Mewtwo (SSB4)

Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Psystrike
Tier	A (10)

“	Mewtwo Strikes Back!	”
—Introduction Tagline

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

Mewtwo is now voiced by Keiji Fujiwara, who replaced Masachika Ichimura. As in Melee, Mewtwo has fully voiced victory quotes in Japanese that are re-recorded versions of its victory quotes from that game, although they were removed for international versions. Its phrases, and most of its grunts and other voice clips, are inspired by those in Melee.

Mewtwo is currently ranked 10th out of 58 on the tier list, placing it in the A tier and making it the third highest ranking DLC character. This is a vast improvement from its low-tier placement in Melee, where it was ranked 21st out of 26. Mewtwo's moves, most noticeably Disable and Confusion, have been generally reworked to the point that they are less awkward and much more useful than they were in Melee. Its mobility has also noticeably improved: its dashing and air speeds are among the fastest in the game, its walking speed is above average and it is now capable of wall jumping.

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

Initially a poorly perceived character upon its release, game updates noticeably improved Mewtwo's perception and viability over time, to the point that it achieved improved tournament results thanks to professionals such as Abadango and Rich Brown. As a result of its consistently strong results in competitive play, Mewtwo's tier status also underwent a significant improvement, with it rising 27 spots to become a top-tier character after it was ranked as a low-tier character within the first SSB4 tier list.

Attributes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally, its special moves are powerful, although risky, much like its ground game. Shadow Ball is one of the strongest and fastest projectiles in the game when fully charged. Teleport's ending lag, momentum, and start-up have been increased since Melee, and while these traits make it generally more risky to use when warping to the ground, it is still useful due to it rendering Mewtwo invulnerable for a split second and granting it considerable horizontal momentum.

Confusion, which was notorious in Melee for being virtually useless, has been buffed considerably and now helps Mewtwo's neutral game. It improves Mewtwo's defensive presence by now functioning as a proper reflector and its offensive presence due to it functioning as a long-ranged command grab that can grab through attacks with disjointed hitboxes, such as Ike's forward smash. Confusion's utility also extends to Mewtwo's recovery, as it grants a slight vertical boost during its first use in midair and it can completely reverse aerial momentum and direction. Disable also received some buffs, as its range and its stun's duration both increased. While it is still a risky set-up, it can guarantee combos and potentially KOs if it connects.

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

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

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

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

Changes from Melee

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

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

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

The removal of wavedashing also harms Mewtwo, as it aided its combo game and approach in Melee. The removal of double jump canceling is a double-edged sword: although it improves Mewtwo's recovery and allows for new types of combos, it nonetheless inhibits its combo game overall similarly to the loss of wavedashing. Its throw-oriented combo game has been toned down significantly; the removal of chain grabbing as well as the cast's generally slower fall speeds means Mewtwo can no longer chain grab with its up or down throws, while its down throw now has slightly more ending lag, making it one of the only characters with a down throw that cannot combo properly, and unlike its forward throw, lacks the damage output to compensate.

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

Aesthetics

• Mewtwo's design has undergone a few changes, much like the other playable Pokémon in SSB4. It now has a slightly smaller head, slightly lighter skin and slightly more bulbous fingertips, which makes Mewtwo more closely resemble its most recent appearances in the Pokémon core series. However, its initial trophy does not use this updated design.
• Mewtwo's front side now faces the screen regardless of which direction it is looking. This also changes some of its prior animations.
• Mewtwo is less vocal overall, as it no longer emits a sound effect when using Confusion, Disable and battering items.

