Summary

• Mew is almost always depicted as being stronger than Mewtwo.
• Mew has a far wider array of moves to use, exploiting Mewtwo's weaknesses more easily.
• Mew even comes out on top in various Pokémon media and special events, showcasing its superiority.

The Pokémon franchise has many rivalries within its nine main generations, but few are as iconic as the rivalry between Mew and Mewtwo. Mewtwo was a Legendary Pokémon in the original games that could only be captured after defeating the Elite Four and Blue. Meanwhile, Mew was a Mythical Pokémon initially spoken of in legends among fans after glitches in the code were discovered. In fact, in the Pokédex entries, Mewtwo is #150, while Mew is #151. Both are known to be incredibly powerful pocket monsters within the games and other lore. But who is the strongest between them?

In lore, both within the games and the anime/manga, Mewtwo is specifically stated to be a clone of Mew. With Gen I, in the mansion within Cinnabar Island, people can find journal entries written by a man named Dr. Fuji. It is he who discovered Mew in the jungles of South America. After collecting some of its DNA, he and a team of researchers created Mewtwo to make the world's most powerful Pokémon.

Why Mew Beats Mewtwo

Lore, Stats, and Moves Lean Toward The Original's Side

However, whether they succeeded in that is heavily up for debate. In canon, Mewtwo was thought to be the world's most powerful Pokémon because scientists, including Dr. Fuji, after a while, thought Mew was extinct. That wasn't the case, though, and Mew is stronger than Mewtwo in several aspects within both the games and other media. If one were to go solely on stats, Mewtwo does have a few higher base stats to work with and is known for unleashing powerful attacks. However, when considering everything, Mew is a better fighter, with multiple ways of taking its clone down.

The first huge advantage that Mew has is that it's the canonical ancestor to all Pokémon. Arceus is the god of the Pokémon world, but Mew, for lack of a better term, was the one whom all Pokémon were based after. Due to this fact, Mew can learn almost every Pokémon move. In the game, trainers can teach Mew just about anything via TMs, HMs, Move Tutor abilities, and beyond. The only moves it can't learn are ones specific to certain Pokémon, like with Volt Tackle.

That gives it a significant edge over Mewtwo because the cloned Pokémon has a more limited move set. Furthermore, while stats are impressive, having super-effective moves against foes is just as important. To that end, Mew can simply use Bug, Ghost, and Dark moves against Mewtwo to whittle away its health, while Mewtwo only has limited options to exploit Mew's similar weaknesses. Just as important, Mewtwo can't learn any moves to deal serious damage to Mew naturally. In contrast, as of Gen IX, Mew can learn Nasty Plot at Level 50.

Mewtwo can learn plenty of moves via TMs, but he's still restricted in what he can learn, unlike Mew.

Breaking Down A Mew vs. Mewtwo Fight

The Games Give Mew Advantages Some Might Not Know About

Diehard Pokémon fans might point out that Mewtwo has a unique advantage of its own via its dual forms via Mega Evolution. However, that wouldn't apply in a straight-up fight against Mew with no trainers, as Pokémon need a trainer and a mega stone to invoke that specific evolution. Just as important, while the two give stat boosts, it's not a guaranteed win against Mew for multiple reasons. In its Y form, its weaknesses would still be the same. Thus, Mew could exploit it in the same way. Then, in its X form, its Psychic-type resistance is negated.

Even when factoring in special events within games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Mew still comes out on top. For example, when Mewtwo was used as the focus of a 7-Star Raid Event, using Mew would lead to some interesting results. Specifically, if a person brought in a Mew to the fight, it would get an instant stat boost. A boost that also included raising its HP by 50%. Plus, all its other stats get boosted by 20%, making it an even better threat to its clone.

If this battle were to happen in the wild, with no trainer input, personalities and natures would be factors in the fight, too. To that end, Mew has been stated to be more intelligent than Mewtwo across the various generations and adaptations. In the game's lore, Mew was thought to be extinct because of its rarity and ability to go invisible, which means it could easily do that in a battle while Mewtwo is throwing attacks at it. Furthermore, while both Pokémon can canonically teleport, Mew is more likely to use it alongside defensive tactics, while Mewtwo would be more attack-focused.

The Final Result Is A Mew Victory

Even The Anime Notes This

While not an absolute factor in the fight, the various anime adaptations also point to Mew getting the victory over Mewtwo. In Pokémon: The First Movie, Mew easily countered everything Mewtwo had to offer and then some. One could even argue that Mew wasn't taking the fight seriously and thus could've beaten Mewtwo at any time. Then, during the 10th anniversary Pokémon special, a digital version of Mewtwo was only toppled when a Mew appeared and helped defeat it.

While it's fair to say that neither Mew nor Mewtwo is the strongest Pokémon in the franchise, they are still two of the heaviest hitters the series has ever produced. They have become synonymous with Pokémon lore on many s and have been factored into many media, including Mewtwo being a character in Super Smash Bros. However, in the end, Mew will almost always come out on top when they fight.

Source: Bulbapedia (1, 2)