A/N: Keep a lookout for numbers like these: [1], [2], [3]. When you find one, feel free to scroll down to the "Special Notes" section of that particular analysis (just below "Weaknesses") to find out what more there is to be said about the topic that was just mentioned!
My thoughts on the recent events surrounding RoosterTeeth are at the end of this episode.
This episode was requested by Dangerous2nite. Comment with your requests and they may become future episodes.
Episode 27: Mewtwo (Pokémon) VS Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
LZ: In all grand stories, there are heroes, villains, gods, and legends. When a creature far beyond any of its ilk stands up above the world, there will be those who wish such a thing was here, with them, on their side and following their orders.
TWO: So, what else are you going to do but make exact copies of them with all their same powers? Plus, you know, while you're at it, you might as well make them even stronger. Who cares if they might betray you, or any existential crises you might give them with their programming? Science stops for no morals!
LZ: Mewtwo, the genetic clone of Pokémon's Mew.
TWO: And Metal Sonic, the robot copy of Sonic the Hedgehog.
LZ: I'm LittleZbot, and it's my hobby to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
…
Mewtwo
LZ: The world of Pokémon is… well, insane. Building-breaking creatures roam the planet, and yet we humans see them as regular animals, even attempting to capture them and raise them as pets, combatants, or even servants. And somehow, this works.
TWO: Probably because we're super-strong too. Seriously, you have no idea how much craziness a regular person in the anime can do. But no surprise, when you've got a frogman that can chuck around mountains and a dragon that can burn down cities as your slaves, some folks are gonna get the bright idea of taking over the world. Using Pokémon.
LZ: Thus arrived Team Rocket, an organization dedicated to-
TWO: Protect the world from devastation! To unite all peoples within our nation! To denounce the evils of truth and love! To extend our reach to the stars above!
LZ: …Yeah, no. That's what they put on the pamphlets, certainly, but the true motto of the syndicate is, and I quote, "Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."
TWO: So they're… opposite PETA?
LZ: If opposite PETA wanted to rule the world, yes. And the leader of Team Rocket, Sakaki (or Giovanni in the English translation) embraced this idea fully, funding not just the capture and enslavement of hundreds of innocent Pokémon, but unethical projects and experiments that would shake the world of Pokémon itself.
TWO: The name of the most famous of those experiments? Mewtwo.[1]
LZ: Long ago, the progenitor of all non-Legendary Pokémon, Mew, was abundant in number and power. Unmatched in its psychic prowess, there was little the creature could not handle. Some settled entire civilizations, which would one day grow to become homes for humanity. Some investigated alien cultures, some discovered higher powers, and some fought incarnations of evil itself. But despite being physically immortal, all were lost to time but one, who fled humanity and hid in a place that none could locate.
TWO: I bet it was under a truck.
LZ: This Mew, however, left behind a single eyelash, which Team Rocket discovered and, with considerable time, funding, research, and struggle, put to work in cloning a new Mew. This "Mewtwo" would be a mindless servant to Team Rocket, and ensure their success in world domination.
TWO: And… it worked! For a while, at least. Sure, it's a bit weird, Mew is like this little cherub flying gopher baby kangaroo thing, while Mewtwo's the tallest, most menacing stack of wannabe-Freeza energy you've ever seen. But, thanks to some drugs, a robot suit, and lots of blackmail, Mewtwo became the deadliest member of Team Rocket in no time flat.
LZ: Much like his progenitor, Mewtwo is a psychic-type Pokémon, commanding all the powers of the mind. And not just that, he's the strongest psychic-type Pokémon, capable of replicating any psychic move after only hearing about it. In fact, he was explicitly created to be the strongest Pokémon in the world, and, discarding Legendaries, was a complete success.
TWO: But there are plenty'a animals out there who don't fall for jedi-mind-tricks, so Mewtwo had to be buff enough to handle anyone who could say "no" to his mental magic.
LZ: To make Mewtwo just as physically strong as Mew was mentally, Mewtwo's cells were infused with the Berserk Gene, a substance that drastically increases physical capabilities at the cost of the user's sanity.
TWO: Oh, it's like that stuff Bane takes! Or that cat Alphonse picked up! Or a video game berserker statu- oh.
LZ: It worked. Mewtwo became a powerhouse in every way imaginable. And, with his incomprehensible mental abilities, even the brain-draining Berserk Gene has no negative effect on him.
TWO: So he's physically as strong as any normal Pokémon could ever be, and he's still the smartest, most powerful psychic on the planet!
LZ: Any mental ability you can think of, Mewtwo has under his command. He can fly, turn invisible, teleport himself or anything else to any location across the planet, shoot lasers that burn, push, or sap your energy from his hands, eyes, and forehead, speak telepathically, and even take control of your mind with a wave of his hand. Or simply read it, experience everything you have ever seen, done, or felt, all your future plans, and form perfect counters to it. In less than a second.
TWO: Mind tricks is what this Pokémon's all about. He can read hundreds of minds at once, confuse your senses, rearrange your cells, slam you with telekinetic force, or just turn your brain off if he wants.
LZ: Not even your brain, many of the creatures Mewtwo has demonstrated abilities like this against are inorganic in nature. Robots, alien life that cannot be recognized by our periodic elements, even ghost-type Pokémon like Cursola or Yamask, literal spirits without a direct physical form, are fully vulnerable to Mewtwo's attacks against the mind.[2] Suggesting them to be more spirit-based than mind-based.
TWO: You might actually be better off as a ghost, since he can just turn your regular body into stone! No, not kidding, in the anime and manga all of his lasers can just petrify whatever they hit. Including humans.
LZ: And while Mewtwo does not share the trait of his predecessor of being able to perform every ability of every other Pokémon, sharing such genes still allows him access to an enormous and varied pool of Pokémon moves.
TWO: Yeah, like, remember how he can make illusions? Well, his stuff should be WAY stronger than an everyday Pokémon like, say, Misdreavus. And that Pokémon can make illusions so good, your brain makes them real! No joke, like, she once made a set of stairs look like a ramp, and the people who were climbing the stairs? They slid down the ramp. Then another pokemon illusioned up an entire mountain range and desert, and it was real, and so on. And this kind of thing happens all the time!
LZ: He can command all the elements, water, earth, fire, wind, electricity, ice, and gravity. He can summon thunderstorms or sandstorms, create earthquakes, increase his stats through concentration, create Shadow Balls that overpower virtually every other energy technique, absorb life energy from his opponents, heal himself greatly with little effort with moves like Recover, and create a variety of impenetrable energy barriers that block, absorb, or reflect all types of attack, even mental or spiritual ones. And, of course, he can use telekinesis. Not just on rocks, mind you, but on opposing fighters, individual cells and body parts, and all manner of opposing attack, including pure energy. Telling a beam to turn around and hit the guy who shot it is kind of a staple of his fights.
TWO: And that's just the normal stuff. We've said it before, but he's a master of everything to do with the mind. He can use Aura to sense your location, even if you're invisible, or just to shoot ki like a Dragon Ball character.
LZ: Love and laughter, always.
TWO: He can switch your stats with his if you're stronger than him physically or spiritually, predict your attacks, delay his own to strike without warning, shoot star-shaped rays that track you so well even the Pokédex says they "never miss" with Swift, automatically prevent and fix any and all status effects, make copies of himself to tank hits with Substitute, steal any items the other guy has, and even brace his molecules so he's guaranteed to survive the next hit, even if he's on the brink of death.
LZ: An excellent time to use Rest, a move that causes Mewtwo to heal all his wounds if he can sleep for a few seconds.
TWO: Oh yeah, and if you have any of his powers, because he knows how they work, he can literally just turn them off, so only he gets to play with the toys. Man, this guy's crazy-strong! Too bad that suit and all those drugs weakened him somethin' fierce at first.
LZ: But that suit, those drugs, and all that manipulation was necessary in Giovanni's eyes, for Mewtwo was asking questions.
TWO: Classic things little kids always think about, like "What is the meaning of my life" and "Does free will actually exist" and "What is the point of my power if I can just kill everyone and do what I want?" Nothing concerning about that, Gio, just let the baby gurgle.
LZ: After enough times being berated for its free thought and being told that it was an altered clone created in a test tube solely to serve Giovanni as a slave, Mewtwo had had enough.
TWO: Yeah, so, turns out he wasn't the only clone that was being made in that lab. There were a bunch of other, more regular Pokémon. Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and, oh, the head researcher's kid, Amber. Ah, yes, let's go all-in on the moral commentary, why not?
LZ: Eh, so long as they censor it in America and make the movie shorter and dumber, it'll be fine.
TWO: Anyway, Ambertwo (yes, really) and all the other experiments got to hang out with each other in a mental mindscape that Mewtwo made. But because science is, you know, pretty much failure until eventual success, all the clones ended up dying except for Mewtwo before they finished growin'. Which royally sucked for Mewtwo, since these were his family and they all basically died in his arms, leaving him alone forever.
LZ: As Mewtwo was wracked with survivor's guilt and an anger against the humans that created these beings for no purpose but to die, the men performing the experiment felt they had no choice but to erase his memories and begin from scratch. Unfortunately, that only left Mewtwo with all the same emotions and questions, and nothing to latch onto except the destruction he could cause if he let loose.
TWO: It wasn't all that long before he broke out of Giovanni's control, and decided, well, humanity had to get Noah'd. So he psychic-ed up a storm that could end all life, and hung out on an island, temptin' anyone to try to take him out.
LZ: Because he knew that there was no way anybody could.
TWO: Mewtwo's easily dodged and taken anime Pikachu's lightning, no issue at all. The same lightning that can power electronics at near-light speed and clear out giant storms in explosions worth at least 430 Gigatons of TNT. If we assume the clouds are stacked and expand to close out the entire place they're in (which is stated), it could easily reach into the Teratons!
LZ: That's nothing. The storm Mewtwo created in that same movie would have grown and eventually destroyed the entire planet.
TWO: In fact, Mewtwo could have destroyed the planet anytime he wanted. He was just giving humanity a chance to take him down out of pride!
LZ: Given the area of our Earth (though much from the anime and later games seem to imply the Pokémon planet is different and far larger) and the rate the clouds in the storm were moving, simply covering the planet (with the same speed of swirls showing in the movie's remake) would take energy of nearly 458 Exatons of TNT.
TWO: And destroying it with a storm would obviously be stronger.
LZ: And he's fast enough to blitz most Pokémon, even moving so fast that the likes of Articuno could not see him. And Articuno can match and dodge sunlight-based attacks and pure electricity very consistently.
TWO: So, yeah, nobody really stood a chance, and definitely not Ash Ketchum and his band of wanderin' badge-snagging Pokémon pals. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try! And fail. And die. And then have all the Pokémon on the island watch as Pikachu desperately tried to restart Ash's heart with his electricity. Over. And over. And over.
LZ: Seeing the horror in his fellow Pokémon's faces, feeling the grief in Pikachu's heart, and then watching as the most powerful monsters in the world wept for a single child they had never met, changed Mewtwo. He, too, had felt this loss, and now he had discovered the answer to one of his three questions: The purpose of power is not to lash out, nor to gain control, but to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
TWO: So, after Ash got revived (SOMEHOW, don't ask, we're skipping that headache), he uno-reversed the storm, left to find the answers to his other questions, and casually wiped the minds of everyone on the planet of the knowledge of his existence. WHAT
LZ: But that didn't mean he was done fighting. Certainly not. If he was not born with a meaning, he would create his own. And he would work tirelessly to protect stray, abused Pokémon from humanity for years to come.
TWO: Well, he does have to thank humanity for some stuff. He wouldn't be nearly this cool if we didn't up his power to the max, and give him healing items and tech ideas, and so on.
LZ: True, Mewtwo is capable of using virtually any Pokémon or Trainer tool, including held items.
TWO: But while most Pokémon can hold a single item in normal games, in Pokémon UNITE they can hold up to three. For some reason. Are these limits ever explained?
LZ: No.
TWO: …Well, alright, then. Anyway, obviously whatever items you use is up to the Trainer, which Mewtwo doesn't have anymore. But he's used plenty of items himself over the years, so let's take a look at those.
LZ: Like his own self-developed version of a Pokéball, a projectile that he can fling which captures an opponent in an energy field and traps them in another dimension forever.