Attributes

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

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack deals less damage (6% (hit 1)/2% (infinite) → 4%/1%).
• Neutral infinite comes out 2 frames earlier (frame 8 → 6), has decreased ending lag (30 frames → 25) and now has a finisher, an upward swipe.
• Sweetspotted dash attack deals 1% more damage (9% → 10%) and has increased knockback, improving its KO potential. It also has larger and farther reaching hitboxes and has received a disjointed hitbox farther away from the one around Mewtwo's body.
• Dash attack's lingering hitbox lasts 9 frames shorter.
• Forward tilt has increased ending lag (32 frames → 36), comes out 2 frames later (frame 6 → 8) and lasts 1 frame shorter (frame 6-8 → 6-7).
• Down tilt deals less damage (9% (near)/5% (far) → 5%/4%), comes out 1 frame later (frame 5 → 6) and lasts 1 frame shorter (frames 5-7 → 6-7).
• Up tilt deals less damage (10%/8%/6%/5% → 6%/5%/4.5%/4%/3%) and comes out 2 frames later (frame 6 → 8).
• Up tilt has decreased ending lag (21 frames → 17). Its decreased damage output also improves its combo and aerial follow-up potentials.
• Down tilt has significantly decreased ending lag (30 frames → 21), improving its set-up potential.
• All smash attacks have significantly decreased ending lag (40 frames → 32 (forward), 45 frames → 34 (up), 38 frames → 22 (down)).
• Sourspotted forward smash deals 4% more damage (12% → 16%).
• Forward smash has increased knockback scaling (75 (sweetspot)/80 (sourspot) → 85/90), a larger hitbox (2u → 3u) and its sweetspot is easier to land than its sourspot. Its hitbox duration is also 1 frame longer.
• Sweetspotted forward smash deals 1% less damage (20% → 19%). Forward smash also has slightly decreased range and comes out 1 frame later (frame 18 → 19).
• Due to the changes to stale-move negation, up smash deals 1.39% more damage (15.61% → 17%) and has altered knockback (40 (base)/118 (scaling) → 60/107), improving its KO potential. Its first hit has increased set knockback (40/18/8 → 90) and its remaining six hits have larger hitboxes, which makes it connect together better.
• Up smash's first hitbox is very slightly smaller.
• Up smash's last hit has slightly less vertical range, but slightly more horizontal range.
• Down smash has increased knockback scaling (103 → 118) and slightly more range, improving its KO potential.
• Down smash comes out 1 frame later (frame 20 → 21).

Aerial attacks

• All aerial attacks' landing lag was reduced, although they still have more lag than when L-canceled in Melee (17/8 frames (normal/L-canceled) → 13 (neutral), 25/12 frames → 14 (forward), 28/14 frames → 17 (back), 20/10 frames → 13 (up), 28/14 frames → 18 (down)).
• Neutral, forward and down aerials have decreased ending lag (55 frames → 46 (neutral), 40 frames → 38 (forward), 58 frames → 46 (down)).
• All aerials except down aerial autocancel later (frame 37 → 46 (neutral), frame 35 → 36 (forward), frame 30 → 38 (back), frame 33 → 36 (up)), with its neutral aerial no longer autocanceling from a short hop.
• Neutral aerial's first eight hits connect together better and its last hit has a larger hitbox that deals increased knockback (70 (base)/80 (scaling) → 40/110).
• Neutral aerial deals less damage (1%-2% (hits 1-8)/6% (hit 9) → 1%/4%). It also comes out 2 frames later (frame 5 → 7) and its landing hitbox has been removed.
• Neutral aerial's aesthetic visuals have changed. The electricity now flashes green, yellow, blue, cyan and purple at varying intervals, instead of flashing mauve and cyan at a consistent rate.
• Forward aerial deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%) and lasts 1 frame shorter.
• Forward aerial's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now swipes forward while lunging, rather than shifting its body in unison with the swipe. Compared to the previous animation, it produces a less narrow hitbox with increased horizontal range. Said hitboxes are also more disjointed from Mewtwo's arm.
• Forward aerial's launching angle has been altered (84° → 50°), which allows it to combo into itself in another way. Its KO potential is also horizontal rather than vertical.
• Back and up aerials have increased ending lag (16 frames → 23 (back), 24 frames → 26 (up)).
• Back aerial's x-axis offset is larger (5.1 → 5.5), improving its horizontal range.
• Back aerial comes out 1 frame later (frame 12 → 13).
• Near up aerial deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%), lasts 1 frame longer and has improved combo and KO potentials.
• Mid and far up aerials deal less damage (11% (mid)/14% (far) → 10%/9%) and come out 1 frame later (frame 9 → 10).
• Up aerial's sweetspot is now placed near Mewtwo's body instead of at the tip of its tail.
• Aerial sweetspotted down aerial deals 1% less damage (16% → 15%).
• The removal of meteor canceling makes down aerial significantly stronger.
• Down aerial comes out 3 frames faster (frame 18 → 15), lasts 2 frames longer (2 → 4 frames) and autocancels earlier (frame 45 → 42), now autocanceling from a short hop due to Mewtwo's increased jump height. It also has much larger and more disjointed hitboxes, improving its vertical and horizontal ranges.

