Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
Pokémon Red and Blue are iconic, fun, and unrefined. Capturing the imaginations of kids across the land, they were recess mainstays at my elementary school. Vying to be the very best, we raised our teammates, battled each other, and even dismantled a crime syndicate. And those role-playing games yielded a wonderful blueprint for sequels to iterate upon, an enduring multimedia franchise, and one of the first movies I ever saw in theaters.
Ken Sugimori art of Mewtwo (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
Several new Pokémon have been introduced since the franchise’s humble debut, yet the first generation’s remain some of the most popular. Among those, the Psychic-type Mewtwo was and still is one of my all-time favorites. It’s a boring choice, sure, but can you blame me? After all, Mewtwo is legendary. No, not just in the sense that it’s a “Legendary Pokémon.” Mewtwo, the character, is legendary.
Mewtwo’s History
Creating a worldwide phenomenon isn’t easy. Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak began working on Capsule Monsters in 1990, and its development spanned six years. An avid bug collector in his youth, Tajiri’s RPG revolved around capturing monsters and using them in battle. Creatures were gradually programmed into the game, with Mewtwo being one of the later entries (interestingly, it was added alongside Snorlax, another overworld encounter). As Capsule Monsters evolved into Pokémon, its map, and Mewtwo’s place therein, changed. Every Pokémon has a cry it emits, and Mewtwo shares its with five other specimens. When organizing the game’s Pokédex encyclopedia, Game Freak numbered each Pokémon roughly based on when players would first encounter them. Consequently, Mewtwo – the final Pokémon found in Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow – was designated #150.
A popular theory posits that Ditto are unsuccessful clones of Mew. Considering producer Junichi Masuda’s response when asked, they probably aren’t. (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
Since then, Mewtwo has been usable, though not necessarily obtainable, in every mainline game. Gold and Silver hit in 1999, wherein Mewtwo’s absent (perhaps because Red caught it three years prior?) and its cave sealed, though it left a keepsake behind. Subsequent games – 2004’s FireRed and LeafGreen, 2009’s HeartGold and SoulSilver, 2013’s Pokémon X and Y, 2017’s Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and 2018’s Let’s Go – host a wild Mewtwo. Occasionally, Game Freak gives Mewtwo preferential treatment. Pokémon Black and White, which proudly champion new Pokémon, gave Mewtwo a signature attack, Psystrike. X and Y introduced Mega Evolutions, mid-battle transformations. Only a handful of Pokémon acquired one, yet Mewtwo scored two (an honor it shares with fellow Kanto icon Charizard). Plus, Mega Mewtwo Y, though initially called a “newly discovered” creature, was the first unveiled. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, resurgent Team Rocket leader Giovanni uses a Mewtwo capable of Mega Evolution during the “Episode RR” scenario. Sword and Shield initially omitted Mewtwo (and, infamously, most previous Pokémon), though a raid event last year unleashed an uncatchable one. With the release of The Crown Tundra expansion, the Genetic Pokémon was properly added to the Galar Pokédex. It’s now one of many deities players may encounter during the “Dynamax Adventures” raid gauntlets.
A franchise mainstay, Mewtwo commonly graces spin-offs, adaptions, and merchandise (and it has an amiibo that’s compatible with several otherwise unrelated titles). Side games, especially those released during the Nineties, often reinforce its position as the strongest Pokémon. It appears alone as the final opponent in Stadium, Pinball, and Puzzle League, and under the command of rival Silver in Stadium 2. Several side series – Mystery Dungeon, Ranger, Rumble, and Detective Pikachu – feature it, as do one-offs like Conquest. A standard Mewtwo and stylized Shadow Mewtwo compete in Pokkén Tournament, utilizing sinister Psychic-type attacks. Niantic highlighted Mewtwo in Pokémon GO’s first trailer, and has since let Trainers catch it through special events. Countless manga publications incorporate the recluse, and the Pokémon Origins mini-series’ finale revolves around it.
Echoing the game it’s adapting, Mewtwo’s a core facet of the live-action Detective Pikachu film. (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
However, the ongoing anime is Mewtwo’s weightiest profile booster. It cameos in many of the series’ openings, and is a frequent star in the show proper, appearing in a recent episode, four specials, and three movies. Specifically, there are two separate Mewtwo in this continuity: a masculine one, who headlines 1998’s record-setting Mewtwo Strikes Back and its remake, and a feminine one, who stars in 2013’s Genesect and the Legend Awakened. According to producer Hidenaga Katakami, the newer Mewtwo – “Newtwo?” – was created to avoid licensing the original from the late Takeshi Shudō‘s estate.