TWO: Then there's the Mist Looplet, a band that means sometimes you don't use PP when you use a move. Doesn't translate super well into lore, but it basically makes Mewtwo's stamina way higher.
LZ: And finally, the Twisted Spoon, a size-changing spoon imbued with psychic energy. Holding this spoon increases Mewtwo's psychic abilities by 20%, and in the manga, Mewtwo could use this item as a weapon.
TWO: Yeah, like a bo staff with a giant club at one end, he twirls and twists and scoops the thing around to handle even the most dangerous of foes! It might actually be the silliest thing Pokémon has ever done. So, why is it also so darn cool?!
LZ: It's not like he needs a boost, either. Mewtwo's psychic power is so absurd, even a single cell from his body can be used by humans to control the actions of dozens of other Pokémon at once, or even drive them insane. This included Pokémon like Trevenant, which should be highly resistant to psychic attacks, and Ditto, which has total control over its own cellular structure and thus should be entirely immune to things like this.
TWO: But not when it comes to Mewtwo! He's the exception to pretty much every rule, and he can take on pretty much any threat.
LZ: Mewtwo once matched power with an alien entity known as a Deoxys, going blow for blow. Well, many times, actually, but this specific one was no normal Deoxys; it had been altered to become far stronger, capable of taking over the entire world, and held the intellect of one of humanity's greatest scientists. So, pretty far up the food chain.
TWO: Especially when a regular Deoxys can create and launch meteors with enough energy to ka-blam the surface of the planet, and in the manga it reached our planet from the edge of the galaxy in less than ten days! Er, with Devon's 6km diameter estimation, that's… 7.896 Decillion Tons of TNT! Enough to destroy a star! That's crazy!
LZ: But, given the feats of other legendary Pokémon who are weaker than Mew and Mewtwo, not unexpected.
TWO: Heck, Mewtwo's even dueled and exactly matched Mew himself! And Mew can defeat an entire team of Trainers and Pokémon that were specifically selected and trained to fight him while laughing.
LZ: And that's nowhere close to the only opponent he has faced. Such as in the new series, when Ash and his new friend Goh stumbled into Mewtwo's latest home, and Mewtwo fought both of them, at the same time, and won.
TWO: Which you might think is no big deal, obviously he was stronger than Ash and his team back in the first movie, but this is MODERN Ash Ketchum. Literally the next season, he won the World Championship in the Galar Region, a tournament where all the greatest Trainers in the world compete! Every other Champion, the Elite 4, Leon and his undefeated-for-decades Charizard, Ash took on all of them, and won! He's, no joke, the strongest Trainer in all of history now![3]
LZ: And he was no weaker when Mewtwo soundly defeated him. He took out Pikachu with a single hit, the same Pikachu that defeated the undefeatable Leon, outsped a Meowstic who could see the future, and one-shot a Pokémon who, seconds before, exactly matched a being that had created the light of every star in the sky!
TWO: But nothing they had could break through even Mewtwo's most basic forcefield. Even Ash called him the strongest Pokémon in the world! That definitely includes, say, Lunala, a Pokémon that Ash had tons of interaction with a couple seasons before. That thing could fly through spaceholes in seconds, traveling across universes! The anime doesn't give a good timeframe, but you do the same thing in-game, and it even gives you an exact distance of how far they go. With our timing on the first wormhole (only counting the outer space stuff and not the dimensional travel magic, don't worry) it puts that speed at around 1.41 Billion times the Speed of Light! And Mewtwo's clearly reacting faster to Pikachu than Lunala could!
LZ: However, this battle was important for Mewtwo. It proved to him something that he had been trying to deny for a long time: that just because humans could do wrong, did not mean that they were wrong. Ash and Goh showed Mewtwo that the strength of humanity lay not in how hard they could punch or what they controlled, but in their free will and the infinite possibilities that brought them.
TWO: I mean, he was already softening up to us humans a bit before that. Otherwise he coulda just transformed into any of his super-forms and murdered the two little digi-destined.
LZ: Mewtwo has been transformed in many ways many times, but very rarely has it been of his own volition, and almost never through means he himself can replicate.[4] Though, there are exceptions.
TWO: Like the Dynamax form! Normally, this needs special materials, but Mewtwo can just do it by changing the space around him. In Dynamax mode, Mewtwo grows to the size of a kaiju and all his moves get a huge boost. Plus, his HP pool is big enough where four of the strongest Trainers around whaling on him for forever doesn't do much. And these are all Trainers who can fight and take down Eternatus, an alien who can rip apart space-time around the planet!
LZ: But even that form pales in contrast to Mewtwo's greatest transformation: his Mega Evolution.
TWO: Technically, Mewtwo actually has two Mega Evolutions (fittingly), but the only one he's been shown to reach without outside help so far is Mega Mewtwo Y.[5]
LZ: That on its own is astonishing. Mega Evolving usually requires extensive genetic alteration of a Pokémon, along with a powerful device to kickstart the evolution, and a powerful bond with a trainer to survive it. But with his intellect and psychic energy alone, Mewtwo just… skips all of that.
TWO: Mega Mewtwo Y is a powerhouse! He shrinks down a bit to look way more like OG Mew, 'cept with a tail growing out of his head. Pokémon. Anyway, he's got unlimited stamina, super-duper-resistance to mental attacks, and his psychic power skips the charts and hits the stratosphere! With a single thought, he can smash a skyscraper to smithereens. He can even casually mentally connect every single Pokémon on the planet so that they can all think like they're one person!
LZ: His mega-evolved power, combined with two weaker Pokémon, could temporarily counter the magic of Dark Matter, a being composed of all the negative energy in "creation." Dark Matter was powerful enough to overpower Arceus' Tree of Life that protects Earth from magical manipulation, and even created his own entire universe!
TWO: Well, Mewtwo ain't quite on Dark Matter's level. But he could counter some of his magic, and even took a bunch of hits from one of the guys who beat him! Plus, OG Mew actually fought Dark Matter himself, albeit when he was weaker, and once might just maybe have made his own dimension. So, there's something there, at least.[6]
LZ: It tracks fairly consistently. The two other Pokémon that helped Mewtwo in this instance were Deoxys and Rayquaza. These two have fought each other many times, and traded victories fairly evenly. Given Mewtwo's showing against the enhanced version of the space alien, it should be fair to say that he's similarly stronger than Rayquaza.
TWO: And Rayquaza's super-strong! With a couple of his friends, he even fought a gauntlet of other legendary Pokémon to protect, well, a Pokémon.
LZ: Mega Rayquaza specifically fought back Giratina. And while he did not reach the god's power, he was able to hold him off from reaching his target, and both landed and took attacks. And Giratina is directly stated to be equal in destructive capability to Dialga and Palkia, who can control all time and space in the universe. A battle between the two is so destructive, it can permanently alter separate dimensions that just happen to be close to our own universe!
TWO: Kind of weird that these things are just animals wandering around the world until they get picked up by a magic ball.
LZ: That's because they aren't. While the term "Pokémon" once generally referred to the animal-like inhabitants of the Pokémon's Earth, it has been expanded drastically since. Creatures like Groudon and Kyogre are not animals, but primal forces of nature, collections of energy that feed off the Earth. Similarly, Giratina, Palkia, Dialga, and Arceus are not animals, but gods of greater dimensions who seek to understand humanity, with Arceus being the highest god who created the entire Pokémon multiverse. We just call them Pokémon because-
TWO: We're racist?
LZ: -because it's easier for us.
TWO: Yeah, I know it's kind of hard to reconcile, but that Legends Arceus game makes it pretty darn explicit. Just one of these guys showing up without thinking about it can make all time and space start to fall apart! In his mega-evolved form, Mewtwo should be, well, not exactly comparable, but only a tier down.[7]
LZ: Mewtwo's psychic abilities are so powerful, he was once able to take a dead human, restore their body to perfect condition, alter it to be in a constant stasis where it needs no food, water, or even oxygen, while transferring their soul into the body of a Pokémon, all with a single move.
TWO: Oh, yeah, he can remove souls. It's not brought up much, but… he can. So, why doesn't he just auto-win every fight?
LZ: Besides inconsistent writing? Sometimes, ego. Mewtwo truly believes that he is the strongest, and often finds attempts to fight him more humorous than anything else. Which is a dangerous mindset, as Mewtwo does have weaknesses.
TWO: Yeah, like how a plastic ball can trap him and turn him into someone's slave.
LZ: Pokéballs aren't any old piece of dimensional storage, though. They are "unholy" devices constructed with tumblestone, which forces a Pokémon to use their size-changing ability, and a set of alternating microscopic constructs that keep the Pokémon comfortable and brings it into a lull, like a lotus trap. Modern Pokéballs are constructed with ore containing the power of Arceus, ensuring that they are able to trap any creature imaginable. With obvious exception to Arceus himself. In canon, every time someone catches Arceus in-game, it's technically just a partial construct of his will, made to assist worthy warriors.
TWO: What the fr-
LZ: Pokémon lore. It's weird. The point is, just because he can't resist the power of God doesn't make Mewtwo's will weak.
TWO: Nah, what actually makes his will weak is bugs. And ghosts. And the dark. After all, how can someone use psychic powers when they're faced with their greatest fear?
LZ: That's… just a gameplay mechanic. As interesting as the type-advantage chart seems, in-lore it only exists at a base level, sort of a rock-paper-scissors theory. When it comes to legendary Pokémon, that stuff is judged on a case-by-case basis. And considering that Mewtwo can curbstomb an entire swarm of Beedrills while he's also suffering the effects of six Control Cubes weakening his powers (a single Control Cube being able to affect Pokémon who can resist soul manipulation), it's fair to say that Mewtwo doesn't have to worry about anything like that.
TWO: Then… what? What're his weaknesses?
LZ: Well, if an enemy is completely immune to psychic power, that does greatly limit his arsenal.
TWO: …
LZ: …
TWO: That's it?
LZ: Pretty much, yeah.
TWO: For Arceus' sake…
LZ: I mean, there are specific attacks that can bypass his barriers, and potentially he could be outsmarted (despite being one of the most intelligent beings on the planet) or run out of stamina, but when he starts every fight by just reading your mind… none of that really matters, does it?
TWO: Yeah, yeah, whatever. Mewtwo's still looking for the answers to life's biggest questions (mostly cuz modern Pokémon just treats him like a cameo more than anything else), but he's learned a lot since first coming out of that tube. About humanity, himself, and how to be the most dangerous creature alive.
LZ: So, if you get between Mewtwo and the sanctuary of life he protects…
TWO: May the Great Pokémon in the Sky have mercy on your soul.
Mewtwo gathers all his Pokémon to his side with telekinesis, and floats high in the air above Ash and Goh. As he casts an expanding orb of multicolored light, the two Trainers and their Pokémon shield their eyes.
"You are weak, short-lived, incomplete creatures," Mewtwo states matter-of-factly. Ash and Goh lift their heads as the light dies down a little, staring up in wonder at the rising form of the ultimate Pokémon.
"Yet," Mewtwo admits, "it is for that reason you have infinite possibilities hidden within you. And your journeys have only just begun."
He floods them both with a bright light, and when they awaken, they are many kilometers away, left to continue their travels and ponder Mewtwo's words.