Throws/other attacks

• The removal of chain grabbing hinders Mewtwo's damage racking ability, as it can no longer chain grab with its up or down throws.
• Standing and dash grabs have increased ending lag (24 frames → 28 (standing), 32 frames → 33 (dash)). Dash grab also comes out 1 frame later (frame 8 → 9).
• Pummel deals 1% less damage (3% → 2%).
• Pummel is faster.
• Forward throw's Shadow Balls are larger, improving their reliability.
• Forward throw's Shadow Balls do not travel as far as they did in Melee.
• Back throw deals 1% less damage (11% → 10%) and has decreased knockback scaling (80 → 75), hindering its KO potential.
• Up throw has decreased knockback (100 (base)/70 (scaling) → 72/65), significantly hindering its KO potential. However, it is still the strongest up throw in the game if DI is taken into account. It also has slightly increased ending lag, slightly hindering its safety at low percentages.
• Down throw deals 2% less damage (11% → 9%) and has slightly increased ending lag, hindering its combo and set-up potentials to the point that it now requires hard reads.
• Down throw has an altered angle (69° → 74°).
• Down throw's animation has changed. Mewtwo now does a front flip, rather than a full body spin. Compared to the previous animation, it is slightly faster.

Special moves

• Fully charged Shadow Ball is much stronger, has a larger hitbox and has increased range, improving its KO potential.
• Shadow Ball's charge time has increased and it no longer has a hitbox while charging.
• Shadow Ball's movement pattern is much less erratic. This improves it accuracy, but makes its trajectory more predictable.
• Dark energy now emanates from both of Mewtwo's hands instead of just one while saving a fully charged Shadow Ball.
• Confusion deals ≈0.9505% less damage (10% → ≈9.0495%).
• Confusion functions like a traditional reflector, as it changes reflected projectiles to Mewtwo's ownership and has a damage multiplier (1.4x).
• Aerial Confusion provides a slight vertical boost after its first use, granting it recovery potential.
• Confusion consists of eight small hits instead of one large hit.
• Confusion's aesthetic visuals have changed. It now appears as a translucent ripple, rather than a single white sparkle. Compared to the previous animation, it is almost identical to the animation Confusion has used since Pokémon Black and White Versions.
• Teleport grants a small amount of forward and/or backward momentum, slightly improving its recovery potential. However, it plays out its momentum granting ending lag even if Mewtwo re-appears on the ground, slightly making it more punishable.
• Teleport has slightly increased start-up. This slightly improves its maneuverability, but makes it slightly more punishable.
• Disable's stun duration has increased and its ending lag has decreased, improving its set-up potential.
• Disable deals 1% and minor knockback to an aerial opponent instead of launching or tumbling them.
• Disable's animation has slightly changed. Mewtwo now slightly tilts its head, rather than looking straight ahead. Its eyes also turn green instead of yellow.
• Mewtwo now has a Final Smash, Psystrike. Mewtwo undergoes Mega Evolution to become Mega Mewtwo Y and then immediately uses Psystrike, a powerful sphere of psychic energy that can pass through walls and powerfully launches any opponents it hits.

Update history

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

Mewtwo also slightly benefits from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1; the universal increase to shieldstun allows Shadow Ball, some of its sweetspotted attacks and Confusion-reflected projectiles (such as a reflected tree, a reflected fully charged Charge Shot or a reflected fully charged Shadow Ball) to heavily damage a shield. Due to these aforementioned changes, Mewtwo is considered much more viable than it was upon release, as it is now resting well within the top tier, rather than its low tier position in the 1.1.3 metagame.

