold and Silver) is enough to drive any Pokémon holding it Ax-Crazy.
• Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Its immense power is due to a scientist altering its genes to create the most powerful Pokémon of all.
• Genius Bruiser: Mega Mewtwo X, a Psychic/Fighting-type.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Mewtwo in X & Y's postgame. There's very little context to speak of for why it's lurking in a cave in the Pokémon Village (other than Gen I nostalgia).
• Glass Cannon: Upon Mega Evolving to Mega Mewtwo Y, it has its Defense stat decreased^note but its Special Defense increases, so Squishy Wizard is a fairer label. Despite this disadvantage, Mega Mewtwo Y can still hit really hard with an astonishingly high base 194 Special Attack stat — the highest unmodified offensive stat of any Pokémon in the series. It also has base 150 physical Attack, letting it hit as hard as the likes of (non-Primal) Groudon and Zekrom.
  • Mewtwo in general is a glass cannon in comparison to its peers, with high offenses and speed, but relatively low defenses. Both Mega Forms ratchet up the cannon and modify the glass (Mega Mewtwo X slightly tones it down with minor Defense and Special Defense boosts, while Mega Mewtwo Y redistributes it with a larger Special Defense boost offset by an even larger Defense drop).
• Gone Horribly Right: From the scientist who led the project that resulted in Mewtwo's creation:
  Dr. Fuji: We dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon... and we succeeded.
• The Greys: All three of Mewtwo's forms have similarities to stereotypical Grey aliens, but especially Mega Mewtwo Y.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: In a sense. Mega Mewtwo X specializes in physical attacks, is big, burly, and part Fighting-type, and has only been depicted as masculine. Mega Mewtwo Y specializes in special attacks, is a small Fragile Speedster with childlike proportions, and has been depicted as both masculine and feminine.
• Hartman Hips: Mewtwo has very wide hips, which add to the gender confusion.
• Humanoid Abomination: All that genetic engineering caused Mewtwo to be larger and more humanoid than both it and most other Pokémon. Mega Mewtwo X is even more human-like in stature.
• An Ice Person: Mewtwo can learn Ice Beam, Blizzard, and Ice Punch through multiple methods.
• Infinity +1 Sword: As one of the strongest Pokémon in the game, Mewtwo can maul everything in-game. Too bad it couldn't be obtained until after defeating the Elite Four before Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and don't even think of using it in the Battle Frontier or its successors (barring Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's Battle Tree, and even then only in non-Super modes).
• Informed Flaw: Despite being said to be savage and lacking in compassion in the Pokédex entries, it's possible (and even optimal) to get a Mewtwo with a "Gentle", "Timid", or "Jolly" nature.
• The Insomniac: Mega Mewtwo Y's ability prevents it from falling asleep. If Mewtwo was sleeping before it Mega Evolved, it will wake up immediately upon doing so.
• Lack of Empathy: Mewtwo is said to have the most savage heart among Pokémon, having no compassion and only thinking of defeating its foes. Subverted in the anime, where the original Mewtwo cares for its fellow clones, and the second Mewtwo is far nicer than literally any other portrayal of the character.
• Late Character Syndrome: You can't get much later than post-Final Boss, and this is where Mewtwo often becomes available for capture. Have fun with your new super-powerful Psychic destroyer — just don't think there'll be much left for it to do at that point. Its even moreso in the remakes, where Cerulean Cave cannot be accessed until completing the rather lengthy postgame. By then, there'll really be nothing left to do. The few exceptions are in HeartGold and SoulSilver (where it can be found before fighting Red, and can put up a good fight against him even at the level it's obtained at), and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (where it can be found before the final Trial).
• Leitmotif: Unlike most of its peers, Mewtwo doesn't have one per se, but is strongly associated with the Kanto wild Pokémon music, down to getting remixes of it.
  • Pokémon X and Y gives it a new battle theme based on said Kanto wild battle music, which it shares with the Legendary birds.
  • Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon features the same theme for Mewtwo while giving the birds the original Pokémon Red and Blue battle music.
  • Pokémon Stadium gives it an exclusive battle theme, being the Final Boss and all that jazz.