Mewtwo:
Name: Mewtwo
Species: Mew
Height: 6'7 / 200 cm
Weight: 269 lbs / 122 kg
Age: 2
~By technicality, this isn't counting his time being grown or measuring in our Earth years, there are many version of Mewtwo that are much older, but the anime one is our main guy and all 1200+ episodes take place over the course of one Pokémon-world year, with many seasonal changes
Occupation: Guardian of Forgotten Pokémon
Genetically altered clone of Mew
Biologically genderless, but adopts "he/him" pronouns
The most handsome Pokémon, according to Japanese college students
Abilities:
Superhuman statblock
Age-based Immortality
Mind Reading
Mind Control
Illusion Casting
Aura Senses
Petrification Beams
Teleport
Telekinesis
Fire Punch
Calm Mind
Amnesia
Foul Play
Barrier
Power Gem
Thunder Wave
Low Sweep
Safeguard
Future Strike
Icy Wind
Thunder
Protect
Skill Swap
Miracle Eye
Giga Impact
Taunt
Sunny Day
Scary Face
Trick
Zen Headbutt
Dark Pulse
Sandstorm
Stored Power
Hex
Poison Jab
Reflect
Flamethrower
Night Shade
Substitute
Ice Punch
Light Screen
Electro Ball
Shadow Ball
Facade
Low Kick
Psybeam
Ice Beam
Psystrike
Trick Room
Bulk Up
Thunderbolt
Guard Swap
Agility
Rock Tomb
Mist
Stomping Tantrum
Body Slam
Metronome
Bulldoze
Disable
Life Dew
Confusion
Ancient Power
Endure
Grass Knot
Hurricane
Energy Ball
Fire Blast
Psycho Cut
Aura Sphere
Trailblaze
Psyschock
Earthquake
Psychic Terrain
Focus Blast
Hyper Beam
Take Down
Will-O-Wisp
Rest
Brick Break
Recover
Imprison
Nasty Plot
Thunder Punch
Chilling Water
Psychic
Tera Blast
Solar Beam
Reversal
Rain Dance
Blizzard
Power Swap
Earth Power
Avalanche
Sleep Talk
Swift
Confuse Ray
Stone Edge
Rock Slide
Drain Punch
Helping Hand
Fling
Psydisaster
Dynamax
Mega Mewtwo Y
Arsenal:
Mewtwo Ball
Mist Looplet
Twisted Spoon
Feats:
Created a planet-wide storm
Invented his own Pokéball
Defeated Deoxys many times, who created and moved a 6km meteor at 22.6 quadrillion MPH
Senses are superior to Abras, which can react to attacks even while sleeping
Countered magic from Dark Matter that overpowered the Tree of Life
Matched Mew in power, who fought Dark Matter directly
Matched Deoxluch, who was stated to be powerful enough to take over the planet
Stated by Ash to be superior to all other Pokémon he fought
Resisted six Control Cubes at once
A single cell can control the body and mind of a Ditto
Wiped the memory of Ash's Pikachu, who resisted mind control from Colress that could control Legendary Pokémon
Comparable or superior to Rayquaza, who held off Giratina
Defeated Ash & Goh simultaneously
Weaknesses:
Less effective against foes immune to psychic abilities
Potentially could be outlasted by an opponent with infinite stamina
Abilities do not affect beings stronger than Mewtwo with the same abilities
Emotionally troubled
Special Notes:
[1] There are many versions of Mewtwo throughout Pokémon's many canons, such as the Black and White M16 variant and the Mewthree version from one manga series. While some origin stories differ in their details, none of the characters are so different from each other that they cannot be composited. Many sources even cite other mediums in story and history. They are all likely intended to be the same general character put in different situations. This is with obvious exception to the character in the Super Smash Bros. series. We are using the version from the original Pokémon animated series as the primary source for Mewtwo, as that is his most popular and beloved version, while applying all other canon material as supporting evidence.
[2] Claims of the Pokédex and Pokémon lore being inaccurate have little to no basis when taking in the grand scheme of the Pokémon world. The Pokédex is not a child's scribblings and imagination as he sees animals; it is the product of hundreds of scientists working across centuries to accurately study, catalog, and note the properties of every known species of Pokémon. It contains their weight, size, a full library of every possible move they can make in battle, and is accurate to the point of understanding a Pokémon's emotional state just by scanning it. To claim its lore statements are inaccurate without evidence would be an extreme oddity. Additionally, nearly every piece of Pokédex-claimed lore is given evidence or proof within the games. We see many of these feats in spin-off games, and even what is oft-cited as the most questionable entry, that of Kadabra once being a human child, ties greatly into the history of Pokémon and humanity as established in Generation IV, and is a major part of the story of the Mystery Dungeon games.
Many of these entries are dismissed solely for how they are impossible within the traditional physics of our world. However, this isn't our world. It is a fictional world with a fictional ecosystem and humans that can leap dozens of meters and survive attacks that level forests. Claiming that Magcargo cannot be 18,000 degrees because then you would melt by looking at him discounts how many times characters in this world have stood next to or survived encounters with lava, which is equally impossible in our world. You must also then apply the same standards to all other fictional works. Superman cannot fly faster than flight, because such a speed cannot exist. Therefore, all comics where he does must simply be dreams. Goku cannot punch hard enough to destroy the universe, or else the universe would break every time he is in a serious fight. Therefore, Elder Kai must have just been making things up.
You cannot begin to apply the laws of traditional physics in these specific regards to Pokémon and ignore them for the entire rest of fictional works that humanity has created. Pokémon was never meant to be realistic. It was never meant to be applicable to our Earth. Discounting an in-story literal scientific guide because it could not happen on our planet in real life has no basis in a VS Community sense.
We are counting the Pokédex.
[3] While Ash used higher forms and Z-Moves to win against opponents like Cynthia and Leon, his opponents used similar power-ups as well in those cases. In a direct fight in base forms, Ash should still have had the advantage. Ash has called Mewtwo "the strongest Pokémon in the world" both in general and to his face, and it is never implied that usage of higher forms or Z-Moves would have succeeded against Mewtwo. Ash has fought many legendary Pokémon, including the ultrabeast Necrozma, which is said to have provided all the light in the sky. Based on his statements, Mewtwo would scale above all of them. Note that this does not by itself scale Mewtwo to the multiversal Ultra Necrozma, which does not appear in the anime and regular Necrozma is never implied to have such power in the anime, or the Creation Trio, which Ash never directly fought.
[4] Mewtwo was once corrupted into becoming Shadow Mewtwo through the power of the Shadow Synergy Stone. This granted Mewtwo unbelievable power, greater than perhaps any besides Arceus and the ultrabeasts. However, the events surrounding the corruption of Mewtwo into Shadow Mewtwo were context-sensitive and controlled by outlying forces. Mewtwo would not have normal access to the Shadow Synergy Stone or anything with similar abilities, and would be extremely unlikely to use it even if he did. As it only appeared once, was disabled, and has never been implied to be standard at any point for the character, it will not be counted as an item or transformation that Mewtwo can access.
[5] Mewtwo has transformed into Mega Mewtwo Y on his own in the anime, manga, and Super Mystery Dungeon game. The only times he has transformed into Mega Mewtwo X was in the Pokémon Adventures manga and Pokken Tournament, and both times he was assisted by Trainers and used outside items as the catalyst.
[6] While Mewtwo functions as a Superboss in the Super Mystery Dungeon game, and has higher stats and ability scores than Dark Matter, the primary story makes it clear that Mewtwo is not as powerful as the negative being. This note is short, so I guess I'll also mention here that Mewtwo uses several moves in spin-off games that he does not learn through leveling, but does through TMs and HMs. As this is a specific Pokémon with a Trainer, and that Trainer was Giovanni, who wished for him to be the strongest in the world and absolutely had access to them, it makes sense for him to have his entire TM and HM movepool.
[7] Mewtwo fought and kept up with Zygarde in the Adventures manga, who later battled evenly with Ultra Necrozma. However, Mewtwo explicitly had help in his initial fight through Trainer amps and additional items. He also fought Zygarde in a slightly weaker form, and ultimately lost the fight. While one could reasonably still draw a line of scaling from Mewtwo to Ultra Necrozma from this, the issues surrounding the fight and the lack of all other feats on such a level in all other material discourages me from doing so. A single matched punch with Darkrai is also no basis for scaling, especially as Darkrai's power does not come from his physical stats.
…
Metal Sonic
LZ: Sonic the Hedgehog. Fastest hero in the world, purveyor of justice, righter of wrongs, eater of chili dogs.[1]
TWO: A teenage menace straight from the 90's, this blue blur is a giant bipedal hedgehog freak with superpowers. But he's our giant bipedal hedgehog freak with superpowers. Standing up for the environment, saving the world from pollution one day, a dark god the next, and a bald scientist named after breakfast the day after that. Who could ask for more?
LZ: That balding scientist named after breakfast could. Doctor Ivo Robotnik, more commonly called by his chosen name, Doctor Eggman, sought to transform his world of Mobius (a version of Earth in a split timeline from our own reality) into an industrial paradise. He would tear down the trees, spit on the Lorax, and use baby animals as fuel to power terrifying machines and amusement parks.
TWO: But before he could chop down a single tree, Sonic would always be there to stop him. Not that he minded, really, Sonic's got a big ego, a bigger need to live up to that ego, and seeks thrills through adventure more than anything else.
LZ: To combat the self-appointed "fastest thing alive," Eggman built an army of robot warriors titled the "Badniks." Each had unique abilities, power beyond human reckoning, and-
TWO: -were completely annihilated by Sonic. I mean, when you can stroll around the planet at hypersonic speeds on a bad day, and you've built up an entire team of freedom fighters almost as strong as you, there isn't much an evil scientist is gonna do to ruin your day.
LZ: Eggman determined that the only thing capable of matching Sonic was Sonic himself. So that is exactly what he would create.
TWO: He poured every bit of his 300 IQ points and mastery of machinery across months into a single robot. Which is crazy, because this is the same guy who invented spaceships that turn black holes into wormholes, dimensional portal technology, and Sage, an AI that can run simulations of the entire universe across thousands of years! And all that brainpower was stuffed into making one thing: Metal Sonic.
LZ: When Eggman emerged to conquer the world once more, Sonic was brought to a halt as he finally met his match. A version of him created by the very same technological expansion-induced ecological collapse that he spent his entire life fighting, Metal Sonic was not just a robot; he was an affront to everything Sonic stood for.
TWO: But when they fought, it got real obvious real quick that Metal wouldn't be going down like any other Badnik.
LZ: Metal Sonic was designed to be superior to Sonic in every way. Speed, strength, skill, fighting style, even the mindgames Sonic frequently played on his opponents were matched by the robot's repertoire. And with a highly-intelligent, adaptive AI beyond any Eggman had created up to that point, Metal would soon grow beyond the simple mission of mindless battle against his rival. He would gain intelligence, logic, and the ability to adapt to situations on the fly. As intended, this made Metal Sonic even more dangerous the longer he remained active.
TWO: It's kind of awesome that he manages to match up to Sonic so well, since he's just a machine and Sonic had crazy chaos magic superpowers!
LZ: Right. The reason Sonic and some other characters, like Chaos and Shadow, are so powerful is because they can use "Chaos Energy," a type of magic that controls space-time.[2]
TWO: By channelin' Chaos Energy, they can do a bunch of special moves and attacks, and it ups their stats to the point where they're basically demigods.
LZ: To keep up with such an extreme source of power, Eggman implemented Metal Sonic with the ability to analyze any opponent, learning their moves over time, as well as running endless simulations until he can determine how to counter every possible move the foe can make. When done mid-battle, this can take several minutes, but Metal rarely waits until the fight to take in this information. He frequently observes future opponents days in advance, learning everything that they can do so thoroughly that when they start the fight, it becomes impossible to win.
TWO: If that sounds overpowered, just you wait. 'Cuz this ability got a huge buff not long after.
LZ: While Metal Sonic was initially constructed with traditional robot parts, a titanium outer shell, a tesla coil engine, and so on, he received innumerable upgrades over the years, some from Eggman, and some that he performed himself. At his strongest, Metal Sonic resurfaced in a new form, made of living metal that can alter its properties and shift between liquid and solid.
TWO: Whenever he's solid, he's still a robot, running on electricity, able to be hacked, everything. But now, not only can he turn into a puddle to sneak away, but after he's fully analyzed another fighter, he can shapeshift his robot body to duplicate all their moves!
LZ: Very similar to, and likely inspired by, Emerl, a robot Eggman discovered from an alien empire far ahead of the rest of the universe in technology. Emerl could copy the abilities of every creature it fought, and having seen it in action, Eggman ensured that Metal Sonic could do the same.
TWO: So, you're probably wondering: with years of fighting against all the cast, how many characters' powers does he have? Oh, don't worry, not too many, just Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Amy, Big, Cream, Cheese, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Chaos, Silver, Tangle, Jet, Wave, Storm, Sticks, Blaze, Zavok, and a bunch of Eggman foot soldiers.[3]
LZ: Naturally, this has granted Metal Sonic an absurd number of abilities. He can fly, turn invisible, use specific techniques to create fire, ice, water, and electricity, form tornadoes, make holographic illusions, walk on walls, blast enemies with soundwaves, absorb other robots for fuel, and transform his body parts into weapons.
