Armored Mewtwo is once again appearing in Pokémon Go, marking its return after a six-year absence. This special variant was originally released in 2019 to promote the movie "Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution" and made a brief reappearance during the 2020 Pokémon Day event. Due to its scarcity, Armored Mewtwo has become one of the game's rarest Pokémon, primarily accessible to players who started after its initial raid appearances or through trading.
The opportunity to encounter Armored Mewtwo is part of the Go Fest 2026: Mega Finale event. It will be featured in five-star raids on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, with availability scheduled from 10 AM to 6 PM local time on both days.
Battling Armored Mewtwo
Armored Mewtwo is a Psychic-type Pokémon, making it weak to Ghost and Dark-type attacks, while resistant to Fighting, Psychic, and Fairy-type moves. When selecting counters, Ghost and Dark-types are generally recommended due to the wider availability of powerful options compared to Bug-types, which are often dominated by Mega Evolutions and Shadow variants.
Mega Gengar is highlighted as the premier Mega Evolution counter, offering a significant boost to other Ghost-type Pokémon in battle. Other potential Mega counters include Mega Beedrill with the Charged Attack Fell String+ and Mega Houndoom with Dark Pulse+. For non-Mega options, Dawn Wings Necrozma is considered the best Ghost-type and a top-tier Pokémon overall. Other strong Ghost-type choices include Lunala, Dragapult, and Chandelure (both regular and Shadow variants). Dark-type contenders include Darkrai (Shadow and regular), Tyranitar, Shadow Absol, Shadow Hydreigon, and Kingambit. Shadow Scizor and Shadow Pinsir are viable Bug-type options, alongside Volcarona and Genesect.
Armored Mewtwo Stats and Moveset
Compared to its regular counterpart, Armored Mewtwo boasts a higher Defense stat (278) at the cost of a lower Attack stat (182). Its Speed stat is 214. The recommended moveset for Armored Mewtwo involves Confusion as its Fast Move and Psystrike as its Charged Attack. Psystrike requires an Elite Charged TM, but Future Sight serves as a viable alternative Charged Attack. Other available moves include Iron Tail (Fast), Dynamic Punch, Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Future Sight (Charged).
The CP range for Armored Mewtwo as a raid boss is 41,299. When catching it, players can expect a Normal CP range between 1740 and 1821, and a Weather Boosted (Windy) CP range from 2175 to 2276.
Shiny Availability
Currently, Armored Mewtwo is not available in its shiny form in Pokémon Go. Players will only be able to encounter the standard coloration during this event.
Given the limited availability and the long wait since its last appearance, players looking to add Armored Mewtwo to their collection are advised to utilize tools like Poke Genie to help coordinate raids, especially if they are concerned about missing the specific event hours.