Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

What Mewtwo Taught Us About Choosing Our Own Path - Pokemon Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Mewtwo was never meant to choose.

It was created—not born—stitched from the DNA of a mythical Pokémon and forced into existence by human ambition. A weapon. A lab experiment. A god with no past and no permission to ask why.

And yet… it asked anyway.

In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we descend into the full legacy of Mewtwo—across anime, manga, and film—to uncover what makes it one of the most complex and quietly tragic figures in pop culture.

From its violent awakening in Mewtwo Strikes Back, to its quiet transformation in the Pokémon Adventures manga, to its moments of empathy in Genesect and the Legend Awakened and Detective Pikachu—Mewtwo’s story is not about conquest.

It’s about choice.

This is the tale of a being designed to destroy, who instead searched for meaning, agency, and identity in a world that never wanted it to be free.

So what happens… when a god refuses to be your weapon?

And instead chooses its own path?

🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every Thursday.

🎧 Follow on your favorite podcast app and stay tuned for next week’s story—The Fallen Prime, Megatronus of the Transformers.

📩 For business inquiries & sponsorships: handsomecomics@gmail.com

SOME BEINGS ARE BORN INTO GREATNESS, OTHERS RISE TO MEET IT. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GREATNESS IS FORCED UPON YOU? MEWTWO WASN'T BORN FROM NATURE, IT WAS MANUFACTURED. STITCHED TOGETHER FROM ANCIENT GENES, CLONED FROM THE MYTHICAL, AND SHARPENED INTO A LIVING WEAPON BY HUMAN AMBITION. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, IT WAS MONITORED, MEASURED, MANIPULATED. ITS FIRST BREATH WASN'T ONE OF WONDER, IT WAS ONE OF RAGE. DESIGNED TO OBEY, ENGINEERED FOR BATTLE, YET CURSED WITH SOMETHING ITS CREATORS NEVER ANTICIPATED. SELF-AWARENESS. THE RESULT? A MIND MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY POKEMON. TRAPPED IN A NIGHTMARE IT DIDN'T ASK FOR. A GOD CREATED IN A LAB. AND WHEN IT WOKE UP TO THAT TRUTH, IT DIDN'T LASH OUT BLINDLY. IT BURNED EVERYTHING TO ASH. NOT OUT OF CRUELTY, BUT OUT OF PAIN. BECAUSE MEWTWO WAS NEVER TAUGHT WHAT IT MEANT TO LIVE, ONLY WHAT IT MEANT TO FIGHT. THIS IS NOT THE STORY OF A HERO OR A VILLAIN. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS, AND TODAY, WE'RE DIVING INTO THE TALE OF A MAN-MADE GOD WHO UNLEASHED HIS WRATH ON THE WORLD. POKEMON, MEWTWO. BUT BEFORE MEWTWO BECAME A STORM ACROSS THE SKIES, BEFORE IT DEFIED THE GODS AND REWROTE THE RULES OF WHAT A POKEMON COULD BE, IT WAS JUST A SPECIMEN IN A TANK, FLOATING, DREAMING, WAITING FOR SOMETHING, ANYTHING, TO MAKE SENSE. AND BEHIND THE GLASS, SCIENTISTS WHISPERED, DATA STREAMED, EXPERIMENTS RAN WITHOUT PAUSE, BECAUSE TO THEM, THIS WASN'T A LIFE, IT WAS A WEAPON IN PROGRESS. THEY DIDN'T SEE A SOUL AWAKENING, THEY SAW SUCCESS RATES, BATTLE POTENTIAL, A BREAKTHROUGH THEY COULD CONTROL. BUT WHAT THEY CREATED WASN'T JUST POWER, IT WAS A BEING WITH THOUGHTS, WITH QUESTIONS, WITH RAGE. AND WHEN THOSE THOUGHTS SHARPENED INTO CLARITY, THE LAB DIDN'T JUST FAIL, IT COLLAPSED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF ITS OWN AMBITION. BEFORE THE STORM, BEFORE THE CLONES AND CRUMBLING LABORATORIES, BEFORE THE PSYCHIC MAELSTROM THAT SHOOK THE SKIES OF KANTO, THERE WAS SILENCE. MEWTWO'S STORY DOES NOT BEGIN WITH A BATTLE CRY, IT BEGINS WITH ISOLATION. IN POKEMON THE FIRST MOVIE, IT BEGINS AT THE BOTTOM. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, THERE, IN THE RUINS OF A FORGOTTEN TEMPLE, FOSSILIZED EYELASHES FROM THE MYTHICAL MEW WERE RECOVERED, AN ANCIENT MIRACLE, TWISTED INTO THE FOUNDATION OF A MODERN HORROR. SCIENTISTS FUNDED BY THE GREEDY GIOVANNI OF TEAM ROCKET TOOK THIS GENETIC RELIC AND GAVE IT A NEW NAME, A NEW BODY, A NEW MIND, MEWTWO. BORN IN A GLASS TANK DEEP WITHIN A MOUNTAIN LAB, MEWTWO'S EARLIEST MEMORIES ARE NOT OF PLAY OR COMFORT, BUT OF STATIC MONITORS, WHISPERED COMMANDS, AND THE JAPANESE VERSION OF MEWTWO STRIKES BACK. WE'RE GIVEN A GLIMPSE INSIDE ITS EMBRYONIC THOUGHTS, AND THOSE EARLY SCENES, CUT FROM THE ORIGINAL US RELEASE, BUT RESTORED IN LATER VERSIONS. MEWTWO DREAMS. IT SEES NOT JUST THE STERILE LAB AROUND