TWO: That's just chipping into the surface. But we can't really talk about him stealing other guys' powers without talking about the guy he's made to be a ripoff of!
LZ: Metal Sonic was originally constructed to be Sonic's superior in every way, and was a complete success. For a short time, anyway. He has all of Classic Sonic's moves, including his famous super speed, which Sonic has canonically used to outrace rainbows, match the flow of a power grid as it turned on, and dodge dozens of laser beams in the midst of a battlefield.
TWO: And you can't forget classic attacks like the Super Spin Dash and Homing Attack, where he curls up into a ball and rams through everything in his way, leaving nothing but scrap metal and a trail of tears! Boost, Super-Peel-Out, Wall Jumps, pretty much if Sonic could do it before Frontiers, so can Metal.
LZ: Notable, as Sonic has used his super-speed to vibrate his molecules, allowing him to phase through certain objects, create invisible shields, and even heal his wounds.
TWO: How does THAT work?!
LZ: That's another headache for another day, we have A LOT to get through right now.
TWO: Fair. Well, if Sonic isn't good enough, how 'bout his rivals? Like Knuckles, whose crazy explosion-punching, island-splitting strength Metal took for himself, or Silver, who gave him psychokinesis (telekinetic mind powers) that can even affect gods like Iblis, or Shadow, whose powers all come directly from Chaos Energy! Theoretically, Metal shouldn't be able to have any of it. But… he does.
LZ: From Shadow, Metal's arsenal leapt ahead tenfold. He learned to throw explosive projectiles, teleport rapid-fire, shield himself with an impenetrable diamond energy barrier called the Black Shield, create patches of air that follow you and explode, increase his strength by adjusting the space inside his fists as he punches, and even stop time for up to ten seconds.
TWO: The thing is, Chaos Energy works on mana rules, so the more you use it, the more you get drained. Stuff like throwing a Chaos Spear to explode someone's face? No problem. Stop time? Ooh, boy, you better hope you got a Chaos Emerald or something like it nearby, 'cuz otherwise you're out of juice for the rest of the fight. Or you could risk everything and spend all your Chaos Energy on a big old blast attack that kills everything, which can be shot like a kamehameha or just let loose in a giant explosion: the Chaos Blast!
LZ: And, while he's never shown it, it's technically possible that Metal could have access to the abilities these characters show in the Sonic Chronicles RPG game. Including Shadow's "Chaos Rift" ability, which, while it takes a great deal of time to charge and drains nearly all your energy, has a 60% chance of instantly killing a foe, sending them into another dimension where they are trapped forever. And might just be annihilated at the atomic level. Geez.[4]
TWO: He can also charge ahead in one of his strongest moves, the V. Maximum Overdrive, which puts all his crazy power into one giant boost that he uses to body-slam his opponent, taking them out in one strike! And if all else fails, who needs superpowers when you have guns? Metal comes equipped with all the War Machine staples. Rocket launchers, mines, cannons, electric shocks, and he can shoot lasers from his hands, eyes, and chest!
LZ: Of course, even before this, he was an astonishing challenge to our heroes. The only being who could compete with him was Sonic himself, and even he was outmatched at times.
TWO: Well, Classic Sonic, anyway. Modern Sonic has done stuff his old self couldn't dream of.
LZ: And Modern Sonic's feats cannot be compared to those of his previous self's. The problem here is escalating scale.
TWO: Yeah, that's a story trope, duh, but it's also pretty darn canon in the Sonic world. You know Moore's Law? Well, thanks to weird Chaos Energy, Sonic… pretty much has that. But only for him.
LZ: Sonic grows in strength and power with every passing day. As such, he unfortunately scaled past Metal Sonic's maximum potential rather quickly.
TWO: Sure, nowadays Metal Sonic is kind of a villain of the week. Someone for Sonic to get annoyed at and smush into the ground. But in the old days when Sonic was weaker, Metal was one of his strongest enemies, well, ever! In Sonic Heroes, Sonic needed Super Sonic to beat his strongest forms!
LZ: In a game that took place before Sonic Heroes, Base Sonic was able to defeat Ultimate Emerl quite easily, canonically in under thirty seconds. And Ultimate Emerl held the combined powers of almost every mainline Sonic character, the energy of all the stars in the sky, and all seven Chaos Emeralds!
TWO: He was so bonkers strong, he could crush the Master Emerald in his hand like glass! The only other thing in ANY remotely mainline Sonic story that broke the Master Emerald (not countin' Echidnas and their special magic, duh) was when it countered Dark Oak in Sonic X. And that guy could wipe out all life in the galaxy as a casual move!
LZ: And, canonically, Metal Sonic should be significantly stronger than that.
TWO: I mean, regular Sonic killing that guy in less than half a minute with no powers, but havin' a hard time against Metal even when buffed? Metal's strongest forms should be able to eat Ultimate Emerl as a midday snack!
LZ: In fact, being able to keep up with this version of Super Sonic at all is impressive. Only a year later, Super Sonic chased G-merl from Mobius to a nearby nebula in only a few seconds. That would put him at over three billion times faster than light!
TWO: And G-merl was based completely off Emerl, so this should absolutely be scalable to Metal Sonic!
LZ: And with the combined fighting skills and martial arts of most of the cast of the franchise, Metal is no slouch even without superhuman stats. After all, Sonic alone defeated Emerl in a battle of martial arts and superpowers, and before taking the abilities of oh-so-many Sonic characters, Emerl was already directly stated by Eggman to contain so much combat data, trying to import it crashed Project Shadow's greatest supercomputers!
TWO: He's just as impressive on his own. He's taken on Shadow, broke a city-sized mountain with no effort, and one time, when he was stranded on another planet, busted up, and on the brink of death (sparks flying, buzzing noises, struggling to stand, the whole robot shebang), he still popped up and flew all the way to Mobius in only seventeen seconds.
LZ: Proving not just his speed, but his determination. It is incredibly difficult to keep Metal Sonic down. Even after being broken several times in a single day, he has still managed to pull himself together and keep fighting.
TWO: Which is the worst news you can hear, since, once he's fought you, he knows exactly how to beat you the next time around.
LZ: But Metal Sonic's greatest strength is his ability to draw power from nearly any source of energy.
TWO: Sure, that sounds like a "whatever, he can run on both AAs and D-Batteries, but who cares," but remember, this is the Sonic universe. Energy sources are crazy here.[5]
LZ: Like the Phantom Ruby, which casts illusions so well, your mind makes it real. Literally, this gem can somehow change all of physics just by making you think that it has. Or he can use Wisps, which can teleport planets across the galaxy and allow Metal to transform into a variety of forms, including lasers, fireballs, and black holes.
TWO: He can even take energy from the Chaos Emeralds, the same seven gemstones that make Super Sonic one of the strongest things since smelling salts. I mean, he's not taking the same level of power from them, cuz Sonic is pretty special, but it's still real strong.[6]
LZ: However, the form directly said to be his strongest is the one he achieved after copying the abilities of all the strongest fighters in the Sonic world and absorbing power from Eggman's other greatest creation, the Final Fortress. In this "Metal Overlord" form, Metal Sonic grows to the size of a kaiju and was powerful enough where it took Super Sonic (and friends) to put him down.
TWO: But that was only his best until the new comics showed up! Which, yes, are tied into some kind of canon, apparently. Anyway, Metal Sonic powered that up with energy from the Master Emerald, turning into "Master Overlord." A form so crazy strong, Sonic and team couldn't handle him! They had to cut his power supply to win!
LZ: Granted, none of them had access to any of their Super forms, but being this much stronger than Base Sonic in a modern context is enormously impressive.
TWO: And it's not without any kinda precedent. In the Boom timeline, Metal Sonic could defeat Sonic and Shadow at the same time, plus Knuckles couldn't even scratch his paint with his strongest attacks!
LZ: The same version of Knuckles could destroy apocalyptic asteroids with a single punch, and even that doesn't approach how powerful this version of Sonic is. Boom Sonic has jumped into a black hole that was threatening to consume the entire universe, possibly the multiverse, and run fast enough to enter alternate dimensions!
TWO: Sure, if Metal's feats on this level only happened in the Boom timeline, we probably couldn't scale this to regular Metal Sonic. But, since the IDW stuff has been said tons of times by everyone who's working on it to be super-tied into the games, that means Metal's strongest forms should scale to everything power-wise Base Sonic's done from before 2018!
LZ: Including feats such as defeating Ifrit, who drew power from an entire dimension, and escaping the reality of Arabian Nights with speed alone. In Sonic Forces, he was trapped in a dimension known as "Null Space," a point outside of regular realms where nothing exists. Or, where nothing's supposed to exist, but that's a different headache for a different time. The point is, to escape, Sonic combined his energy with another fighter and overpowered the entire dimension, escaping Nothing, and re-entering normal space. With the power of friendship.[7]
TWO: What the-
LZ: Sonic lore is made up of the idea of "don't question it, just nod."
TWO: Well, anyway, in all fairness, none of that outright screams the same sort of multiversal-black-hole stuff as Boom Sonic. Super Sonic in the modern day has tons of universe and multiverse and those kinda feats and all that stuff, and after what when down in Frontiers, um, holy crap, but pre-2018 regular Sonic is probably a tier down. Heck, even bein' protected from Nothing is similar to stuff in old games that was explicitly working with Chaos Energy, so that's not 100% scaleable, either. I mean... that is infinite speed, though, right?
LZ: Yes, when Sonic is pushed to his fastest limits, which he clearly wasn't in the IDW comics, easily outspeeding even Master Overlord in Base. That same Chaos Energy-imbued protection is enormously helpful, however. While it's not beneficial from a stats point of view, it protects from most extra-magical abilities. Sonic and Shadow have it by nature, but it's been shown many times that using the Chaos Emeralds or Master Emerald will grant it to others, as well.
TWO: So, at his highest level of power, Metal should have the same anti-hax that Base Sonic does. And HE'S resisted mind control from planet-wide telepaths, been unaffected by time manipulation from the likes of Time Eater, even brought the laws of physics back into place just by being nearby!
LZ: And when the Paradox Prism broke, shattering reality like a mirror and remaking everything into one of five alternative timelines, Sonic and Shadow remained completely unaffected.
TWO: And remember all that Chaos Energy mana-bar stuff? Well, while it's not directly shown, Master Overlord should probably be able to use it all way more than his base self. Other guys who use it can supplement their own energy with the Chaos Emeralds or Master Emerald, no problem, so there's no reason Metal couldn't do the same.
LZ: Which raises up an interesting note. To utilize the powers of Chaos Energy, you have to have the strength of will to call to it and continue the fight. Chaos Emeralds have even traversed entire dimensions simply because they heard a call with enough strength of will. Eggman's machines, including, supposedly, Metal Sonic, circumvent this by taking power directly from the Emeralds. Like the Space Colony ARK, which uses the Emeralds to destroy stars. But Metal can do so even without these adaptations. He takes this power… because it sees his will.
TWO: What, this no-holds-barred literal killing machine? I mean, he is just a robot Eggman made to kill Sonic, right? Can he even be considered really alive to begin with?
LZ: A good question, and one that Metal himself has faced. While Eggman initially intended for Metal to be nothing more than a robot terminator, Metal found himself able to see situations, decipher the logically correct set of actions, and then not take them. Even in his first outing (in a now-defunct-non-canon film), he actively chose to save two innocent lives, and even Sonic himself. Not out of any sense of goodwill, but simply because he could. Even Sonic saw a soul inside his shell.
TWO: Which is probably why Amy took to him like she did. Or maybe because- whoops, I almost forgot, I'm not Boomstick, and I'm not DAM, so I'm not legally obligated to make a sexbot joke here!
LZ: I'm going to ignore that. After one too many failures in his earliest days, Eggman left the beaten and broken Metal Sonic in the dirt to die. And, feeling nothing and accepting his fate, Metal remained in that spot for months, until a certain Amy Rose stumbled upon him. Against the robot's wishes, she dragged him back to Eggman, and taught him to ask forgiveness. When Eggman accepted him back into his army, Metal felt his first taste of emotion.
TWO: Aw, that's sweet!
LZ: And this discovery made Metal more dangerous than he had ever been before.
TWO: …Aw, that sucks.