1.0.8

• Neutral aerial's landing lag decreased: 19 frames → 16.
• Up smash's initial hitbox size decreased.

1.1.0

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

1.1.3

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

Technical changelist 1.1.3

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

1.1.5

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

Moveset

• Mewtwo can wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Extends its arm and emits repeated pulses of dark energy before finishing with an dark energy-infused upward swipe. The first hit can be jab canceled, which allows Mewtwo to combo it into itself, a throw or any other attack.
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt			10% (near), 9% (mid), 8% (far)	Swings its tail forward while slightly crouching. Can be angled and has good range, but has low knockback.
Up tilt			6% (nearest), 5% (near), 4% (far), 3% (farthest), 4.5% (farthest hitbox to opponents in front of Mewtwo)	Backflips and strikes opponents with its tail. Deals more damage the closer the opponent is to Mewtwo, with point-blank opponents being able to be juggled with two or more hits. It has high range overall, as it can hit opponents near Mewtwo's back.
Down tilt			5% (near), 4% (far)	Crouches and sweeps its tail 180°. Has respectable utility due to being Mewtwo's fastest tilt, a good out of shield option and Mewtwo's best combo starter, being able to combo into a neutral, forward or up aerial, an up smash and more.
Dash attack			10% (clean sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 6% (late sweetspot), 4% (late sourspot)	Lunges forward and performs a dark energy-infused palm thrust (with its arm gripping its attacking hand unlike in Melee). Its clean sweetspot has above average knockback. Depending on the hitbox it hits with and the opponent's damage, it can combo into neutral, forward and up aerials. It also has a notable amount of range for a dash attack, making it a decent punish tool at certain distances and possibly making it difficult to punish from a proper distance due to its lag.
Forward smash			19% (blast), 16% (arms)	A double palm thrust that releases a blast of dark energy. Moderate start-up, but rather low ending lag and powerful enough to KO quite reliably. KOs around 114%, while the sourspot KOs around 122%.
Up smash			1% (hits 1-6), 10% (hit 7)	Thrusts its arm upward and conjures a galaxy-shaped swirl of dark energy while its irises fade away briefly. Can miss small opponents, but the last hit deals the highest knockback out of any of Mewtwo's smash attacks. Good for trapping aerial opponents, particularly those near the edge. KOs around 107% if all of its hits connect.
Down smash			15%	Extends its arm downward and launches a burst of dark energy from its fingertip near its feet. Similar to his forward smash, but also has the benefit of having slightly less ending lag. One of the few down smashes that does not hit on both sides. KOs around 111%.
Neutral aerial			1% (hits 1-8), 4% (hit 9)	Discharges electricity around itself, with the last hit launching the opponent back. The hitbox stays at Mewtwo's body, but the move lost its landing hitbox from Melee (as well as changing its colors), meaning opponents could end up close to it if the move ends early. Regardless, it is a good move for disrupting opponents.
Forward aerial			13%	A dark energy-infused scooping claw swipe (which produces a slash effect). One of the fastest and most powerful forward aerials in the game, having 5 frames of start-up and KOing around 143%. At lower percentages, it can easily be used as a follow-up after a down tilt or a neutral aerial. It can also combo into itself at lower percents as well.
Back aerial			13% (near), 11% (mid), 9% (far)	Whips its tail behind it. It has highly disjointed range, but deals more damage when the opponent is closer to Mewtwo's body like its other tail-based attacks. A decent gimping tool if timed right, but has some notable startup in comparison to other quicker back aerials.
Up aerial			11% (near), 10% (mid), 9% (far)	Backflips and strikes opponents with its tail, similarly to its up tilt. Deals more damage when the opponent is closer to Mewtwo's body. As it has mainly a vertical hitbox, it is unable to hit opponents beside Mewtwo.
Down aerial			14% (grounded opponents, aerial sourspot), 15% (aerial sweetspot)	A backflipping, dark energy-infused stomp. It has decently fast start-up in proportion to its very high knockback scaling, while being a powerful meteor smash when sweetspotted. Grounded opponents are launched diagonally upward with high knockback, which further makes it a very good KOing option. Despite its new aforementioned dark-energy visuals appearing right where Mewtwo stomps, it does not have any darkness effects upon hit.