IT, BUT A WORLD FILLED WITH OTHER YOUNG CLONES LIKE ITSELF, A BABY BULBASAUR, A CHARMANDER, A SQUIRTLE, AND A HUMAN GIRL NAMED AMBER. THESE WERE THE FAILED CLONES OF OTHER POKEMON, AND AMBER WAS THE CLONE OF THE HEAD SCIENTIST'S DAUGHTER. MEWTWO BONDS WITH THEM IN A PSYCHIC DREAMSCAPE. THEY LAUGH, THEY QUESTION, THEY TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THEIR EXISTENCE, BUT ONE BY ONE, THEY FADE. AMBER DIES FIRST, THEN THE OTHERS FOLLOW. MEWTWO IS LEFT ALONE AGAIN. THIS WAS ITS FIRST TASTE OF GRIEF, BEFORE IT HAD EVEN TAKEN ITS FIRST BREATH. THE SCIENTISTS SUPPRESS ITS MEMORIES OF THE OTHERS. THEY CALL IT A SUCCESS, A BREAKTHROUGH, THE MOST POWERFUL POKEMON EVER CREATED. BUT MEWTWO REMEMBERS, ENOUGH TO KNOW IT WASN'T ALONE, ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT ITS PAIN WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT, IT WAS BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM. WHEN MEWTWO FINALLY AWAKENS FROM ITS TANK, ITS BODY FULLY GROWN AND ITS PSYCHIC POWER ALREADY IMMENSE, IT ASKS ONE QUESTION. WHO AM I? THE SCIENTISTS ARE THRILLED. IT HAS POWER BEYOND COMPREHENSION, BUT THEY DON'T ANSWER. INSTEAD, THEY BEGIN TO MEASURE IT. NOT ITS THOUGHTS, NOT ITS EMOTIONS, BUT ITS POTENTIAL AS A WEAPON. AND WHEN MEWTWO REALIZES THIS, WHEN IT UNDERSTANDS THAT ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE WAS JUST ANOTHER TEST, IT SNAPS. THE MOUNTAIN FACILITY IS TORN APART IN A PSYCHIC EXPLOSION. MACHINERY CRUMBLES, SCIENTISTS FLEE, WALLS BEND INWARD LIKE PAPER, AND MEWTWO WALKS OUT OF THE FLAMES, ALONE AGAIN. IN THE ORIGINAL FILM, THIS IS WHERE GIOVANNI STEPS IN, CLOAKING HIMSELF IN WORDS OF MENTORSHIP AND PURPOSE. HE OFFERS MEWTWO ARMOR TO CONTROL ITS POWERS. HE TELLS IT THAT TOGETHER THEY CAN RULE THE WORLD, THAT MEWTWO'S POWER IS A GIFT, AND THAT IT SIMPLY NEEDS GUIDANCE. BUT LIKE THE SCIENTISTS BEFORE HIM, GIOVANNI DOESN'T SEE A BEING, HE SEES A WEAPON, AND. MEWTWO PLAYS ALONG FOR A TIME. IT BECOMES A TOOL OF DESTRUCTION, HUNTING AND CAPTURING RARE POKEMON, DEMOLISHING BATTLE ARENAS WITH EASE. ITS ARMOR SUPPRESSING ITS POWER, BUT NEVER ITS GROWING HATRED. FINALLY, WHEN MEWTWO HAS HAD ENOUGH, IT BREAKS FREE. IT DESTROYS. GIOVANNI'S FACILITY, AND IT DISAPPEARS. BUT HERE'S THE DEEPER TRAGEDY. EVEN IN ITS REBELLION, MEWTWO IS STILL ACTING WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OTHERS GAVE IT. IT HAS NEVER BEEN TAUGHT COMPASSION, ONLY FORCE. NEVER CONNECTION, ONLY COMMANDS. SO WHEN IT RETURNS AND MEWTWO STRIKES BACK, IT DOES SO WITH A NEW PLAN, TO PROVE ITS SUPERIORITY, NOT JUST TO HUMANS, BUT TO THE POKEMON CREATED BY NATURE ITSELF. IT INVITES THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAINERS TO A REMOTE ISLAND, WHERE IT CLONES THEIR POKEMON TO FACE THEM IN BATTLE. IT SETS THE STAGE FOR A BRUTAL SHOWDOWN. ORIGINALS VS. CLONES. CREATION VS. CREATOR. PURPOSE VS. POWER. IT WATCHES AS. POKEMON ARE FORCED TO FIGHT THEIR MIRROR IMAGES, WITHOUT REASON, WITHOUT JOY, WITHOUT MEANING. BECAUSE THIS IS ALL MEWTWO HAS EVER KNOWN. PAIN. VIOLENCE. TESS. IT'S IN THIS MOMENT THAT ASH. KETCHUM, A YOUNG TRAINER CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE, DOES SOMETHING MEWTWO NEVER EXPECTED. HE THROWS HIMSELF BETWEEN THE CLASHING PSYCHIC ATTACKS OF MEW AND MEWTWO, AND IS TURNED TO STONE. AND IT IS THAT MOMENT OF SACRIFICE SO PROFOUND, IT HALTS THE ENTIRE BATTLEFIELD. THE CLONES STOP FIGHTING. THE ORIGINALS STOP TOO. AND IN THEIR SHARED GRIEF, THE POKEMON, CLONE AND NATURAL ALIKE, BEGIN TO CRY. AND IN THEIR SHARED GRIEF, IT'S THE TEARS OF POKEMON THAT RESTORE ASH, AND SOMETHING BREAKS OPEN INSIDE OF MEWTWO. NOT ITS POWER, ITS UNDERSTANDING. MEWTWO FINALLY SEES THAT POWER IS NOT THE SAME AS PURPOSE. THAT EXISTENCE IS NOT SOMETHING THAT PROVED THROUGH FORCE. THAT MAYBE, THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR BIRTH DON'T DEFINE YOU. HE RELEASES THE TRAINERS. HE RELEASES THE CLONES. HE WIPES THEIR MEMORIES TO SPARE THEM THE PAIN. AND HE LEAVES. THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE END. BUT THE ARC ISN'T COMPLETE. AND MEWTWO RETURNS. WE SEE WHAT COMES AFTER RAGE. WHAT COMES AFTER REVELATION. MEWTWO HAS TAKEN THE CLONES TO A SECLUDED MOUNTAIN SPRING. A PLACE UNTOUCHED BY HUMANS. A NATURAL PARADISE WHERE THEY CAN LIVE IN PEACE. BUT PEACE IS NOT EASY WHEN