LZ: Insistent on finding a reason to live, Metal Sonic abandoned and betrayed Eggman. While he's fought for and against the Doctor since, Metal's purposes are his own. He sought power beyond comprehension, and in the forms of Metal Overlord and Master Overlord, he would gain just that, proving himself, in his eyes, the superior Sonic.
TWO: Don't think Amy got any special treatment, either, she's been roughed up just as bad by Metal's high-stakes hijinks. Metal doesn't really care about anyone but himself. He's super cocky, and ends up playing with his food for his own entertainment more often than not. One time, he spent days doing nothing but stealing random stuff from houses and leaving half-eaten chili dogs everywhere, just to make people think bad thoughts about Sonic.
LZ: Metal has spent most of his free life attempting to derive meaning from his existence. Through power, through mockery, and even just attempting to fulfill his original duty of being a better Sonic, he is always left with nothing but his ever-shrinking pride and loneliness. In a way, he became Sonic's perfect foil; two cocky hedgehogs in search of a ride of emotion, but while Metal fights for himself, Sonic fights for everyone else. And that's what Metal was, and is, missing. All he truly wants is proof that he matters. A reason that he deserves to exist.
TWO: And that search has led him to a lot of weird adventures. Like when Future-Eggman showed up and brainwashed him into fighting the heroes from the future via street racing and card games. Or when he took over a bunch of computer monitors to fight Knuckles, who defeated him with the power of gambling.
LZ: Or when he challenged Sonic to a game of pinball with the fate of the world as the prize. Which Sonic won. Yes. This happened.
TWO: But you might've noticed something. For all this hype around Metal Sonic, we sure have been talking about the features, and not the feats. And that's cuz, well, he… doesn't really have many. I know, it's weird, prolific Sonic character and all that, but he's usually just used as "strong robot guy" to fight. He himself doing something? I mean, we could talk about that OVA where he almost blew up a planet, or the UK Comics where he infected all of Mobius, but that's about it. He probably scales to other robots, like Master Core ABIS, which made a black hole in a feat worth 240.6 Undecillion Tons of TNT, but even stuff like that is way lower than his top stats. He just isn't not fighting Sonic enough to have his own feats.
LZ: Which doesn't make him weak, just… underutilized. Despite being one of the most famous and powerful villains of the franchise, Metal Sonic suffers from the same thing most of the Sonic cast does:
TWO: Ken Penders.
LZ: Wha- No! Incongruency with character purpose!
TWO: Oh, yeah, that makes sense.
LZ: Metal would never find true meaning before he was destroyed. Mostly because, these days, he's only brought back as a form of fan service that Sonic defeats as, like, a mid-boss.
TWO: He's been up, down, and smashed a dozen times over, but always managed to get back up and find some new way to keep goin'. Even if he doesn't know why, he'll keep fighting. And maybe that's the point. I mean, what's a bigger sign of life than searching for its meaning? Getting crushed, saying "No," and getting back up to keep going? That's a right to life if I've ever seen it.
LZ: Oddly enough, Metal Sonic's search for a soul is the strongest proof of all that he has one.
TWO: Well, that, plus all his rants, arguments, free will choices, and Chaos Energy working with him even without a direct connection to it.
LZ: Though his emotional journey may never be complete, may you never stand in its way. For in all his travels, adventures, and battles, none ever challenged Sonic in quite the same way as his own reflection.
Sonic leaps out of the way of Metal Sonic's chest beam, barely dodging the robot duplicate's surprise attack. Ignoring his missed strike, Metal turns to Sonic and speaks. "I was created to destroy you, Sonic. It is my only purpose. And I will never stop."
Sonic backs up… and turns and runs away.
"Running is useless," Metal Sonic declares flatly, not bothering to chase him. "You cannot escape your fate."
Sonic then comes back around from the other side, having run across the entire planet in a mere moment, and now strikes Metal with all the kinetic energy he has built up.
Metal steps forward and turns around, completely unaffected. "You cannot win." He raises a hand, coated in electricity. Sonic attempts a spin attack, but Metal's hand forms an energy shield and bounces his attack off, leaving him sprawled on the ground.
Metal Sonic rises into the air, lightning erupting from his hands and chest and covering the planet. "Surrender, Sonic, and I will make your final moment a quick one!"
Metal Sonic:
Name: Hyper Metal Sonic 1.0
Species: Badnik
Height: 3'3 / 100 cm
Weight: 275 lbs / 125 kg
Age: 3
Occupation: Double-Sided Sword
Aliases: Metallix, E-10000B, Neo Metal Sonic, The Sonic Terminator, Turbo Mecha Sonic
Composed of Living Metal based off the abilities of Chaos
The best villain of the best Sonic fan work
~ RIP Mark Hayne's ability to make more than two videos per decade
Abilities:
Super-robot statblock
Incredible super speed
Flight
Capable of using any technological or magical force as a power source
Analysis of any opponent over time can reveal weaknesses and allow him to copy their techniques
Fighting Skill level at or surpassing Sonic
Liquidation of self
Invisibility
Taunt
Grab All
Speed Boost
Double Mid-Air Glide
Chaos Rocket
Bubblegum Descent
Chaos Lance
Drill Drive
Thunder Shoot
Air Chaos Crush
Pink Typhoon
Chao Rush
Quick Ascent
Volcanic Dunk
Megaton Hook
Chao Slam
Air Slide
Fire Claw
Spin Hammer Attack
Overturn
Roaming Chaos
Chaos Projectiles
Charged Wrench Attack
Leaf Swirl
Meteor Crush
Psycho Smash
Drill Spin Boost
Card Float
Homing Shot
Multi-lock
Chao Arch
Double Jump
Plunder
Axel Spin
Solid Knuckle
Infinite Glide
Aerokinesis
Glide
Kn. Air Hook
V. Maximum Overdrive
Cyblaster
Electric Stab
Petit Step
Body Press
Milky Turn
Tag Action
Deep Impact
Chao Dunk
Distract
Slide Turn
Rock Free Fall
Chao Circle
Chaos Boost
Spin Dash
Flexible Chaos
Sonic Heal
Teleport Dash
Psychokinesis
Shuriken
Sonic Boom
Agent Eagle
Big Hammer Attack
Bat Guard
Major Eruption
Propeller Hammer
Hammer Punch
Chao Rolling Attack
Meteor Punch
Lure Whip
Light Speed Attack
Radial Burst
Acceleration Up
Chaos Dolphin
Dig
Cream Cracker
Feel No Pain
Card Attack
Double Punch
Girl Upper
Loop Kick
Grind Step
Gravity Dive
Attack Support
Rocket Accel
Ring Spark Field
Kn. Straight
Tornado Kick
Chaos Spear
ESP
Cyclone Kick
Investi-Gator
Burning Straight
Black Shield
Cyknuckle
Air Chaos Splash
Hold Smash
Chaos Crush
Spin Jump
Black Wave
Quick Step
Screwdriver
Chao Attack
Air B. Shock
Cyloop
Poison Parry
Air Chaos Shot
Fire Combination
Stretch Chaos
Light Speed Dash
Homing Cutter
Phantom Rush
Tantrum
Wild Rush
Spin Attack
Debuff Parry
Sonic Guard
Chao Knight
Paralyze Cut
Parry
Chao Spinning Attack
Chaos Shot
Fireball
Secret Spear
Rival Takedown
Kick Dash
Battering Ram
Skydiving
G. Tornado
Girl Dunk
Spike Stomp
Trounce Support
C. Revolution
High Card Jump
Girl Crush
Buster Drill
Chaos Double Stab
Low Blow
Upper E. Shock
Hammer Attack
Hip Attack
Electric Shock
Burst Hover
Swinging Hammer
Boost Jump
Edge Attack
Trick Action
Chaos Punishment
Slingshot
Chaos Attack
Sonic Drive
Infinite Card Spin
Froggy Rain
Psycho Shock
Dash Punch
Blast Jump
Rose Typhoon
Blinker
Cyclone Boost
Umbrella Descent
Chaos Rift
Drill Spin Boost
Chaos Upper
Silent Size
Chao Dash
Chaos Blast
Fire Knock
Fire Dunk
Blow Kiss
Cream Ballet
Flame Purgación
Chao Ball Attack
Fire Somersault
Wall Climb
Chao Cannon
Guard
Drill Claw
Heart Mine
Cyclone Cannon
Heart Effect
Speed Up
Secret Kick
Magnetism manipulation
Fireball Jump
Jewel Storm
Recovery Smash
Air C. Cannon
Thunder Arrow
Uppercut
Chaos Snap
Chaos Splash
Teleportation
Black Tornado
Chao Upper
Charm Ray
Somersault
Break Parry
Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack
Big Fishing
Tough
Boost
Skim Boost
Levitate
Gravity Control
Refresh
Chroma Camo
Umbrella Attack
Elastic Chaos
Vector Breath
Chaos Magic
Cure
Recovery Mode
Spin Slash
Flash
Meteor Smash
Chaos Impact
Drill Spin Attack
Cyhammer
Sweet Roll
Boost Mode
Chaos Burst
Wild Meteor
Stomp Attack
Card Spin Boost
Card Spin
Tarot Draw
Froggy Poison
Quake Punch
Devastator
Cross Slash
Spiral Dive
Storming Heart
Girl Swing
Head Slide
Jump Dash
Demoralize
Cheese Tornado
Card Stomp
Sting Attack
Beauty Shock
Bat Cracker
Jump Fireball
Gift
Floating Fall
Homing Attack
Spinning Hammer
Strength Support
Meltdown
Wrench Attack
Tornado Hammer
C. Nightmare
Spiral Upper
Heat Stomp
Lure Attack
Air Pink Typhoon
Chao Tornado
Charlie Kick
Forward Power Attack
Enrage
Ground Shaker
Power Boost
Psychic Knife
Spiral Attack
Girl Bomber
Dash Boost
Air Gift
Power Flash
Jump Fire Knock
Jump Attack
Burst Dash
Chao Winder
Fire Boost
Animal Communication
Ascending Flight
Shriek
Super Spin Dash
Upper Chaos
Chao Spin
Gliding Knuckles Attack
Spinning Claw
Screw Kick
Chaos Control
Transformations
~Metal Sonic Kai, Super Metal Sonic, Giga Metal, Metal Madness, Metal Overlord, Master Overlord
Arsenal:
Phantom Ruby
Chaos Emeralds
Master Emerald
Wisps/Dark Wisps
~ Magenta, Yellow, Blue, Crimson, Orange, Indigo, Green, Pink, Purple, Gray, Red, Ivory, Black, Jade, Violet, Cyan, White
Electric Claws
Dark Rings
Chaos Rings
Blue Devil
Formula M
Metal Booster
Built-in Rocket Launcher, Mine Traps, Electric Barrier, Laser Cannons, and Sound Cannon
Feats:
Broke free from his original programming
Flew from Little Planet to Mobius in 17 seconds while on the brink of death
One-shot Knuckles
Vanished from Sonic's sight
Superior to Emerl, who broke the Master Emerald
Superior to Final Egg Blaster, which destroyed "all those stars"
Likely superior to Master Core ABIS, which created a black hole the size of a country
Likely superior to G-merl, who flew from Mobius to a nebula in 6.67 seconds
Chaos Energy has protected from Time Eater, the Overmind, and the Paradox Prism's breakage
Tricked all of Team Dark, which included supergenius spies, beings that could sense life energy, and other Eggman robots
As Metallix, capable of killing Knuckles with a single chest laser, and was unhurt by a hit from Sonic with the momentum of running around the planet
In Sonic Boom, matched and nearly defeated Sonic and Shadow simultaneously
Weaknesses:
Great overconfidence, toys with opponents
Desperate to prove his superiority over Sonic and other clones/robot duplicates
Relatively naive and easily tricked
Opponent analysis and ability duplication takes time
Extreme vulnerability to computer-based attacks, including hacking, reprogramming, and electrical shortages
~Seriously, even though he's made of liquid metal, all of this has happened to him afterwards, many, many times. It's stupid. I hate it
Special Notes:
[1] While there is plenty of evidence to suggest that titles such as Sonic X, Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime, the feature films, and the United Kingdom Comic Line have some footholds in canon or are alternative timelines, the Sonic SatAM TV Show and its Archie Comics continuation is clearly too different and too separately defined to bear any consideration in this analysis. The same can be said for Sonic Underground and the Shogakukan manga.