Grab			—	Telekinetically holds an opponent. Mewtwo's grab range is average.
Pummel			2%	A small jolt of electricity. It has average speed.
Forward throw			3% (throw), 2% (Shadow Balls)	Telekinetically lifts the opponent diagonally in the air before firing five Shadow Balls at them. As of update 1.1.0, it is tied with Ganondorf's and max aura Lucario's forward throws as the most damaging forward throws in the game. However, the Shadow Balls can be reflected if the opponent wears a Franklin Badge, and other nearby opponents with reflectors and/or absorption moves can choose to intercept it.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent backward while facing away. It is one of the deadliest back throws in the game near the edge, KOing even heavyweights at around 162% without rage.
Up throw			12%	Telekinetically swirls the opponent around its body before launching them upward with a body stretching gesture. A reliable KOing option starting at 135% on middleweights without rage. While its knockback is surpassed only by Charizard's as of update 1.0.8, the angle it launches opponents makes it KO significantly earlier, as DI has very little effect on it. With proper DI, this throw retains the strongest vertical trajectory even when Charizard is landing on a platform, although Charizard's surpasses it when Charizard's up throw lands on high platforms, such as the ones on Battlefield and Town and City.
Down throw			4% (slam), 5% (throw)	Telekinetically slams the opponent to the ground and spins to whip-slam them with its tail. It has low knockback and somewhat high ending lag. As a result, it cannot properly combo into most of its moves and its only use is to react to an opponent's options and punish it.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Levitates and spins around, striking opponents with its tail.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Levitates and spins around, striking opponents with its tail.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Gets up and swipes on both sides.
Edge attack			7%	Swipes its tail in front of itself while climbing up. Acts similar to its down tilt.
Neutral special	Default	Shadow Ball	2.5% (uncharged), 25% (fully charged)	Charges a large, dark purple sphere of dark energy between its hands. It can then be fired immediately or can be canceled, then charged up again. While its charge time is quite long, a fully charged Shadow Ball is one of Mewtwo's viable KOing options, as it KOs around 112%. If used in midair, the recoil will moderately propel Mewtwo backward, which can help or hinder its recovery. A fully charged Shadow Ball has transcendent priority, but can still cancel out certain projectiles. Deals a great amount of shield damage if fully charged, but not quite enough to break one.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	Confusion	≈9.0495% (throw), 1.4x (reflected projectiles)	Emits a ripple of psychic energy from its hand. Has impressive utility due to functioning as a grab, a reflector and even a recovery option. As a grab, the ripple spins opponents around and leaves them tumbling downward, dropping them in front of Mewtwo and allows it to follow-up with other attacks. As a recovery option, its first use in midair gives Mewtwo a slight vertical boost.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	Teleport	—	Teleports to a different location. It is completely invulnerable during the move. It has less ending lag if Mewtwo Teleports directly back onto the ground, while it gives Mewtwo some horizontal momentum if ended in midair.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	Disable	1%	Crouches slightly and emits a minuscule spark of psychic energy from its eyes toward the opponent, stunning them. It only works if the opponent is facing Mewtwo and making eye contact with it. If the opponent is in the air, they are slightly launched backward with set knockback, instead of being stunned. Useful at high percentages to guarantee a KO, but difficult to land. It should be noted that Disable can be reflected by a particularly vigilant opponent.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		Psystrike	30%	Mega Evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y and performs Psystrike, its signature move in the Pokémon games. Psystrike is a powerful sphere of psychic energy that plows through both opponents and walls, and any opponent caught will be stunned before being launched by an intense, mind-shattering blow.