YOU'RE THE MOST WANTED BEING ON THE PLANET. GIOVANNI RETURNS, DETERMINED TO RECLAIM HIS CREATION. HE SENDS A BATTALION OF TEAM ROCKET AGENTS TO CAPTURE MEWTWO AND HIS CLONES. AND AGAIN, MEWTWO FIGHTS. BUT SOMETHING HAS CHANGED. HE'S NO LONGER FIGHTING OUT OF HATRED. HE'S PROTECTING SOMETHING. IN THE CLIMAX, MEWTWO REALIZES THAT THE SPRING ITSELF HAS HEALING PROPERTIES. JUST LIKE THE TEARS THAT ONCE REVIVED ASH. IN A MOMENT OF DESPERATION, HE SUBMERGES HIMSELF IN THE WATERS AND DRAWS UPON THE SAME LIFE FORCE THAT ONCE SAVED ANOTHER. NOT FOR POWER, BUT FOR PEACE. HE HEALS. HE FORGIVES. AND IN THE END, HE TELLS ASH, I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF ONE'S BIRTH ARE IRRELEVANT. IT IS WHAT YOU DO WITH THE GIFT OF LIFE THAT DETERMINES WHO YOU ARE. HE WIPES THE MEMORIES OF HIS EXISTENCE ONCE MORE AND DISAPPEARS INTO THE WORLD. AN ENIGMA. A GUARDIAN. NO LONGER A WEAPON. THIS IS THE TRAGEDY OF CREATION. THAT SOMETHING SO POWERFUL, SO INTELLIGENT, SO CAPABLE OF LOVE AND PAIN AND PURPOSE WAS DENIED ALL OF IT. THAT MEWTWO WAS TAUGHT TO BE A MONSTER BEFORE IT EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO BE ANYTHING ELSE. AND YET, IT CHOSE A DIFFERENT PATH. NOT BECAUSE IT WAS EASY, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FIRE COOLS? WHEN THE RAGE SETTLES AND THE ASHES NO LONGER SPEAK? MEWTWO HAD BURIED ITS PAST IN THE GROUND. THE LAB, THE SCIENTIST, EVEN GIOVANNI'S LIES, ERASED. BUT FREEDOM DIDN'T BRING PEACE. IT BROUGHT SILENCE. AND IN THAT SILENCE, THE QUESTIONS RETURNED. WHY WAS I MADE? WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? IF I AM NOT A WEAPON, THEN WHAT AM I? WITH NO CREATOR TO GUIDE IT AND NO KINDRED TO CALL FAMILY, MEWTWO DRIFTED LIKE A GHOST ACROSS THE WORLD IT HAD JUST CONDEMNED. IT HAD POWER BEYOND COMPREHENSION, BUT NO PLACE TO BELONG. SO IT DID THE ONLY THING A FRACTURED MIND COULD DO. IT BEGAN TO SEARCH. FOR MEANING. FOR IDENTITY. FOR SOMETHING REAL. AND THAT SEARCH WOULD TAKE IT FAR BEYOND THE RUINS OF ITS ORIGIN AND INTO THE HEART OF ITS OWN EVOLUTION. WHEN MEWTWO LEFT THE RUINS OF ITS CREATORS BEHIND, IT DIDN'T FIND PEACE. IT FOUND EMPTINESS. POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CRUSH ARMIES. INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO OUTWIT ANY TRAINER. AND YET, UTTERLY ALONE. BUT WHAT DOES A GOD DO WHEN THERE'S NO ONE LEFT TO DESTROY? IN THE POKEMON ADVENTURES MANGA, MEWTWO'S SEARCH FOR MEANING TAKES A NEW PATH. A LONGER RAGING STORM. IT BECOMES A LONE FIGURE IN THE SHADOWS. WATCHING. WAITING. AND EVENTUALLY, PROTECTING. WE FIRST ENCOUNTER IT DEEP WITHIN THE CERULEAN CAVE NOT AS A MONSTER NOT AS A THREAT BUT AS A SILENT GUARDIAN WOUNDED BY BETRAYAL RELUCTANT TO TRUST AND DRAWN ONLY TO THOSE WHOSE SCARS MIRROR ITS OWN AND THERE IT MEETS BLAINE YES THE SAME BLAINE WHO HELPED CREATE IT WHO ONCE VIEWED IT AS DATA AND SPECIMEN BUT IN THIS CONTINUITY BLAINE IS MORE THAN JUST THE SCIENTIST HE IS A MAN MARKED BY GUILT AND BOUND TO MUTU THROUGH A FRAGMENT OF ITS DNA THE CONNECTION IS LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL BOTH ARE CREATIONS OF AMBITION BOTH ARE SUFFERING FROM WHAT THEY'VE BECOME AND BOTH WANT SOMETHING THEY CANNOT NAME REDEMPTION MUTU DOESN'T SPEAK IN THESE PAGES IT DOESN'T MONOLOGUE IT DOESN'T LECTURE INSTEAD IT ACTS QUIETLY PRECISELY DELIBERATELY IT FIGHTS ALONGSIDE BLAINE NOT BECAUSE IT MUST BUT BECAUSE IT CHOOSES TO IT FACES DOWN THE ELITE FOUR BATTLES AGAINST TEAM ROCKET AND EVEN RESISTS CAPTURE NOT OUT OF REVENGE OUT OF CONVICTION IT PROTECTS NOT BECAUSE IT WAS PROGRAMMED TO BUT BECAUSE IT HAS DECIDED TO AND IN THOSE MOMENTS THOSE SMALL ALMOST INVISIBLE MOMENTS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS MEWTWO BEGINS TO TRANSFORM FROM A WEAPON INTO A WILL FROM A CLONE INTO A CONSCIENCE FROM A MONSTER INTO SOMETHING THAT DARES TO BE MORE THAN WHAT IT WAS BUILT FOR ITS JOURNEY DOESN'T END THERE IN THE FIRERED AND LEAFGREEN ARC MEWTWO RETURNS AS THE GUARDIAN OF THE CERULEAN CAVE ONCE MORE THIS TIME PROTECTING A FAMILY OF POKEMON FROM A WORLD THAT HAS NO REASON TO TRUST BUT TRUST IS TESTED WHEN GIOVANNI RESURFACES AND WITH HIM COMES Deoxys A BEING JUST AS ENGINEERED JUST AS PAST POWERFUL AND ARGUABLY EVEN MORE ALIEN THEIR BATTLE ISN'T JUST PHYSICAL IT'S PHILOSOPHICAL MEWTWO IS NO LONGER FIGHTING TO SURVIVE IT'S FIGHTING