[2] Despite the widespread use of the term and the generally-understood magic system associated with it by the community, the Chaos Force and most interpretations of its properties come exclusively from non-canon content. Whenever this energy is referred to in-canon, it is called "Chaos Energy" and seems to function similarly to an RPG magic system, being used by individual spellcasters for specific purposes and replenishing over time, with Chaos Emeralds and similar devices acting as, essentially, batteries of Chaos Energy that can be drawn from for additional power. It should be noted that while Chaos Control has been used for time-travel a few times by certain individuals, it usually requires multiple users, and Metal has never performed this technique. In fact, in stories where time-travel is heavily involved, such as Sonic Rivals 2, Metal explicitly cannot time-travel on his own, and had to rely on other characters to bring him to other dimensions and points in time.
[3] Metal Sonic explicitly set up the events of Sonic Heroes so he could analyze and duplicate the abilities of every playable character. He joined Team Dark in disguise in Sonic Free Riders for the specific purpose of taking the abilities of every participating racer. He analyzes the racers in Sonic Team Racing as part of the story mode. He was directly intended to fight all the heroes in Sonic Rivals, and when he failed, he was upgraded with knowledge of them and their powers. While it's possible Metal Sonic has taken the abilities of more characters, these are the ones we can establish canonically as an absolute surety.
[4] Sonic's world has addressed the existence of Bonus Lives through specified means and items, though never in correlation to story deaths. Regardless, the items that provide these Bonus Lives never appear in games that Metal Sonic takes part in, and destroying Metal's body is shown canonically to actually disable him until he or Eggman can make repairs.
[5] Metal Sonic has utilized birds, rampant electricity, and even time-traveling technology as sources of energy. In the Fleetway "Sonic the Comic" UK comic series, Metal Sonic was even able to use the Omni-Matrix as a power source, a machine that controls all of space and time and could even restrain Fleetway's Super Sonic! It should be noted that Metal flying between Little Planet and Mobius was after his current power source was removed, suggesting his backup system can get him through years of inactivity, and hours of fighting activity should the worst happen.
[6] Chaos Energy as transferred through the Emeralds takes two forms: Light and Dark. While creatures like Chaos, Mephiles, and Imperiator Ix take their Dark Energy, Eggman's machines tend to take their Light Energy, as it is the stronger of the two. While Sonic and other characters can take Light Energy from the Emeralds even if they have strengthened a malevolent being, the Emeralds typically require time to recharge after use from Eggman, and so are useless for a short time to good guys. Metal has shown able to take from both sides of the spectrum, implying use of his mechanical abilities (Light) and his own strength of will (Dark).
[7] In the Sonic Dash mobile game, Sonic and Metal Sonic are shown again to be equal in speed. The story implies that Sonic didn't take Metal seriously, but this could suggest speed near Modern Sonic's level, who has broken through the universal Cyperspace with speed alone. It should be noted that the claims of canonicity in the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games vary, especially in regards to the Story Modes. Regardless, however, Metal Sonic in those games is explicitly a new robot that Eggman created, and his… very low showings of strength would not scale to the true Metal Sonic.
…
All right, the combatants are set, and we've run the data through all possibilities. It's time for a…
Death Battle!
…
Metal Sonic hovered above the Forgotten Forest of Cero Island. He remembered this place as the first location Sonic and Shadow had attempted to protect. He held every major power source he could find, now. The Phantom Ruby, the entire population of Planet Wisp, and the Master Emerald itself. He had once had the Chaos Emeralds as well, but much to his chagrin, the more biting of the two rats had managed to take them from under his grasp. He had banished Shadow to a random dimension in the multiverse when he wouldn't give up their location.
No matter now. His creator had fallen. The fox, the echidna, and Amy Rose had all been taken prisoner months ago in opposition to him. The only reason he had kept them alive was to tempt his cerulean rival into a rescue. And just earlier today, it had worked, and he had finally managed to defeat the insufferable Sonic. The inferior blue blur was locked away, his Chaos Energy being used as a power source in a factory that produced endless machines for him to rule.
And now, he would take the nature his enemy had loved so much.
A ball of yellow energy gathered in Metal's torso. The pulsing cannon in his chest vibrated and heated before launching a large ball of destruction at the treetops.
A yellow ball which was suddenly swallowed up in purple and exploded well before it could singe a single leaf.
He heard a deep, reverberating voice inside his head.
"You are not welcome here. Leave this place."
Metal scanned to find the traces of psychic energy, and his eyes followed the trail back until they found its source: a white and purple bipedal creature, hovering in the air above the trees around four hundred and seven meters away.
Metal was there in a nanosecond.
In the most commanding, threatening voice his robotic body could produce, he seethed. "Kneel before your master."
"I have no master. I have ensured that."
"Perhaps you did not hear me," Metal Sonic cooly replied. His eyes glowed a brighter red, and bits of electricity zapped from his sockets. He lifted his right arm, pointing it like a gun at the hovering Pokémon. "Kneel before your master."
"And what," Mewtwo replied in his mind, equally cool, "makes you the master of anything?"
"I am the strongest being in all creation," Metal clarified smugly. "I have taken into myself the greatest forms of power that exist. I have crushed the rodents protecting this forest, and so now, I am duty-bound to rule it."
"And does your rule dictate that you hurt the creatures that live within?"
Metal chuckled. "If I feel so."
Mewtwo nodded slowly. "Then you will rule in pieces."
Mewtwo reached forward with his left hand.
-FIGHT!-
Instantly, Metal's outstretched arm was knocked aside by a large spoon, which flew into Mewtwo's hand. Mewtwo twirled the spoon and held it diagonally behind his back, a defensive position to allow him the mobility to deflect an attack from any angle.
Metal simply stared for a moment before snorting. The snort turned into a light laugh. "Very well. Have it your way."
His right arm whirred as mechanical parts retreated and new ones clicked into place. When he raised it again, it now showed a metal tube with hundreds of small holes. The tube spun, and from each hole came dozens of laser bolts.
Mewtwo swung his Twisted Spoon (now freshly un-twisted) in front of him and spun it in a circle, using his psychic perception to see the location and future of every individual bolt. Right before it would land, some portion of the spoon was there. Handle, side, engraving, or shovel, all were in constant use to block every single bolt and reflect them. Some into the sky, and some at Metal Sonic.
Metal Sonic put up his Black Shield right as a group of lasers was about to strike him, and each harmlessly dissipated against it. He dropped the shield and puffed up his shoulders, causing them to open and dozens of rockets to fly out. Mewtwo bounced one off his spoon and raised up his own Barrier, which each rocket exploded into. The explosions bounced off the barrier, ensuring Mewtwo was in no danger of any harm. Mewtwo now took the lead in attack, ramming forward in flight with his spoon acting as a spear.
Metal raised an arm to casually block the strike, only to be pushed backwards and grunt in surprise at the astonishing force it hit with. He spun around in the air, creating an airflow that caught the spoon's open shovel, forcing Mewtwo to scoop it across the wind instead of cutting through with the side. Metal curled up into a spiny ball and struck with a homing attack, which Mewtwo managed to strike away like a baseball. Metal came to a stop mid-air.
"This doesn't seem fair," he chuckled.
"Then leave."
"It doesn't seem fair," Metal continued, "that I'm playing with you while you're using your weapon, and I haven't even had the chance to pull out any of mine."
His entire right arm took on a glossy sheen and began to morph. The hand expanded vertically before bulking up at the top. When the form settled again, Metal stood with a blue and spiked replica of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer.
Mewtwo jabbed ahead at breakneck speeds, but Metal easily blocked the tip of the spoon with the handle of his hammer, then spun the hammer underneath the spoon, using the spin to form a miniature tornado that forced the hammer up at an angle his currently-formed joints wouldn't reach, surprising Mewtwo and knocking the spoon out of his hands.
As the spoon rotated and spun on its descent to the ground, Metal coated his hammer in flames, then electricity. "I have the combined skill of the greatest martial artists in the galaxy. I can form any weapon and defeat every other user of it. I don't. Because I am the strongest weapon." The hammer turned into liquid once more and rejoined into Metal's body. "Yet you came at me with a spoon. It should only be fitting that I scoop your insides across the land to be devoured."
Mewtwo opened one hand. "The only thing to be eaten today-"
"Is my words? Could you be more cliche?"
Mewtwo's already-narrowed eyes shrunk even further. "Is your pride."
Then Metal felt his chest burst open as the back end of the Twisted Spoon pierced through his entire torso.
Metal's eyes raced and scanned Mewtwo's open hand. He had called it forwards whilst Metal was in the way. Clever.
"Thank you."
Metal snarled. "If you think this is enough to even slow me down, your dream is about to become a nightmare." He melted into silver metal around the spoon, dripping past it and reforming mid-air; still injured, Mewtwo noticed. Not for long, though, as he vibrated his molecules around the "wound," causing the hole to begin adjusting itself into a manner of self-repair.
The spoon reached around to strike him again, but Metal had analyzed its path, and now he was able to easily reach into the air and snatch it. "Flame Purgación." His body began to coat itself in flame as he vibrated his hands, until heat began to seep into the spoon. "Chaos Upper." With a grunt and a flex, the spoon shattered into dozens of pieces, which turned to molten metal and dripped from the sky.
Metal looked expectantly at Mewtwo. "What does that tell you of your chances against me?"
"Only that physical force is not the way forward."
Metal laughed. He lifted an arm and charged a red laser beam. "Oh, but I promise you, it is." He let the beam charge for a few more seconds before launching it at the Pokémon.
And then, a meter before it hit him, the beam curved and spun to the left, changing direction sharply and destroying a mountain several kilometers away.
What? Is something wrong with my targeting data?
Metal Sonic changed to his shoulder missiles again and launched several dozen at the miffed, hovering Pokémon. Then, with a wave of Mewtwo's hand, the missiles all halted, turned around, and charged at Metal Sonic, who, despite being caught by surprise again, raised his Black Shield in time.
Mewtwo readied a true psychic Pokémon's stance against Metal. This robot creature truly believed itself invincible. Mewtwo had been allowing its delusions before, but no longer. He had a home and family to protect. He could practically taste the bloodlust emanating from the robot (Metal Sonic, he felt)'s soul. He should crush him. Now.
One hand clenched, entrapping the now-unshielded Metal Sonic in a barrier of psychic energy, restraining all movement. Metal vibrated in an attempt to move, but Mewtwo's hold was absolute. His other hand went to charging a Hyper Beam; an extremely powerful attack, yes, but one he felt the situation warranted. It took nearly a minute of continuous charging for the beam to be at full power, but when it finally launched, the brightness coated the sky and blotted the sun. It would reduce this mechanical menace to nothing but scrap metal, Mewtwo was sure.
Then the beam turned around and flew at him, instead.
"What?!"
Mewtwo teleported away in time, but at the same moment, felt his psychic barrier around the android shatter. He turned to see Metal flexing his arms.
"I told you. I was playing with you."
He curled up a finger, and, using Silver's ESP, the Hyper Beam turned back around towards Mewtwo. Realizing that it would simply chase him around forever, Mewtwo was forced to confront the beam directly. He activated both Substitute and Light Screen, creating alternate versions of himself to take the hit and dozens of small barriers to weaken it beforehand. His own blast was too strong; it burned through every barrier and every copy and injured his own body, albeit barely.
Mewtwo turned to Metal. "Enough." He reached out his right hand and sent out a Psystrike. The first wave of the strike did cause slight denting, but then Metal simply teleported in front of him and out of the way of the attack. Mewtwo backed up slightly, not having expected this, and coated his left fist with electricity for a Thunder Punch. The punch connected, and the bright-yellow contrast of energy blasted through his enemy, but Metal seemed almost happy.
"I appreciate the snack, even if it is from a worm like you."
The construct turned back and fell into strings of energy, each of which was absorbed through Metal's back plating. New fire entered his eyes and he charged ahead, using V. Maximum Overdrive to slam into Mewtwo's body and channel his own energy through the Pokémon. Mewtwo actually felt pain from that, and was forced to teleport away before showing weakness.
What is this? He wondered as he cast Restore, undoing the damage Metal's attack had done. Why didn't I see that coming?
Now that he was able to think more clearly, he realized that much about the robot was nebulous to him. He wasn't predicting every attack, as he normally would. He wasn't reading his every thought, or forcing his mind to still. It was as if Metal Sonic's mind and body were protected by some outer force he was not aware of.