• Minor Major Character: Mewtwo is (one of) the strongest Pokémon in the world, has a dark and horrific backstory at odds with the tone of much of the rest of the series, and is even implied to have been responsible for Mr. Fuji turning from an amoral scientist into a kind old man. Despite all of this, no game has ever given Mewtwo a prominent role akin to a mascot Legendary, and it only ever appears as a contextless Superboss.
• Modified Clone: Mewtwo's genetic structure was re-engineered to augment its psychic powers and aptitude in battle. In Pokémon Adventures, the Mew DNA sample used to create Mewtwo didn't yield a complete genome, so Blaine used some of his own DNA to finish its body.
• Nerves of Steel: Mega Mewtwo X's Ability is Steadfast, which raises its Speed if it flinches.
• No Item Use for You: Mewtwo has Unnerve for its Hidden Ability, which prevents the opponent from eating berries.
• Not So Stoic: In Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, if the player visits the ruins of the Pokémon Mansion on February 6th while walking with Mewtwo, it will be so happy you remembered its birthday that it will be crackling with positive energy.
• Occult Blue Eyes: Mewtwo gains these as Mega Mewtwo X, which makes for a contrast against Mew's Innocent Blue Eyes.
• One-Man Army: Best illustrated in the Pokémon GO trailer — Mewtwo is discovered by a crowd who's given a Timed Mission to catch it. They throw everything they can at it and it proceeds to kick everyone's butts with little to no effort. Bear in mind, some of the Pokémon it's shown going up against include Charizard, Dragonair, Pidgeot, Gengar, and Gyarados, and it still whoops them without even breaking a sweat. It's finally taken down by a Pikachu.
• Perpetual Frowner: Mewtwo never smiles, not even in Pokémon Amie/Pokémon Refresh/Pokémon Camp.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Mewtwo was designed to be the world's most powerful Pokémon.
• Playing with Fire: Both can learn Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Fire Punch through various methods.
• Plot Hole: Mewtwo somehow has two Mega Evolutions despite not existing when they were discovered In-Universe. Of course, it's not improbable that both forms of Mewtwonite are also artificial; not to mention how Team Magma's/Aqua's shenanigans in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire cause an explosion of Infinity Energy from the Cave of Origin that create another batch of Mega Stones, and said games take place within the same year as the Kanto games...
• Pokémon Speak: Ironically for a Pokémon who speaks normally in the show that popularized the trope, every encounter with Mewtwo in the wild starts with its cry displayed in text as "Mew!".
• Post-End Game Content: In most of the games Mewtwo can be found in, it can only be fought and captured after the plot of the game wraps up. Mewtwo resides in the depths of Cerulean Cave which appears in the Kanto games and Heart Gold and Soul Silver, which can only be entered after becoming the Champion, as well as clearing the Sevii Islands in Fire Red and Leaf Green or acquiring sixteen badges in Heart Gold and Soul Silver. It's also available in the Unknown Dungeon in Kalos, as well as in the Ultra Space Wilds in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The latter is notable in that it can be found before the end of the game.
• Power Creep: Mewtwo is the main reason why the Psychic-type received a massive Nerf from Gen I, which Mewtwo itself got radically affected by. In Gen I, Psychic's weaknesses of Ghost and Bug were effectively nonissues. ^note Due to a programming oversight, Psychic was immune to Ghost, and even then, the only Ghost type attack was either the pathetically weak Lick or the Fixed Damage Attack Night Shade. Bug type attacks on the other hand were all very weak and they were only learned by a few Pokémon. No types resisted Psychic, and in short, Mewtwo was nearly unstoppable on account of its sky high Special acting as both Sp Atk and Sp Def, access to Amnesia to boost its Special, and the Psychic-type being ridiculously broken. Come Gen II, and the Dark-type was introduced, which is immune to Psychic-type attacks, as well as the Steel type, which resists Psychic-type attacks. Psychic is now properly weak to Ghost, and stronger Ghost and Bug type moves were introduced like Shadow Ball and Megahorn. The Special stat split into two as well, so Mewtwo's Sp Def is now at a far lesser 90 to match its Def stat, while some physical attackers got a higher Sp Def stat from the Special split like Snorlax. The introduction of other super powerful Legendaries for Mewtwo to go up against meant that it has to actually compete with the likes of other Psychic-types like Deoxys and other Glass Cannon types like Dakrai. However, Mewtwo still remained incredibly powerful throughout its lifetime, just not completely invincible anymore. It did also receive two Mega Evolutions, which both play pretty differently, and both forms of Mega Mewtwo have the highest BST of any playable Pokémon alongside Mega Rayquaza.