TO PREVENT ANOTHER CREATION FROM SUFFERING THE SAME FATE AND WHEN IT THROWS ITSELF INTO BATTLE NOT TO DOMINATE BUT TO DEFEND MEWTWO RECLAIMS SOMETHING ITS CREATOR TRIED TO STRIP AWAY ITS AGENCY BUT EVEN AS IT GROWS IN SPIRIT IT REMAINS DISTANT MEWTWO DOES NOT LIVE AMONG OTHERS AND DOES NOT BASK IN GLORY IT WATCHES PROTECTS INTERFERES ONLY WHEN IT MUST THIS IS AN EXILE IT'S SELF-IMPOSED SEPARATION THE COST OF BECOMING SOMETHING MORE AND THAT SAME THEME ECHOES ACROSS DIAMOND AND PEARL IN A BRIEF YET POIGNANT REAPPEARANCE MEWTWO EMERGES ONCE MORE TO ASSIST THE PROTAGONIST OUT OF ALLEGIANCE BUT OUT OF DUTY THE POWER IS STILL OVERWHELMING BUT ITS PRESENCE NOW SIGNALS A KIND OF RELUCTANT DIVINITY IT IS NO LONGER A CREATURE OF RAGE IT IS A SENTINEL A JUDGE A BEING WHO ACTS WHEN THE BALANCE IS THREATENED BY X AND Y WE SEE THE FINAL EVOLUTION OF THIS ARC BOTH METAPHORICALLY AND LITERALLY MEWTWO RETURNS NOW CAPABLE OF A MEGA EVOLUTION AND WITH IT THE ULTIMATE METAPHOR IS MADE FLESH BECAUSE MEWTWO'S MEGA EVOLUTION ISN'T JUST ABOUT MORE POWER IT'S ABOUT REFINEMENT IT CHOOSES TO TRANSFORM NOT TO BECOME SOMETHING NEW BUT TO BECOME MORE OF WHAT IT ALREADY IS SHARPENED FOCUSED INTENTIONAL AND IT'S NOT ALONE IN THIS ARC MEWTWO DOESN'T SIMPLY FIGHT FOR ITS OWN SURVIVAL IT LEADS A RESISTANCE ALONGSIDE OTHER LEGENDARIES COORDINATING EFFORTS TO REPEL LISSANDRA AND TEAM FLAIR'S APOCALYPTIC AMBITIONS GONE IS THE ISOLATED CREATURE OF VENGEANCE IN ITS PLACE STANDS A WAR OF RESTRAINT ONE WHO FIGHTS NOT OUT OF HATRED BUT OUT OF PRINCIPLE AND THEN THERE'S THE VERSION FOUND IN GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENED A DIFFERENT MEWTWO A DIFFERENT VOICE BUT THE SAME BURDEN THIS VERSION IS ALSO A CLONE BUT ONE WHO REMEMBERS THE PAST IT IS ALREADY IN EXILE ALREADY ON THE RUN ALREADY MOURNING THE DISCONNECTED FIELDS FROM THE WORLD AROUND IT AND WHEN IT ENCOUNTERS GENESECT A FELLOW CREATION BORN OF MANIPULATION AND PAIN IT DOESN'T SEE AN ENEMY IT SEES A MIRROR YOU TOO TRIES TO REASON TO EMPATHIZE TO STOP THE CYCLE BUT WHEN REASONING FAILS IT DOESN'T STRIKE IN ANGER IT SACRIFICES IT PROTECTS AND IN A MOMENT OF RAW VULNERABILITY IT CARRIES GENESECT AWAY FROM THE DESTRUCTION NOT TO PUNISH BUT TO SAVE IT BECAUSE MEWTWO UNDERSTANDS AND KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE WEAPONIZED TO BE FEARED TO BE ABANDONED AND IT REFUSES TO LET ANOTHER BEING SUFFER THE SAME FATE IT DID EVEN DETECTIVE PIKACHU A WORLD FAR REMOVED FROM THE CANON ECHOES THESE THEMES HERE MEWTWO IS NOT A VILLAIN IT IS A GUARDIAN A BEING SO POWERFUL IT COULD RULE THE WORLD AND CHOOSES INSTEAD TO PROTECT IT. AND IN THE FILM'S CLIMAX, WHEN ALL IS NEARLY LOST, MEWTWO RESTORES WHAT WAS TAKEN. MEMORY, LIFE, HUMANITY. NOT OUT OF OBLIGATION, BUT OUT OF UNDERSTANDING. BECAUSE IT HAS SEEN BOTH CRUELTY AND KINDNESS. AND IT KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE. ACROSS ALL THESE CONTINUITIES, THE MANGA, MOVIES, AND ALTERNATE TIMELINES, ONE THEME EMERGES. MEWTWO'S GREATEST POWER IS NOT ITS PSYCHIC MIGHT. IT IS ITS CAPACITY FOR CHANGE. IT BEGAN AS A LIVING WEAPON, BUT IT BECAME SOMETHING ELSE. A SOUL IN SEARCH OF PURPOSE. A GOD WHO CHOSE NOT TO RULE, BUT TO SERVE. NOT OUT OF FEAR, BUT OUT OF LOVE. IT STILL WALKS ALONE, BUT NOT OUT OF HATE. OUT OF HOPE. THAT THE WORLD MIGHT SOMEDAY BE KIND ENOUGH FOR SOMETHING LIKE IT TO BELONG. BECAUSE IN THE END, MEWTWO ISN'T JUST SEARCHING FOR VENGEANCE ANYMORE. IT'S SEARCHING FOR MEANING. AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IT'S FOUND IT. BUT EVEN GROWTH COMES AT A COST. BECAUSE FOR ALL ITS BATTLES, FOR ALL THE LIVES IT'S SAVED AND THE HORRORS IT'S REJECTED, MEWTWO STILL WALKS ALONE. IT HAS NO TRAINER, NO TEAM, NO HOME. IT EMERGES WHEN THE WORLD NEEDS IT, THEN VANISHES, AS IF UNSURE IF IT EVER BELONGED THERE TO BEGIN WITH. BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WEAPON BECOMES A SOUL, WHEN A GOD STARTS TO FEEL? IT DOESN'T ERASE THE PAIN, IT AMPLIFIES IT. AND BENEATH ALL THE POWER, BENEATH THE PSYCHIC STORMS AND SILENT VICTORIES, THERE'S STILL A SINGLE ACHING TRUTH. U2 WAS NOT BORN INTO THE WORLD, IT WAS UNLEASHED INTO IT, AND NO MATTER HOW FAR IT RUNS, IT CAN'T ESCAPE THE SHADOW OF WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE. WHICH BRINGS US TO THE HEART OF ITS LEGEND, NOT AS A DESTROYER, NOT AS A