Metal spotted him and, in a glow of cyan, transformed into a laser beam. Before Mewtwo could fully comprehend what he had done, Metal was in front of him, and, without a word, uppercutted him in the stomach. The Pokémon was launched higher into the air, gasping out a little water at the sudden blow, until Metal teleported above him while he was still moving. His eyes flashed twice as he calculated his angle and force, and he struck downwards with both fists, colliding with Mewtwo's body and sending him back down twice as quickly.
Mewtwo shook his head and teleported several meters to the left mid-air before he could hit the ground. As soon as he re-appeared, his previous momentum vanished, and he cast Swift, creating star-shaped energy constructs that would chase down Metal. But the robot ignored them and tore towards Mewtwo. Seeing his plan, Mewtwo teleported himself far beyond Metal and the Swift stars, but he found himself in a mid-air trap; surrounded by floating mines. A quick mental check of the mines revealed each to have the power to level the entire forest he was protecting if set off… and they were set off by psychic signals.
He was trapped.
How? I know he cannot read my mind. How did he manage to create the perfect trap for me, knowing where I would teleport to, all without me noticing? It would be impossible.
Unless…
Mewtwo created a series of Barriers and Light Screens surrounding the explosives and himself. This way, if he was wrong, he would be the only one to pay for it. He reached out and touched a mine.
It exploded.
No.
It didn't explode.
Mewtwo's Psyshock cut through the illusion, shattering the false mines like glass, though not before they had burned his outer skin a little.
The dropped illusion, however, still left him with Metal Sonic making a sharp turn right above his face, allowing his own Swift attack to strike him.
Mewtwo took the hit, grunted, and teleported up to Metal Sonic, who laughed. "And you thought it was I who would be eating today."
Mewtwo pulsed out his psychic power in a show of anger.
And Metal Sonic teleported to his right and kicked him through three mountains and a gorge, buried so deep into the ground a hundred kilometers from where he began that he was able to see actual worms.
Mewtwo sighed.
And grew.
He felt Metal approaching him now, in the desert, having proven his superiority. But he had made a fatal mistake. Mewtwo grew large enough for his head to expand out of the earth, spotting Metal floating in mid-air. "Let us see who the insect is, now."
Metal tutted. "Do you truly think your… cheap… magic…" As Mewtwo grew, larger than a truck, larger than a building, larger than a skyscraper, Metal's words died in his voice processor. He simply stared at the enormous Dynamax form in front of him.
Mewtwo pulsed out his psychic power.
This time, the pulse created earthquakes. It broke half the remaining mountains in the range they had just passed. The water that was held deep underground in the desert wells boiled. Metal Sonic was even sent staggering and stumbling through the air.
Mewtwo raised up an arm, and struck down at Metal Sonic with a Giga Impact. Metal Sonic, in response, let loose every color of Wisp he had, forming a rainbow of colored powers that coalesced inside of him, forming him into a black hole composed of spikes and drills, rocketing ahead at laser speeds. This form only lasted a brief moment before its effects were recombined into his regular form as the Wisps left ahead, creating a colored ring that Metal would be launched through. Metal curled up for a spin attack, each of the Wisps adding their colors to his strength and he absorbed incredible amounts of Hyper-Go-On, and was finally thrown at the Giga Impact with the strength of a thousand stars.
And the Giga Impact crashed him into the ground, tearing apart his torso and crushing three limbs into bits and pieces.
Mewtwo wavered, taking a moment to Recover. "You assumed I was using all of my power. That was your fatal mistake."
Still in a crater on the ground, half his head caved in, Metal laughed. "Th- tha- that's fu-funny."
Mewtwo locked him down with a psychic barrier and gathered his full psychic energy in his palms. He would end this with a Psydisaster. He'd never attempted it in his normal form, but Dynamaxed, he should have more than enough power. He charged for only ten seconds before pointing the spiral of mind-melting destruction at the remains of Metal Sonic.
The robot coughed. An odd choice to program in, but one Mewtwo sensed he was… proud of.
"I-I was abo-about to s-say the sa-sa-sa-same."
Metal's chest cavity opened up to reveal a shrunken version of the Master Emerald.
Mewtwo brought down his spiraling Psydistaster, striking Metal full force, melting the ground, clearing the sky, even making the sun above twinkle and forming new holes in the fabric of reality. Surrounding Metal's body was a sparkling galaxy of power, all-showing, all-consuming, and all-expanding.
And when it faded, it revealed Metal Sonic.
As a cobalt monster with the head of a Tyrantum, the body of a Dracozolt, and countless tendrils, weaponry, and eyes, at a size that matched Mewtwo's own.
Mewtwo gathered up and threw a Shadow Ball the size of a city at him.
And Master Overlord batted it away into the sky with a single swing of a single tendril.
Dynamax Mewtwo and Master Overlord gathered energy in their arms and clashed punches as the Shadow Ball destroyed a planet many millions of kilometers away. The shockwave was so intense, the sky itself darkened. In another dimension, Giratina looked up in hope as it thought reality might have broken through enough for it to see. In a different dimension, a confused, wandering Shadow heard a spine-tingling crackle and searched for its source.
Mewtwo pulled back his hurting hand, which bled a little.
Master Overlord hissed. "Is that your best?"
Mewtwo threw both his hands forward, attempting to empty the creature's mind of rational thought, but the energy protecting it was even stronger in this form.
Master Overlord jetted backward a little. "In a way, I'm glad I found you. I thought I had no means left to become stronger. Let me show you a little of what you have taught me."
And from behind Master Overlord arose several enormous star-shaped projectiles, which locked onto Mewtwo and blasted ahead. Mewtwo, in his much larger and stronger form, was able to block the attack with a Light Screen, but seeing the rays explode upon contact with his shield was still disturbing.
He learned one of my moves?
"Not just one."
Master Overlord roared and swung his head straight forward a few meters. And from his whole body came a construct of electricity, ramming ahead as a Thunder Punch that was far stronger than any even Mewtwo had seen. Dynamaxed Mewtwo put up a regular Barrier, but, incredibly, the construct deformed around the single square and reformed on the other side. Mewtwo reached ahead with a Hurricane, using the Flying-type move to scatter the ineffective Electric-type. Indeed, the thunderous construct fell to pieces.
Mewtwo glared at Master Overlord, and thrust his right hand forward, shooting out an enhanced Psystrike to melt his insides. He saw the invisible-to-the-eye beam jaggedly flash forward… and Master Overlord put up a Light Screen that was a thousand stories tall, which the Psystrike fizzled out against.
Master Overlord practically guffawed. "It's incredible! I never imagined this many abilities in just one creature! I could always inflict pain, but now," his body charged up in a yellow aura, "I feel it."
He opened his mouth, and from it came a Hyper Beam. Mewtwo teleported to the far right, but the beam simply turned and followed him, controlled by Metal's newfound advanced telekinesis. The beam struck Mewtwo, who clenched his eyes shut as the pain.
"Glorious! Your voice is silent, but your inner voice is a symphony, each note a timbre of anguish, each chord a crescendo of agony!"
Mewtwo shook and quickly cast Restore to heal himself. Only to mentally slap himself when he realized what he had just done.
"And now, a new healing method. It must be Christmas morning, and no one told me!"
Mewtwo stood his ground and turned to Master Overlord. "Enough. If you truly want to finish this, you must get through me. Show me all that you have, and in return, I will show you all that I have."
"A tempting offer to allow your pitiful life to continue," the chaos-infused robot noted. "But I've let you live long enough."
Master Overlord charged up its own V. Maximum Overdrive, flying through the air at billions of times the speed of light and charging as an energy bullet. Mewtwo braced his arms with Barriers, Protects, Light Screens, and every physical amp he knew, and held them forward. Like grabbing a bull by the horns, he blocked the charge from Master Overlord, digging his feet into the ground.
But even so, his feet sank. He was pushed a half-dozen kilometers through rock and sand. His arms shook and his hands began to burst internally from all the pressure they were put under.
Mewtwo grunted, then groaned, then, finally, for the first time in this fight, he shouted. As psychic energy poured from his body in a massive explosion, the sound of his shout reverberated in every remaining mind around the world.
And then, Master Overlord was held still.
By Mega Mewtwo Y.
Mewtwo held forward one hand, light purple energy streaming quietly from it. And Master Overlord could not move.
"What.., are you? What have you done?!" Metal's voice shouted from inside Master Overlord.
The small, plush-like floating clone answered quietly. "Kept a promise."
A limb was torn off of Master Overlord. Four of its tendrils collapsed into pieces as insurmountable psychic pressure was placed on them.
Master Overlord shouted in anger. Blue energy poured from his body as he used a combination of Silver's psychokinesis and Base Mewtwo's telekinesis to counter Mewtwo's hold. As the hold broke, he mentally regathered his limbs and began casting Restore in a glowing aura to repair the damage.
"Not this time."
Then, the glowing aura stopped. And, just like that, Metal could no longer use psychokinesis.
"What is this?!"
"I could not affect you as I normally would before. The energy you possess- ah, your memories call it the 'Master Emerald.' It shielded you. Until I reached a form that overpowered that protection. Now, I may do as I always wished. Including shutting down your knockoff powers."
Master Overlord attempted to strike his opponent's sense with a Psystrike, but it didn't activate. He tried to teleport away, only to find that it, too, had been taken from him. "Do you truly think you've won? What do you hope to gain from this pathetic display?"
"Victory," Mewtwo replied simply.
Metal sneered. "Victory is an illusion." His body glowed red for a brief moment, and then, coming in from all directions, from the stars, the far reaches of the planet, under the sea, at all angles, were billions of Metal Sonics. They swarmed the sky like gnats, forming clouds that gods would choke on. They cried and screamed and poured in, with millions already aiming shots at Mewtwo.
Metal snickered. "Did you think I was the only one of my kind? I was merely the vanguard for the oncoming army!"
"I never need to think," Mewtwo stated briskly. "I always know."
Tens of millions of lasers rained down from the sky.
"Did you forget?" Mewtwo asked. "I can read your mind, now."
Master Overlord tightened. Oh, cr-
Mega Mewtwo Y waved his left hand, and into it was teleported a red gem. And as the Phantom Ruby left Metal's body, every laser and every Metal Sonic above shattered like glass, and reality fell into place.
Master Overlord rocketed up into the sky. "Don't get so bold just because you can now see your death coming!" His body pulsed and glowed reddish-brown for a brief moment. "Chaos Blast!"
A red explosion burst from Master Overlord. Although he did not know it, it was the strongest version of the technique ever unleashed; more than powerful enough to wipe out the galaxy many thousands of times over. But the only thing it was focused on right now was Mewtwo.
Mewtwo's head-tail swished behind him. "I told you. Not this time."
And the Chaos Blast turned around and struck Master Overlord instead.
Mewtwo teleported in behind the screams, shielded by a strengthened barrier, and laid a hand on the back of Master Overlord's head.
In a moment, the Master Emerald fell out of his chest, and the body behind it turned to stone.
A few minutes of waiting later, the dry stone around the neck began to crack, break, and crumble. A small, metallic hand punched out, and then, dragging himself out of the stone with his left arm, was the broken-down, one-limbed Metal Sonic.
"Not… f-fair…"
"I was hoping for a better choice of last words." Mewtwo raised a finger, creating a Shadow Ball.
Metal crumbled. He broke. The emotional dam that had been built into him all those years ago, that he had been forcing cracks into however he could, finally shattered. He cried.
He wanted to live.
In a dimension of threads, chaos, fibers, and seas, seven Emeralds heard the call of a living being with a great will.
Mewtwo's shadow ball landed.
And Metal Sonic stood up straight and walked through it with a golden aura.
Mewtwo clicked its head, reading his mind to comprehend what was happening. "How did you-"
"Chaos Control."
Mega Mewtwo Y was thrown to the ground. Then up into the air. Then into the side of the last remaining mountain of the four hundred that had once been in this range. And Metal Sonic, powered by all seven Chaos Emeralds, was there, hand around his throat.
As the first punch landed, Mewtwo brought up a barrier. Metal Sonic broke it with seemingly no effort. He punched Mewtwo's forehead.