Furthermore, Mewtwo’s popularity and importance are regularly recognized through Masahiro Sakurai’s Super Smash Bros. series. Sakurai “planned” to include Mewtwo in the first game, and he got it in the second, Melee. Unfortunately, Mewtwo skipped 2008’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl (a trophy cameo notwithstanding), though internal files suggest Sakurai meant to bring it back (files also exist pertaining to six other cut fighters, including Roy and Dixie Kong). Speculation later ran rampant over whether the savage psychic would grace Brawl’s 2014 sequels, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Sakurai’s answer? “We are thinking about it.” After missing the base games, Mewtwo rejoined as a downloadable fighter; those who bought both titles got it as a freebie. What was once a weak, poorly executed moveset was revitalized, making Mewtwo a viable combatant. Now possessing a Final Smash, the freak can transform into Mega Mewtwo Y and fire a Psystrike attack (Sakurai figured the burly Mega Mewtwo X didn’t suit Smash’s cerebral portrayal of the character). Naturally, Mewtwo’s among the many all-stars usable in 2018’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Visually, nothing else like Mewtwo existed in the Game Boy games. It’s often compared to MOTHER 1’s Giygas (notably, both series share DNA) and Dragon Ball’s Frieza. (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
So, what’re my thoughts on Mewtwo?
Assuming one plays through Red, Blue, or Yellow normally, Mewtwo wouldn’t be the first Pokémon, manmade or otherwise, encountered. Those who read the journals strewn throughout the dilapidated Pokémon Mansion understood why: unlike a Porygon or Pidgey, Mewtwo is a singular entity who was abducted from its parent, Mew (who, notably, was secretly programmed into the games). Details were scarce, but those fragments warn of a cruel, violent being. Granted, Mewtwo isn’t the only Pokémon harboring destructive potential; three others – Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres – share Mewtwo’s “Legendary” classification. All four sit hidden somewhere, a test for Trainers to locate and capture. Again standing above its peers, even entering Mewtwo’s cavern requires the hero to have become champion, speaking to its power (it also bears mentioning that the Psychic-type was comically overpowered during the first generation, something the second addressed). Additionally, the birds are more forces or representatives of nature, not fleshed-out characters. Simply having a backstory made Mewtwo special; most creatures then (with rare exceptions, like Pokémon Tower’s vengeful Marowak ghost) had nothing of the sort.
An effective counterpoint to its deformed offspring, Mew’s veneer only buttresses how horrific Mewtwo’s is. They share basic physical characteristics – both have tails, for example – and are reclusive. But Mew is small, cute, and playful, qualities its namesake rejects. Mew’s bright pink fur faded into muted, unfeeling purples. No part of Mewtwo’s body, from its scrawny arms to the odd ridge behind its neck, looks healthy. It does, however, look… imposing, wrong, almost alien. Those early Kanto games are notorious for their off-model sprites, bizarre contortions that actually work to Mewtwo’s benefit. At the time, the cave-dweller’s design fluctuated; its art depicted it as slender, while the anime adjusted its proportions to look taller (remakes FireRed and LeafGreen stabilized Mewtwo’s design). Mewtwo’s two Megas even accentuate different aspects of it; Y reverts it to a more organic look, while X embraces the monster’s crude idiosyncrasies.
Genesect’s Mewtwo Mega Evolves in a manner inaccurate to how the mechanic actually works. Because the gimmick’s formal reveal hadn’t occurred yet, this transformation was dubbed “Awakening Mewtwo.” (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
And even now, Mewtwo stands as a distinct figure within the franchise’s sizable bestiary (though some newer creatures revisit elements of it, like how Genesect is another scientific sin). That the games never revolve around Mewtwo furthers its elusively. Subsequent titles establish their respective Legendary Pokémon as focal points of their regions’ culture or mythology, and these beasts are always encountered and worked into their plots. Conversely, Mewtwo is always secluded in a desolate, optional post-game den (ironic, as the reclusive mutant is often at the forefront of the brand’s marketing).