• Power Floats: As of the mainline 3D games, Mewtwo often floats up and hovers in place when in the midst of using its moves. In Pokémon Go, it specifically does this for its more powerful charge attacks.
• Punny Name: Well, not exactly punny, but the fact that Mewtwo sounds quite similar to "mutant" managed to stop English-savvy Japanese fans from looking for a certain "Mew One" until Game Freak started the rumors. That included Nintendo itself.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Mega Mewtwo Y has large, vibrant red eyes, contrasting with Mew, who has adorable blue eyes.
• Rubber Man: Mega Mewtwo X has stretchy arms.
• Say My Name: In every game where you encounter Mewtwo, its cry is displayed on-screen as "Mew!".
• Shadow Archetype: Mewtwo towards all other Pokémon. As a whole, other Pokémon enjoy battling each other but are happy to make companions with humans, while Mewtwo is a Blood Knight who sees mankind as another opponent to fight.
• Shock and Awe: Mewtwo can learn a good deal of Electric-type moves, including Thunderbolt, Thunder, and Thunder Punch, through various methods, but one Wi-Fi exclusive Mewtwo released during Gen V knew Electro Ball, which ordinarily is off-limits to it.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: Although the nature of the one that a player may capture can go against its description, Mewtwo's power as a playable character is exactly on par with the story of its creation. Even to this day, multiple generations later with Power Creep and various nerfs to the Psychic-type along the way, Mewtwo is still one of the most powerful Pokémon in the whole series.
• Squishy Wizard:
  • Mewtwo's Defense and Special Defense are the only stats lower than Mew's, though it's still above average for most Pokémon. That said, don't expect it to take many hits before going down. It at least averted this on the special side in Gen I, when its high Special covered both offense and defense.
  • Mega Mewtwo Y is physically frail due to losing points in Defense, but has a higher Special Defense stat and has the highest Special Attack in the series.
• The Stoic: While other Pokémon have energetic to at least visibly pleased reactions to positive treatment in Pokémon-Amie/Refresh/Camp, Mewtwo just gives an approving nod; it's impossible to tell if it's smiling, though, but it probably isn't. It also makes no different facial expression when petting it in its sweet spot.
• Super Mode: Both versions of Mega Mewtwo. How Super, exactly? Their Base Stat Total exceeds that of Arceus. The only Pokémon that matches it is Mega Rayquaza; even Ultra Necrozma falls short. The only one to surpass it is the unobtainable Eternamax Eternatus.
• Super-Speed: Mega Mewtwo X is stated to have this in Pokémon Let's Go, able to sprint a hundred meters in two seconds.
• True Final Boss: As the strongest Pokémon on Giovanni's team in Ultra Sun and Moon who is fought during the postgame, Mewtwo serves this role, being the final opponent the player will face. In a meta sense, this also means that Mewtwo is the Final Boss for the exclusively handheld part of the main series.
• Ultimate Life Form: Mewtwo was created by the Pokémon Mansion's tenant to be the strongest Pokémon.
• Unbuilt Trope: Mewtwo to Olympus Mons, since it was created before Lugia and Ho-Oh standardized the concept of Legendary Pokémon literally having ancient legends attributed to them. Although it is a clone of a true Pokémon of legend, Mewtwo's Legendary status is more a figurative indication of its status as the Ultimate Life Form, and it has a sci-fi origin story compared to the fantasy motifs of other Legendaries.
• Uniqueness Decay: Mewtwo's original claim to fame was being the strongest Pokémon in the world, seemingly achieving the "Legendary Pokémon" moniker through its sheer monstrous power. While Mewtwo is certainly no slouch twenty years later, in a franchise that routinely introduces at least two Legendary Pokémon that are as strong as it — if not stronger — every few years, it isn't quite the unbeatable powerhouse it was back then. As noted under Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration, Game Freak does seem intent to at least make sure that it's top-tier in power whenever it shows up no matter how much Power Creep comes along.