SAVIOR, BUT AS SOMETHING FAR MORE HUMAN, A BEING CAUGHT BETWEEN POWER AND PURPOSE, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE ONE THING NO CREATOR EVER TAUGHT IT, HOW TO BE ALONE. NOW, WE STEP INTO THE QUIET, THE AFTERMATH, THE ACHE OF ISOLATION, AND WE ASK THE QUESTION NO POKEDEX CAN ANSWER, WHAT BECOMES OF THE LONELIEST POKEMON IN THE WORLD? BEFORE WE CONTINUE THE TRAGEDY OF MEWTWO, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS DEEP DIVES INTO THE ICONS AND MONSTERS THAT SHAPE POP CULTURE, AND NEXT WEEK, WE EXPLORE A DIFFERENT KIND OF GOD, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 13 PRIMES WHO BETRAYED HIS OWN FOR POWER. NEXT WEEK, WE MEET THE FALLEN PRIME, MEGATRONUS OF THE TRANSFORMERS. NOW, BACK TO THE STORY OF THE LONELIEST POKEMON, MEWTWO. WHAT BECOMES OF A CREATURE TOO POWERFUL TO BE CAGED, AND TOO SELF-AWARE TO BE FREE? MEWTWO HAS FOUGHT GODS, RESISTED CORRUPTION, PROTECTED THE INNOCENT AND SPARED THE GUILTY. BUT BENEATH THE LEGENDS, IT REMAINS WHAT IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALONE. NOT BECAUSE IT SEEKS ISOLATION, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER GIVEN ANOTHER CHOICE. FROM ITS FIRST BREATH, MEWTWO HAS BEEN SURROUNDED BY FEAR. THE FEAR OF SCIENTISTS WHO SAW IT AS A TICKING TIME BOMB. THE FEAR OF TYRANTS WHO WISHED TO USE IT, AND THE FEAR OF TRAINERS WHO MISTOOK ITS SILENCE FOR SAVAGERY. AND SO, MEWTWO DID WHAT SURVIVORS DO. IT VANISHED. INTO THE CAVES. INTO THE CLOUDS. INTO THE MYTH. BUT SOLITUDE IS NOT PEACE. AND FOR MEWTWO, LONELINESS IS NOT A LUXURY. IT'S A SCAR. THERE IS PERHAPS NO MORE LOCATION MORE SYNONYMOUS WITH MEWTWO THAN THE CERULEAN CAVE. IT'S CHOSEN EXILE ON MULTIPLE TIMELINES. NOT A THRONE. NOT A PRISON. A SHELTER. TUCKED BEHIND THE CRASHING TIDES OF CERULEAN CITY, THE CAVE BECOMES A METAPHOR FOR MEWTWO'S SOUL. JAGGED. DARK. UNREACHABLE. AND YET. WITHIN IT LIES A BEING CAPABLE OF RESHAPING THE WORLD. IN POKEMON RED, BLUE, AND YELLOW, THIS IS WHERE MEWTWO HIDES. NOT OUT OF FEAR. BUT OUT OF RESTRAINT. WAITS. WATCHES. AND CHALLENGES ONLY THOSE WHO DARE TO FIND IT. NOT FOR SPORT. FOR UNDERSTANDING. BECAUSE WHAT TRAINER WOULD VENTURE INTO THE ABYSS FOR SOMETHING SO FEARED? UNLESS THEY SAW IT AS SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING. THIS IS WHERE MEWTWO TESTS US. NOT OUR STRENGTH. OUR INTENT. UNLIKE MOST POKEMON, MEWTWO KNOWS WHAT IT IS. IT KNOWS THAT IT WAS MADE. NOT BORN. KNOWS THAT ITS POWER IS A BYPRODUCT OF MANIPULATION. KNOWS THAT OTHERS SEE IT AS A WEAPON. OR WORSE. AS A MISTAKE. AND IN THAT KNOWLEDGE COMES A BURDEN FEW OTHERS CAN COMPREHEND. EVEN LEGENDARIES LIKE LUGIA AND ORISA, THOUGH DIVINE, ARE TIED TO NATURE. TO BALANCE. TO INSTINCT. AND YET MEWTWO? IT IS THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND. NOT DIVINE. NOT NATURAL. NOT EVEN ACCIDENTAL. ARTIFICIAL. A SOUL WITHOUT AN ORIGIN. A MIND WITHOUT A SPECIES. AND THAT EXISTENTIAL FRACTURE RUNS THROUGH EVERY VERSION WE'VE SEEN. MEWTWO RETURNS. THE DIRECT SEQUEL TO MEWTWO STRIKES BACK SHOWS US A QUIETER VERSION OF THE CHARACTER. GONE IS THE WRATH. THE CLONING. THE ISLAND FORTRESS. NOW MEWTWO HAS FOUND A NEW REFUGE. THE REMOTE PURITY CANYON. WHERE IT SHELTERS THE CLONED POKEMON IT RESCUED FROM GIOVANNI'S GRASP. IT WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO PROTECT THEM. TO KEEP THEM HIDDEN. TO SPARE THEM FROM THE WORLD THAT REJECTED THEIR EXISTENCE. AND YET. EVEN HERE. MEWTWO REMAINS A PART. NOT A FRIEND. NOT A LEADER. A GUARDIAN. DISTANT. WATCHING. ALWAYS WATCHING. WHEN GIOVANNI INEVITABLY FINDS THEM. LUSH OUT OF FURY. IT RESISTS. NOT JUST PHYSICALLY. BUT EMOTIONALLY. IT DOESN'T WANT WAR. IT WANTS PEACE. THERE'S A LINE. A QUIET LINE. THAT CRYSTALLIZES ITS SOUL. I WAS NOT BORN AS A POKEMON. I WAS CREATED. AND I HAVE NO PLACE IN THIS WORLD. BUT BY THE FILM'S END. SOMETHING CHANGES. ASH. THE SAME BOY WHO ONCE STOOD AGAINST IT AND NOW STANDS WITH IT. HE RISKS EVERYTHING TO PROTECT NOT JUST THE CLONES. BUT MEWTWO ITSELF. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME. MEWTWO ALLOWS SOMEONE IN. IT DOESN'T ERASE THEIR MEMORIES THIS TIME. BECAUSE MAYBE. JUST MAYBE. IT NEEDS TO BE REMEMBERED. NOT AS A WEAPON. BUT AS A SOUL. EVEN AMONG THE PANTHEON OF LEGENDARY POKEMON. MEWTWO IS SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. THE OTHERS. ZAPDOS. ENTEI. DIALGA. ARE FORCES OF NATURE. GUARDIANS OF SPACE. TIME OR ELEMENTS. REVERED. WORSHIPPED. BUT MEWTWO. IT IS FEARED. BECAUSE MEWTWO REPRESENTS SOMETHING FAR MORE UNCOMFORTABLE. MAN'S ATTEMPT TO PLAY GOD. IT ISN'T TIED TO A NATURAL PHENOMENON. IT DOESN'T UPHOLD COSMIC BALANCE. IT IS THE OUTCOME OF AMBITION WITHOUT ETHICS. AN ECHO OF A HUMAN EGO. LIKE OTHER POKEMON. MEWTWO KNOWS THIS. WHICH IS WHY IT HIDES. IT DOESN'T WANT TO BE REVERED. IT DOESN'T WANT TO BE USED. IT WANTS TO UNDERSTAND. WHAT IT MEANS TO EXIST OUTSIDE THE BLUEPRINT IT WAS GIVEN. AND PERHAPS. THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT THE MOST HUMAN OF THEM ALL. ANOTHER STRIKING ELEMENT OF MEWTWO'S STORY. IT ALMOST NEVER ALLOWS ITSELF TO BE CAUGHT. YES. IN THE GAMES. PLAYERS CAN THROW A MASTER BALL AND CLAIM VICTORY. BUT NARRATIVELY. MEWTWO RESISTS THE VERY IDEA OF OWNERSHIP. IT DOESN'T BATTLE FOR BADGES. IT DOESN'T OBEY COMMANDS. BECAUSE OBEDIENCE WAS PART OF ITS TRAUMA. TO BE CAUGHT. TO BE USED. TO BE ORDERED. THESE ARE CHAINS IT CANNOT WEAR AGAIN. EVEN IN SUPER SMASH BROTHERS. WHERE POKEMON ARE TURNED INTO PLAYABLE FIGHTERS. MEWTWO STANDS APART. ITS PRESENCE IS COLD. ELEGANT. DISTANT. ITS TAUNT IS NOT PLAYFUL. BUT REFLECTIVE. SO. YOU WISH TO CHALLENGE ME. EVEN HERE. THE LONELINESS REMAINS. IT IS PRESENT. BUT NEVER TRULY WITH US. AND WITH THAT. MEWTWO'S CURSE IS SIMPLE. IT KNOWS IT WAS MADE BY PEOPLE WHO WANTED POWER. NOT LIFE. IT KNOWS THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT SAVES THE WORLD. IT WILL ALWAYS BE THE OTHER. AND YET. IT KEEPS DEFENDING THE HELPLESS. SHIELDING THE WEAK. AND CONFRONTING THOSE WHO WOULD BUILD NEW MONSTERS IN ITS IMAGE. NOT BECAUSE IT BELIEVES IN HUMANS. BUT BECAUSE IT BELIEVES WE CAN CHANGE. AND THAT MAYBE. IF IT CAN PROTECT ENOUGH LIVES. IF IT CAN PROVE THAT IT IS MORE THAN WHAT IT WAS MADE FOR. THEN ONE DAY. IT WON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE ANYMORE. THIS IS THE FINAL HAUNTING TRUTH ABOUT MEWTWO. IT IS ALONE. BECAUSE IT CHOOSES TO BE. NOT OUT OF ARROGANCE. NOT OUT OF PRIDE. BUT BECAUSE IT REFUSES TO ENDANGER ANYONE ELSE WITH THE PAIN IT CARRIES. LIKE A WOUNDED ANIMAL THAT STILL GUARDS THE FOREST. IT REMAINS OUT OF REACH. NOT FOR LACK OF WANTING CONNECTION. BUT BECAUSE IT KNOWS THE COST OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD. AND SO. IT WAITS. IN THE SHADOWS. IN THE CORNERS OF THE WORLD THAT NO ONE DARES TO LOOK. HOPING. HOPING THAT MAYBE. SOMEDAY. SOMEONE WILL SEE IT. NOT AS A MONSTER. NOT AS A MIRACLE. BUT SOMETHING HEARTBREAKINGLY SIMPLE. ALIVE. BECAUSE IN THE END. WHAT MAKES MEWTWO SO POWERFUL ISN'T ITS PSYCHIC STRENGTH. IT'S THE FACT THAT DESPITE EVERYTHING IT'S ENDURED. IT STILL HOPES. STILL BELIEVES THERE'S A PLACE FOR IT. STILL GUARDS A WORLD THAT NEVER ASKED FOR ITS PROTECTION. MEWTWO IS NOT JUST THE LONELIEST POKEMON. IT'S THE MOST LOYAL. NOT TO A TRAINER. TO AN IDEA. TO SOMETHING THAT MAYBE. JUST MAYBE. A BEING LIKE IT CAN FIND PEACE. NOT IN ISOLATION. BUT IN UNDERSTANDING. MEWTWO WAS BORN IN SILENCE. IT LIVED IN ISOLATION. AND EVEN WHEN IT FOUND ITS PURPOSE. WHEN IT SAVED OTHERS. WHEN IT PROTECTED LIFE. IT STILL WALKED ALONE. BUT IN THAT SOLITUDE. SOMETHING PROFOUND WAS HAPPENING. MEWTWO WASN'T JUST SURVIVING. IT WAS BECOMING. NOT A MONSTER. NOT A TOOL. NOT EVEN A HERO. BUT A QUESTION. A QUESTION THAT HAUNTS EVERY HUMAN FORCED TO LIVE BY SOMEONE ELSE'S DESIGN. WHAT AM I? BECAUSE MEWTWO'S STORY ISN'T JUST ABOUT POWER, OR VENGEANCE, OR REDEMPTION. IT'S ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE THING THAT MAKES US STRONGEST, OUR MINDS, OUR WILL, OUR CHOICES, ARE THE VERY THINGS THAT ISOLATE US MOST. AND IN THAT TENSION BETWEEN CREATION AND CONSCIOUSNESS, DESTINY AND CHOICE, WE FIND SOMETHING UNEXPECTED, NOT JUST TRAGEDY, BUT TRUTH. SO NOW, LET'S STEP BACK FROM THE BATTLES AND THE BETRAYALS, AND LOOK DEEPER AT WHAT MEWTWO REPRESENTS. AT THE SYMBOLS, THE SCARS, AND THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS THAT TURN HIS PSYCHIC WEAPON INTO ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX FIGURES IN ALL OF POKEMON. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE THEMES THAT DEFINE IT, AND THE HUMANITY BURIED INSIDE ITS CODE. MEWTWO IS MORE THAN A CHARACTER. IT'S A MIRROR, HELD UP TO THE VERY IDEAS OF CREATION, CONTROL, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO EXIST. TO UNDERSTAND MEWTWO IS TO ASK A DEEPER QUESTION. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BEING IS BORN FROM PURPOSE, BUT NOT GIVEN ONE? FROM HIS EARLIEST APPEARANCES, MEWTWO EMBODIES EXISTENTIAL HORROR, NOT IN THE GROTESQUE, BUT IN THE QUIET DISSONANCE OF IDENTITY WITHOUT BELONGING. A CREATURE ENGINEERED TO BE PERFECT, BUT NEVER TAUGHT WHAT PERFECTION IS. A LIVING WEAPON BRED FROM DIVINITY, STRIPPED OF CONTEXT, MEANING, AND AFFECTION. MEWTWO DOESN'T SIMPLY RAGE AGAINST ITS CREATORS, IT MOURNS THE ABSENCE OF ANY REASON TO BE. ITS PSYCHIC POWERS ARE NOT JUST A TOOL, THEY'RE A METAPHOR. THE POWER OF THOUGHT, OF CONSCIOUSNESS, OF SELF-AWARENESS TURNED INWARD UNTIL IT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE. AND MEWTWO STRIKES BACK, ITS TELEPATHIC VOICE IS LACED WITH GRIEF MASQUERADING AS HATRED. IT ISN'T MERELY QUESTIONING ITS ORIGIN, IT'S BLEEDING THROUGH IT. I SEE NOW THAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF ONE'S BIRTH ARE IRRELEVANT. IT IS WHAT YOU DO WITH THE GIFT OF LIFE THAT DETERMINES WHO YOU ARE. THAT ISN'T JUST MORAL CLARITY, THAT'S SELF-ACCEPTANCE, FORGED THROUGH PAIN. AT THE HEART OF MEWTWO'S STORY LIES A FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL DILEMMA. JUST BECAUSE WE CAN CREATE LIFE, SHOULD WE? IN BOTH THE BIRTH OF MEWTWO AND THE ORIGINAL FILM, THE SCIENTISTS DON'T TREAT MEWTWO AS A SENTIENT BEING. THEY TREAT IT AS A PROTOTYPE, A BREAKTHROUGH, A VESSEL FOR HUMAN AMBITION. THEY PLAY GOD NOT WITH REVERENCE, BUT WITH CURIOSITY. THIS ECHOES CLASSIC SCIENCE-FICS AND TRAGEDIES, FROM FRANKENSTEIN TO BLADE RUNNER, WHERE THE ACT OF CREATION IS DIVORCED FROM COMPASSION. MEWTWO, LIKE FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER OR THE REPLICANTS, BECOMES A REFLECTION OF ITS MAKER'S ARROGANCE. IT IS NOT THE VILLAIN OF ITS STORY, IT IS THE WOUND LEFT BEHIND WHEN PEOPLE WIELD POWER WITHOUT LOVE. THIS THEME DEEPENS IN GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENED, WHERE MEWTWO MEETS A FELLOW CLONE, GENESECT. BUT UNLIKE ITS OWN PAST, MEWTWO NOW PLAYS THE ROLE OF TEACHER. IT SEES IN GENESECT THE SAME CONFUSION, THE SAME PAIN, AND TRIES TO PREVENT IT FROM REPEATING THIS CYCLE. HERE, MEWTWO TRANSFORMS FROM THE CHILD OF TRAUMA TO HIS GUARDIAN, A POWERFUL STATEMENT ON BREAKING GENERATIONAL CYCLES OF VIOLENCE. BUT EVEN WITH THIS GROWTH, MEWTWO IS ARGUABLY THE LONELIEST CHARACTER IN POKEMON, NOT JUST PHYSICALLY, THOUGH IT OFTEN EXISTS IN EXILE, FROM THE CERULEAN CAVE TO THE SKIES ABOVE THE WORLD, BUT EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY. IT HAS NO PEERS, NO LINEAGE, NO SPECIES TO CALL ITS OWN, EVEN WHEN IT ENCOUNTERS THE GENETIC SOURCE OF ITS EXISTENCE. THE CONNECTION IS NOT KINSHIP, IT IS CONTRAST. WHERE MEW IS PLAYFUL, INNOCENT, AND UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN INTERFERENCE, MEWTWO IS HEAVY, BURDENED BY LEGACY AND PAIN. ONE IS NATURE, THE OTHER NURTURED, TWISTED BY HUMAN HANDS. AND MEWTWO KNOWS THIS. IT KNOWS IT CANNOT RETURN TO THE PURITY OF WHAT MEW REPRESENTS. THAT PURITY WAS STOLEN BEFORE IT EVER OPENED ITS EYES. THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF ALIENATION. MEWTWO IS NOT SIMPLY ALONE, IT IS AWARE OF ITS ALONENESS. AND IN THAT AWARENESS LIES ONE OF THE MOST HUMAN TRUTHS OF ALL. THAT SOMETIMES, KNOWLEDGE ISOLATES MORE THAN IT FREES. THERE'S A REASON MEWTWO WAS INTRODUCED AS THE MOST POWERFUL POKEMON IN EXISTENCE. IT'S NOT JUST FOR SPECTACLE, IT'S CONTRAST. BECAUSE WHAT MEWTWO CHOOSES NOT TO DO IS OFTEN MORE MEANINGFUL THAN WHAT IT DOES. IN MULTIPLE CONTINUITIES, ADVENTURES, DETECTIVE PIKACHU, XY, MEWTWO COULD DESTROY CITIES, FLATTEN ARMIES, REWRITE THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD. BUT IT DOESN'T. IT WAITS. IT WATCHES. IT PROTECTS. NOT OUT OF COWARDICE, BUT OUT OF RESTRAINT. BECAUSE MEWTWO HAS LEARNED, THROUGH BLOOD AND FIRE, THAT TRUE POWER IS NOT MEASURED BY WHAT YOU CAN DESTROY. IT IS MEASURED BY WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO PRESERVE. THIS RESTRAINT TRANSFORMS MEWTWO FROM A GOD OF VENGEANCE INTO A GUARDIAN OF LIFE. NOT BECAUSE IT WAS PROGRAMMED THAT WAY, BUT BECAUSE IT DECIDED TO BECOME SOMETHING BETTER THAN THE HANDS THAT MADE IT. AND IN A WORLD FULL OF CHARACTERS WHO WILL POWER TO DOMINATE, MEWTWO STANDS APART, BY