Caring for Pokémon properly is something the show discusses regularly, but early episodes (especially the three set immediately before the film) pose an additional question: can a Pokémon inherently be evil? A crowd of scientists surround Mewtwo as it awakens in its tube, thrilled over their successful project. An inquisitive Mewtwo asks about itself, learning it was made through artificial means. Shortly thereafter, it enters Giovanni’s charge. Ultimately, he tells Mewtwo it’s mere chattel, a tool to serve mankind. So Mewtwo, unsure of its place in the world it was unlovingly born into, suffers an existential crisis and lashes out. “Who am I?” it ponders. “Why am I here?” Only after shedding those toxic influences and befriending others does Mewtwo come to an answer: no, it’s not evil, and yes, it has every right to enjoy a rich, happy life.
Searching outside their usual talent pools, OLM and 4Kids respectively cast actors Masachika Ichimura and Jay Goede as Mewtwo in English and Japanese. Several others have voiced it since The First Movie. (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
Admittedly a flawed, not especially deep character study, this nevertheless gave the psychic powerhouse a degree of complexity its contemporaries – both in the Pokémon anime and elsewhere – lacked. Ash’s arch-enemies, the Team Rocket trio, were multilayered characters but weren’t credible threats. Giovanni was the opposite; he’s strong, but also a one-dimensional, mostly off-screen presence. And despite Frieza’s strengths in other areas, there’s little substance behind his motivations: he conquers and destroys planets because those are things evildoers do. Unsurprisingly, Strikes Back became a go-to reference point for the greater franchise. Sakurai borrows from it for Smash‘s Mewtwo, and recent Pokémon games associate the monster with Team Rocket. Mewtwo is one of the first examples of a character arc I saw, ensuring the solitudinarian would stick with me – as he also has for many others.
Cavalcades of Pokémon have emerged since Mewtwo’s unholy genesis, meaning it no longer quite carries the same gravitas. Is Mewtwo still the uncontested strongest, “best” Pokémon? That’s open for debate, but it was essential in defining the series’ heyday. When Pokémon lore was nigh nonexistent, Mewtwo gave a glimpse into its darker undersides, showing how disastrous science can be misused in a series that seldom does so. It leveraged that, elevating it above the feral animals it coexisted alongside. And Mewtwo remains a celebrated fixture within the Pokémon and Nintendo rosters, status it will enjoy perennially.
Congratulations, Mewtwo! You are here.
Shudō had greater freedom to explore darker themes through Mewtwo, asking questions that resonated with future Pokémon Sunday hostess Shoko Nakagawa. (Image: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
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I always enjoyed Mewtwo ever since I was a child. It was a good feeling finally getting him in the Pokemon games. So, when I found he was joining Melee, I was so happy. Then Brawl was released in Japan, I was pretty disappointed he didn’t make the cut. Then disappointed again when he didn’t make the cut in the retail 3DS version. Finally, I was filled with joy when he was announced as a free DLC fighter in 3DS/Wii U. Plus, Ultimate’s reveal as well. Here’s hoping that Nintendo and the Pokemon Company will keep him alive for years to come.
Same, Mewtwo was always one of my favorites. It’s one of the most interesting Pokémon, a cool, threatening, impressive monster.
At Melee‘s release, two of my best friends called me up right after they unlocked Mewtwo, describing all of its attacks – “That energy ball he had in The First Movie? He has that move” – and I was overjoyed. It even made sense to me that it was one of the final characters you’d unlock, befitting the science experiment’s role as Red, Blue, and Yellow‘s final challenge. And it didn’t even bother me that Mewtwo ultimately wasn’t very good; just seeing the mutated cat battle Mario, Donkey Kong, and others in Smash with its distinct moveset and animations made me happy. Ichimura’s portrayal helped sell its murderous intent too, cementing him as my favorite voice actor in the role.
I was right there with you when Brawl came out, lamenting Mewtwo’s absence (at the time, I erroneously bought into the idea that Lucario “replaced” Mewtwo, though I grew to like its moveset too). Sakurai’s comment about how they were “thinking about” bringing Mewtwo back for 3DS and Wii U was reassuring though. He’s aware of fan requests and wouldn’t casually say that about a character – let alone a character of Mewtwo’s caliber – if it wasn’t a sure thing. I expected the Psychic-type to appear as a secret character in the base games, and I was admittedly wrong there, but its comeback was a stellar way to kickstart Smash DLC.
Anyhoo, here’s to Mewtwo, a beloved Pokémon and Smash icon. Here’s hoping he gets tenured in the latter.