• Where I Was Born and Razed: A near universal constant with any adaptation of Mewtwo's backstory seems to consist of it furiously destroying the Pokémon Mansion or wherever else it was born shortly after its creation, and in at least two cases, killing a good majority of the workers there.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity:
  • While the genetic experiments performed on Mewtwo made it very powerful, they also made it very angry and very vicious. This extends to the Berserk Gene item in Pokémon Gold and Silver (found outside the former entrance to Cerulean Cave), which sharply raises the user's Attack but confuses it for 256 turns.
  • In the first movie, its madness was more psychologically-based than genetic.
• Wolverine Publicity: Before Pokémon X and Y were released, Mega Mewtwo Y was the first Mega Evolution revealed (though the mechanic as a whole wasn't revealed until a while later) and even got a lead role in a movie. In X and Y itself, however, Mewtwo is never seen or heard from until after defeating the Elite Four, and even then, you can only get Mewtwonite Y in Y.
• World's Strongest Man: Mewtwo was created to be the strongest Pokémon. In Gen I and II, its offences were unparalleled. Its Super Mode literally gives it more stats than Arceus (and therefore all other Pokémon; only matched by Mega Rayquaza^*with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre falling slightly short, and Ultra Necrozma trailing behind and only outright surpassed by the unobtainable Eternamax Eternatus) and the highest base Special Attack (Y) and Attack (X) stats of all Pokémon.
• You Are Number 6: Mewtwo. Named for being Mew's clone, but Mewtwo is before Mew in the Pokédex, ironically enough.
• You Have Researched Breathing: In Gen 1, although Mewtwo starts off knowing Swift at Lv. 1, it is unable to learn Swift from a TM.
• You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry: Mewtwo doesn't like you. No, really, that's one of the most repeated facts about it; with the most savage and violent heart of all Pokémon, Mewtwo doesn't like anyone. It channels its boundless wrathful tendencies at anything unlucky enough to be within its range, and that tends to go over quite badly. Just ask the smoldering remains of where it was made.

Tropes Applying to Mew

Mew

• Animalistic Abomination: Mew is a cute, catlike creature that is said to have been the progenitor of all Pokémon, as such having the ability to learn every possible move that a Pokémon can learn, even some exclusive ones like Transform.
• All Your Powers Combined: It is capable of learning every move in the game.
• Anti-Frustration Features: Although Mew was only ever legitimately catchable in Emerald, Mew has a catch rate of 45 (on par with plot-critical Legendary Pokémon from Pokémon Black and White onwards), making it relatively easy to capture.
• Cute Bruiser: Mew looks like a cross between a cat and a jerboa. Above average stats in everything, can learn very nearly everything^note learns every TM/HM and all move tutors that aren't restricted to a specific group of Pokémon like Draco Meteor; all of this adds up when you consider multiple Generations, and Metronome can draw most of the moves in existence.
• Cute Kitten: Appearance-wise, Mew seems to be a mix between a kitten, a jerboa, and a fetus. Personality-wise, it's playful and cutesy enough to make you forget it's an ancient godlike being.
• Disc-One Nuke:
  • In the original Gen I games, you can get two Mew before beating Misty if you know what glitches to use. Have fun wiping the floor with everyone in your way.
  • With the Poké Ball Plus accessory, Mew can be obtained in Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! not too long after the game begins. That is, if the physical item hasn't already had its Mew redeemed...
  • In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Mew can be obtained after the first Gym if you have a Pokémon Let’s Go save file.
• Earth Drift: Mew was originally stated to have been discovered in Guyana, South America. As the franchise has drifted away from the real world, this part of its backstory has been quietly dropped.
• Fluffy the Terrible: It's called Mew, for crying out loud! Subverted, as it certainly looks as cute as its namesake, but is still extremely powerful.
• The Ghost: Outside of glitches or hacking, the Cinnabar Mansion journals are the only place where you'll hear of Mew in Gen I. It was also meant to stay that way, but Shigeki Morimoto took out the developer tools and realized just enough space was left for one more species of Pokémon... Indeed, after all this time, it has yet to make a non-event appearance in the main games. The closest it got was the Faraway Island event in the third generation; even then, the item needed to access the island was only distributed in Japan and Taiwan.
• Immortal Immaturity: Mew is one of the oldest, most powerful Pokémon in existence, but it has a childish, playful nature.