On-screen appearance

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

Taunts

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

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

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

Crowd cheer

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

Victory poses

Mewtwo speaks during its Japanese victory poses.

A small excerpt of the music that would play on the title screen of Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions.

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

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Abadango
•  Blue
•  cyve
•  Ginko
•  Hitaku
•  Mew²
•  Rich Brown
•  WaDiRob

Inactive

•  9B
•  Trela

Tier placement and history

Mewtwo's initial release was met positively, as players had soon noticed the increased mobility, power and reach its attacks had, going as far as to claim Mewtwo was now a mid-tier character with them. However, players also lamented the nerfs to its already poor survivability, issues that also became more prominent over the time, and players gradually started to agree its offense was not strong enough to compensate. Some insisted that Mewtwo was underrated and that players were too focused on its fragility to see its positive traits, and Mewtwo went on to receive buffs in game updates, which led it to be placed at 37th in the first tier list, in the F tier.

However, after Mewtwo received further buffs to its mobility in update 1.1.5, players such as Abadango began placing higher with it in tournaments, showing that its powerful offense and combo ability now outweighed its defensive shortcomings. As a result, community perception of Mewtwo improved drastically, and the second tier list saw it make a massive leap to 10th place in the A tier.

Trophies

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

Mewtwo

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

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

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Mewtwo (Alt.)

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

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

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Psystrike

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

Mewtwo (non-fighter)

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

: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)

: Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen (09/2004)

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  Non-fighter (3DS)

• 

  Non-fighter (Wii U)

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Final Smash (Psystrike)

Alternate costumes

Trailers

<youtube>P-zJOntZRHo</youtube>

Gallery

• 

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

• 

  The teaser confirming Mewtwo's return.

• 

  Mewtwo's splash art.

• 

  Mewtwo's amiibo.

• 

  Mewtwo's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Mewtwo fighting Fox.

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  Using its forward throw on Luigi.

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  Using its down smash on Ike.

• 

  Mewtwo alongside Mew.

• 

  Using Disable on Little Mac.

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

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

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  Using its forward aerial on Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Using its forward tilt on Greninja.

Trivia

• Mewtwo's official artwork is posed nearly identically to its official Melee artwork.
• As a possible callback to Melee, Mewtwo has only one voice clip for when it is KO'd.
• Mewtwo folds its arms in numerous instances, including during its up taunt, up tilt, Hammer animation, helpless animation, its losing/No Contest animation, its screen KO animation, while asleep and while teetering.
• Prior to update 1.0.7, it was possible to access glitched versions of Mewtwo's custom special moves via a glitch involving shared Mii Fighters. Most of these crash the game, with the exception of both variations of Confusion, a non-functional version of Disable that sends Mewtwo into its helpless state, and a version of Disable which zooms the camera in on Mewtwo and temporarily slows down time, all of which have limited functionality. It is unclear whether the glitch involved accessing custom moves that were incomplete or data not intended for use of custom moves. One of the variations of Mewtwo's glitched custom Confusion is very similar to the soul breaker glitch. It is speculated that these were unfinished custom specials and that DLC characters were intended to have customs. While the glitch was removed by update 1.0.7, it was still possible to view replays containing these special moves prior to update 1.0.8.
• Mewtwo is the only veteran DLC character with a new voice actor, and the only character in SSB4 to speak only in the Japanese version.
• Mewtwo is the only DLC character to have been downloadable for free.
• Mewtwo is the only DLC character who does not share equipment types with any other DLC character.
• Mewtwo's non-fighter trophy has different features than the design of it as a playable character, such as having smaller eyes, a shorter tail, and a lighter shade of purple for its midsection and tail. Mewtwo's playable model and trophy are modeled after the first Pokémon movie, differing slightly from Mewtwo's model in Pokémon X and Y, which has larger and rounder eyes than either of the two to match Mewtwo's official art by Ken Sugimori.
• Mewtwo's light weight in SSB4 contradicts its weight in the Pokédex, where it is listed as weighing 269 pounds; in SSB4, Mewtwo is only six units heavier than Jigglypuff despite being more than twenty times heavier than the latter, which the Pokédex lists as weighing 12.1 pounds. This is seemingly due to its telekinetically-induced anti-gravity.
• Mewtwo and Lucario are the only two playable Pokémon in SSB4 who do not emerge from a Poké Ball as part of their on-screen appearances.
• Mewtwo's improved dash speed since the updates put its mobility much closer in line with its parameters of its home series. Mewtwo's base speed stat is the highest of all Pokemon included in the Smash series and is represented as such in SSB4.