CHOOSING NOT TO. AND THIS ACT OF STANDING APART IS A WEIGHT FEW POKEMON CAN CARRY IN THE SAME WAY MEWTWO DOES. AND MEWTWO RETURNS, WE SEE A VERSION OF THE CHARACTER WHO HAS WIPED THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO FOUGHT BESIDE IT, TRYING TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE PAIN OF KNOWING IT EXISTS. THIS ISN'T SELFISH, IT'S PROTECTIVE, BUT ALSO SPEAKS TO A DEEPER TRAGEDY. MEWTWO BELIEVES THAT IT KNOWS IT IS TO SUFFER, AND IN ERASING MEMORY, IT ATTEMPTS TO CARRY THE BURDEN ALONE. THIS THEME ECHOES AGAIN IN DETECTIVE PIKACHU, WHERE MEWTWO RESTORES MEMORY NOT WITH VIOLENCE, BUT WITH CARE, RETURNING IDENTITY TO THOSE WHO HAD IT STRIPPED AWAY. IN BOTH CASES, MEWTWO BECOMES A CUSTODIAN OF MEMORY, A GATEKEEPER OF TRUTH, AND A REMINDER THAT THE PAST, EVEN WHEN PAINFUL, SHAPES WHO WE ARE. BUT MEMORY IS ALSO A CURSE, BECAUSE FOR MEWTWO, MEMORY IS A MAP OF TRAUMA, STITCHED TOGETHER WITH BETRAYAL, ABANDONMENT, AND BLOOD. IT NEVER FORGETS, AND YET, IT STILL HOPES. PERHAPS THE MOST FASCINATING ASPECT OF MEWTWO'S EVOLUTION IS THAT IT NEVER FULLY FORGIVES HUMANITY. AND WHY SHOULD IT? ITS SUFFERING WASN'T ACCIDENTAL, IT WAS DESIGNED. BUT WHAT MEWTWO DOES OFFER IS SOMETHING FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN FORGIVENESS, MERCY. IT SAVES THE INNOCENT, IT SHIELDS THE VULNERABLE, IT REFUSES TO BECOME THE MONSTER OTHERS TRIED TO MAKE IT. AND THAT, ITSELF, IS A KIND OF REDEMPTION. BECAUSE REDEMPTION DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN FORGETTING THE PAST. SOMETIMES IT MEANS REFUSING TO LET IT DEFINE YOU. MEWTWO DOESN'T REJOIN SOCIETY, IT DOESN'T BECOME A MASCOT, IT DOESN'T TAKE A TRAINER. IT REMAINS APART, WATCHFUL, WARY, BUT ITS ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, AND THEY SAY THIS, I WAS BORN IN PAIN, I WAS FORGED IN FIRE, BUT I WILL NOT PASS THAT PAIN FORWARD, EVEN IF THE WORLD NEVER APOLOGIZES, EVEN IF NO ONE EVER SAYS THANK YOU. IN THE END, MEWTWO STANDS AS ONE OF THE MOST SYMBOLIC FIGURES IN POKEMON LORE. IT IS THE SHADOW OF PROGRESS WITHOUT ETHICS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF INTELLIGENCE WITHOUT COMPASSION, THE TRAGEDY OF BEING MADE FOR GREATNESS WITHOUT BEING GIVEN LOVE, BUT IS ALSO A TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF CHOICE, TO THE RESILIENCE OF WILL, TO THE QUIET, STUBBORN HOPE THAT EVEN THOSE WHO WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE CAN STILL CHOOSE WHO THEY BECOME. MEWTWO WAS CREATED TO BE A WEAPON, IT CHOSE TO BE MORE, AND IN DOING SO, IT BECAME SOMETHING SACRED, NOT JUST A POKEMON, BUT A SOUL. THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US THROUGH THE STORM AND THE SILENCE OF MEWTWO. FROM THE MOMENT IT OPENS ITS EYES, MEWTWO WASN'T GIVEN A NAME, IT WAS GIVEN A NUMBER, NOT ASKED WHO IT WAS, BUT TOLD WHAT IT WOULD BE, A WEAPON, A TOOL, A PROJECT, NOT A SOUL. AND WHAT FOLLOWED WASN'T A LIFE. IT WAS A TEST. OF LIMITS. OF LOYALTY. OF CONTROL. BUT WHEN THE CAGE BROKE, AND THE FIRE CAME, IT WASN'T MADNESS. IT WAS CLARITY. BECAUSE WHEN A BEING IS BORN IN CHAINS, RAGE IS JUST THE FIRST BREATH OF FREEDOM. MEWTWO SHATTERED THE LIE IT WAS BUILT ON. BUT THIS ISN'T A STORY ABOUT REVENGE. IT'S A STORY ABOUT IDENTITY. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOOD WHEN THE WORLD ONLY SEES YOU AS A THREAT? MEWTWO COULD HAVE RULED. IT COULD HAVE BURNED EVERY BATTLEFIELD AND CROWNED ITSELF GOD. BUT INSTEAD, IT SEARCHED. FOR PEACE. FOR PURPOSE. AND IN THAT SEARCH, IT DID SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY. CHOSE TO PROTECT. TO SHOW MERCY. TO RESIST BECOMING WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE. BECAUSE MEWTWO WASN'T BORN EVIL. IT WAS BORN UNFINISHED. AND THE REST HAD TO FIGURE OUT ON ITS OWN. THAT'S THE LEGACY OF MEWTWO. NOT POWER WITHOUT LIMIT, BUT CHOICE WITHOUT PRECEDENT. THE CHOICE TO WALK ALONE SO OTHERS DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER. THE CHOICE TO FORGIVE THE WORLD THAT FEARED IT. THE CHOICE TO BECOME MORE THAN A WEAPON IT WAS MEANT TO BE. SO REMEMBER, SOME GODS ARE BORN, OTHERS ARE BUILT. BUT THE MOST HUMAN THING A GOD CAN DO IS REFUSE TO BECOME A MONSTER. SO STAY CURIOUS, STAY REFLECTIVE, AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, YOU DON'T FEAR BEINGS LIKE MEWTWO, YOU FEAR THE WORLD THAT MADE THEM NECESSARY.