• Informed Attribute: Mew is said to be able to use any technique. While it can certainly learn any TM, HM, TR, or Move Tutor move, there are many more moves it can't learn no matter what, such as Bite, Crabhammer, and most Secret Arts like Blast Burn, Draco Meteor, Judgment etc. It can use these via Metronome, but then again, so can anyone else who can use it.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Mew has these, adding to its childlike image. The Gold Pokedex entry states that it will present itself to the pure of heart.
• Invisibility: Mew is able to make itself completely invisible, which is partially why very few people have seen it. Supposedly, it only shows itself to those who have a strong desire to see it and are pure of heart.
• Irony: Mewtwo was created first by Ken Sugimori and Mew was created second by Shigeki Morimoto as an afterthought based on Mewtwo.
• Jack of All Stats: All of its base stats are 100, totaling at 600.
• Jack of All Trades: Mew can learn almost everything, and while its base stat total falls short of several Legendaries, they're all base 100, which is good enough for everything. Versatility, thy name is Mew.
• Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: The exact details about Mew's backstory in the games are quite vague, with hints being scattered here and there throughout the generations.
• Killer Rabbit: Mew looks sweet and playful, and it is, but it's also highly dangerous.
• Mundane Utility: Mew can learn every TM and HM, allowing it to be quite versatile with its moves. But, in games with HMs, you could always just fill its moveset with HMs and never have to worry about exploration again.
• Not So Extinct: For the longest time, Mew was considered to be extinct, but a few Pokédex entries note that sightings of it still happen.
• Power Floats: Although it doesn't have the ability Levitate, it's been shown floating in battle in all games since Yellow.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Mew looks and acts like a kitten (Off-Model original sprite notwithstanding), and it also set a trend for event-exclusive Mythicals who rival its cuteness and share the same stat distribution for new generations.
• Temporary Online Content: Barely pre-dates the trope's actual origin - the first time Mew was made available was to 25 winners of a CoroCoro magazine contest three months after the release of Red & Green in Japan, and they were actually required to send their physical cartridges in to Game Freak so that the coding of Mew could be re-integrated.
  • As a Mythical Pokémon only made available by real life events, Mew is this (and suffice to say all events held for it prior to the current generation are well and truly over). You can, however, find and catch Mew in Pokémon Red and Blue via glitches... but if you want to send it to Pokémon Sun and Moon via the Virtual Console release, you'll need to do some truly insane game-breaking. It can also be obtained via the Poké Ball Plus accessory in Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee, but only if that copy's Mew wasn't already redeemed (and an internet connection is still necessary to obtain it).
  • In Sun and Moon, Mew has its own Z-Crystal, the Mewnium Z. How do you get it? It was available as a Pokémon Bank promotion. However, you only get one per account (which is tied to your 3DS). Like all Z-Crystals, it can't be traded to another game. If you restart the game it got downloaded to, it'll be gone forever. This is averted in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, where you can get the crystal by showing a Mew to a certain NPC, thus it's no longer tied to a out-of-game promotion.
  • Finally averted in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl where Mew can be obtained if you have a Pokémon Let’s Go save file.
• Time Abyss: Though Mew's discovery in-universe was relatively recent, it's implied that Mew is very, very old. In addition to the possibility of it being the ancestor of all Pokémon, Mew learns Ancient Power (a move commonly known among prehistoric Pokémon and Olympus Mons known to be ancient like Kyogre and Zekrom).
• Useless Useful Spell: Due to Mew being able to learn every TM move, Mew can learn Attract and Captivate, which will both always fail due to Mew being genderless.
• Voluntary Shapeshifter: Mew can learn Transform, and it's the only Pokémon besides Ditto (and Smeargle) that can learn it.
• Weak, but Skilled: Only in comparison to its counterpart Mewtwo, as by no means is Mew "weak" by normal metrics, nor is Mewtwo unskilled. Due to being created as a Living Weapon and a Superior Successor to Mew, Mewtwo has a higher base stat total than Mew, with an overwhelming special attack and blazing speed, and is widely considered the "stronger" Pokémon by most metrics (despite having very slightly lower defenses). However, Mew learns a wider variety of moves and can therefore execute a wider variety of strategies, while Mewtwo will usually lean more towards Attack! Attack! Attack!

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