Mewtwo was suddenly back in his tank. Dark. Lonely. He was angry, hurt, scared. He didn't know why. He just wanted… something. And maybe, just maybe, if he turned the human in front of him into goo, he might be a step closer to that something.
Mewtwo snapped back. Every cell in his body was screaming that it was hurt, in danger, and needed to escape. Wha-
In less time than Mewtwo's nerves could reach his brain to deliver the pain, Metal struck his chest with a kick.
Mewtwo was on a mountaintop. He watched a group of humans in a small town. Two were buying groceries, one was trying to keep up with their youngling, and several were angry inside their vehicles. He could read the sources of their anger in his mind, but the reasons made no sense to him. He saw a telephone pole swaying; it could hit a car if it fell. He screwed it into the ground and rebuilt its foundations with a glance. Then he blinked in surprise. Why had he just done a service to humans? And one so minor. It was beneath him. How could he-
Mewtwo snapped back. Blood now came from his mouth; his bones were malleable thanks to his genetics, but one had still broken from that last kick.
Is he striking me with such force that… I am traversing time itself?
Metal Sonic struck his throat, and he blacked out into another point of his life.
…
By the time Metal Sonic finished this particular beatdown, he had counted exactly 212 strikes between his fists, kicks, knees, and elbows. It had taken less than a second. Mega Mewtwo Y's broken, blood-covered form was cratered into the cliffside, and a scan of his body showed; multiple internal organs were ruptured, 94% of his bones were broken (some reduced to a very fine dust, he thought proudly), and his brain was pulsing at one 1/10th the normal rate. He couldn't even think, much less fight back.
Even so, Metal couldn't resist.
"Oh? What's the matter, little worm? I thought you were going to tear me to pieces. Can't you overpower my Chaos Energy? Use that telekinesis of yours! Maybe you can try holding your organs together!" He leaned in and pulsed his voice out, at specific low frequencies so as he could be quiet while still hurting the ears as much as possible. "Because I will relish prying them apart."
In his mind, to his mild surprise, he heard a small voice. "You've… lost…"
Metal clamped his right hand around Mewtwo's neck, pulled him out of the cliff, and began to squeeze. "I've lost? Now I know you're delirious. I've never felt more alive!"
"You've lost… your purpose."
Metal went stock-still at that. But only for a moment. He turned his grasping hand into a laser cannon and blasted Mewtwo into the sky. He waited for him to reach a few dozen meters before jetting up, shining his eyes twice for alignment, and striking with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, sending the broken body back to the ground again. But this time, Mewtwo didn't teleport away. This time, he hit the ground hard enough to create an earthquake a continent away and form a fifty-meter deep crater.
Metal landed next to the motionless body of Mewtwo. "Fine. I might as well hear something truly insipid before I tear you in half. What purpose have I lost?"
The reply took longer, this time. "The purpose you… were made for. It's n-n-not enough. I know."
Metal took one step closer. "And what do you know?"
"Purpose o-of power. You ca-ca-can't know. Needs strength."
Metal stared, looked to the sky, and stretched out his arms and scanned the clouds as if he were looking for someone to laugh with. "Have I plucked your eyes out too early? I have nothing BUT strength!"
"N-no. Strength is… from life. From struggle. From trying. Power is… from the soul, but strength is… from the heart." The voice was clearer, now. "You don't have nothing but strength. You just have nothing."
Metal mentally sighed in annoyance. "Of course, I don't have a heart. I'm a machine."
"No," Mewtwo agreed. "You don't have a heart. But-"
Mewtwo's body rose up into the air, glowing blue. Its wounds were fixing themselves. Its cuts were healing. Its bones were re-forming. Metal, shocked, tried to ram forward to stop it, but suddenly found himself moving as if he were chest-high in a swamp zone.
"-you do have a soul."
"What are you doing?!"
"Resting."
Mega Mewtwo Y's eyes opened.
He tapped Metal Sonic's body.
And Metal Sonic's soul was expelled from it.
As his soul watched his body's life fade and the Chaos Emeralds depower, Metal Sonic should have been horrified. Maybe terrified. Maybe furious.
Instead, he was relieved.
I… am alive, after all.
"Not for long."
Metal shook. He only had one shot to do something before his soul was destroyed. He didn't have access to his body, but he was a spirit, right? So, he should still be able to access Chaos Energy.
One last go. He spent every bit of energy his spirit held, enough where it would fade mere minutes later no matter the outcome, on one final gamble.
"Chaos Rift!"
It worked. An enormous gap in reality opened up behind Mewtwo, looking like nothing but black, and Mewtwo's body was being drawn into it.
He died, but at the very final moment, he won. He proved himself.
He proved himself.
That thought repeating in his head distracted Metal Sonic from feeling the Mewtwo Ball thrown at him and bouncing off of his spirit.
With no energy left, and no will to resist, Metal Sonic's soul was sucked into the Mewtwo Ball, which bounced thrice, and locked, sealing away the threat forever.
-KO!-
The Chaos Rift behind Mewtwo closed, as its caster was no longer alive to sustain it. Mewtwo, meanwhile, picked up the Ball and levitated up into the air, surveying the extensive damage this fight had caused to the planet. Countless Pokémon must have been hurt, or misplaced, and would need a protector and a home. Then his eyes narrowed towards a city with a giant sign of Metal Sonic hanging above it in neon lights.
But first, he had some cleaning up to do. He had abandoned this planet, allowing it to suffer like this. Perhaps he shouldn't limit his protection so greatly anymore.
And step one was mentally picking up a building-sized boulder and crushing the Mewtwo Ball under it.
…
Conclusion
TWO: Silly Mewtwo, Metal and Rock are two different genres! Don't combine them!
LZ: This one was… complicated. Both have surprisingly little presence in some extremely expansive stories, but make so much impact within those appearances that comparing them to other aspects of that story becomes easy to assume. And it is, but singling out the individual portions to compare them to is not.
TWO: In other words, figurin' out where to put these two on the power scale is real tough. We know Mewtwo's not quite on the tier of Pokémon's universe-level guys, but he can still hang with them for a little bit. Meanwhile, Metal Sonic is way above folks who are casually wiping out galaxies. In Master Overlord, they'd basically be ants! But there's a big gap between galaxy-level and universal. Like, there are trillions of galaxies in the universe, and way more space between 'em.
LZ: Master Overlord being above pre-Frontiers Base Modern Sonic does come with some universe-level feats depending on how you interpret them, and we could easily reach that high, or even higher, if we stretch into Boom Metal Sonic, but then we have to give the same credits to Mewtwo, who has equally questionable material that puts him at similar or higher levels, including potential scaling to Arceus himself. We're bringing both down to their more-consistent levels, but if we did do highest of highs, Mewtwo is likely the stronger of the two, if only by a little.
TWO: And all the strongest characters who aren't outer gods beyond the universe in both franchises scale pretty close, too, so even if you highball them both without touching the Boom or Arceus stuff, it's crazy hard to pick out the differences in feats. Especially since so much of it comes down to random statements by other characters that we never get evidence for. On both sides![1]
LZ: Honestly, finding provable limits and power scales for these specific combatants is far more than one person is capable of unless they dedicate years of their life to it.
TWO: Two people.
LZ: One person with two personalities.
TWO: Well, whatever. Super Sonic definitely has some universe-to-multiverse or even beyond stuff, especially in his modern day. Like killin' the Egg Wizard, which was gonna merge two universes together!
LZ: But Super Sonic easily dealt with even Metal Overlord. And with Sonic's ability to consistently grow in power with every passing fight, scaling Metal Sonic to any later games than ones where he poses a true threat is extremely questionable, and impossible if we try to bring in Super Sonic.
TWO: In Frontiers, Super Sonic killed a big bad that was directly stated to be stronger than anyone Sonic or Super Sonic had ever seen. WITH ONE PUNCH. Yeah, I don't think we should be scalin' these two.
LZ: Similarly, some creatures in the Pokémon world, particularly certain ultrabeasts, are clearly able to create and destroy entire universes, or even multiverses, with ease.
TWO: In fact, Darkrai was also gonna merge two universes together, just like that Egg Wizard! And in some material, Pokémon similar to Mewtwo have fought all these guys.
LZ: But that on its own is not enough evidence to put Mewtwo on such a level.
TWO: Heck, even all that is understandably questionable to a lot of fans. This whole universe-scaling has a lot of anti-feats, and meanwhile both have tons of feats and scaling that lands around star-level. It's not enough for us to say the former stuff is outliers (WE believe it), but the best bet all-around here is to say that their AP and physical stuff is in the same ballpark of power in their best forms.
LZ: Both also scale to characters that can move billions of times faster than light, have arguable infinite speed scaling, and, similarly-scaled-down, have many, many feats that support them being a little above light-speed. No matter the tier, their speed is matched. Which, combined with their similar attack potency, changes this to a battle of abilities.[2]
TWO: Which kind of sucks for us on the research side, because, I don't know if you noticed the eleven full pages of Google Docs, but these two have a lot of abilities.
LZ: Simply viewing the list might make it appear that Metal Sonic has the advantage here; he does have far more named attacks and moves to choose from based on his extensive history of interacting with the Sonic cast. However, close inspection reveals that many of these moves are relatively similar, or are just basic attacks that were named because of certain game mechanics. When it comes down to actual physical powers vs powers, the two are close to even.
TWO: They could both control fire, electricity, wind, water, and ice. They could both power their stats up, with similar waiting times. Both could fly, heal themselves, use telekinesis, teleport, shoot lasers, bring up impenetrable energy barriers, turn invisible, create illusions so good they become real, and even trap the other guy in another dimension with a percent chance of failure.[3] But there were still some unique bits.
LZ: Metal could, for example, actually adjust and charge his energy, adapting it for what was needed, or even expelling it all at once to guarantee a kill if he backed Mewtwo into a corner. But Mewtwo… could do a lot more.
TWO: Like shooting attacks that never miss with Swift, duplicating himself in weaker forms to buy time if he needs it with Substitute, curin' all possible status effects with Calm Mind or Restore, and surviving an unsurvivable attack (like Metal expelling all his energy at once) with Endure.
LZ: And, frankly, even in the areas where they had the same abilities, Mewtwo almost always tended to go one step beyond.
TWO: Metal's control over the elements is limited to specific moves he's seen Sonic, Knuckles, or Blaze do, but Mewtwo could summon and command them however he wanted. Metal can teleport himself, but Mewtwo can teleport himself and anything he wants, even Metal Sonic! Metal only had one healing move that didn't rely on outside help, and it's way slower than anything Mewtwo has except Rest. And Rest brings you back to 100%, while he'd be lucky if Sonic Heal got him to half-health in the same amount of time.[4]
LZ: And unlike Metal, Mewtwo could actually mess with his opponent's abilities with techniques like Imprison, Disable, and Taunt, without giving Metal the chance to react.
TWO: Sure, some similar moves might be different enough from Mewtwo's to not be affected by Imprison, but stuff like telekinesis through psychic ability, teleportation, and overloading himself to up his stats? That'd be gone in an instant. And Disable didn't care how unique his stuff was! Oh, you liked being able to fly and heal yourself? Good, 'cuz now you can't for the rest of the fight.
LZ: And it's not like Chaos Energy has prevented this from happening to Sonic, Shadow, or even Metal before. Disabling abilities happens all the time in these games. The protection that it gives is much more of a nebulous anti-magical reality-shaping barrier.
TWO: Metal's Chaos Energy did come in handy, though. While Mewtwo could match or outmatch most of what it normally does, its direct control over space was something Mewtwo could only replicate inside his own body. Changing how gravity works would definitely keep the big mouse on his toes.
LZ: But Mewtwo has experience with similar abilities, and weaker Legendary Pokémon could both resist and adapt to similar changes in space from the likes of Giratina and Palkia, whose abilities certainly match that of Master Overlord's Chaos Energy. With his incredibly high intellect and unique abilities, it wouldn't be enough to take a win by itself.
TWO: Especially when Mewtwo could just read Metal's mind. Yeah, hope you didn't forget just 'cuz we haven't brought it up until now, but Mewtwo's whole schtick is messing with your mind. That's something Metal couldn't do or resist at all.
LZ: Mewtwo has read and affected the minds of robots and similar creatures in Pokémon before. Remember, the word "mind" in these games rarely refers to the physical brain. It's more of a spirit or soul-based attack. And Metal Sonic has proven himself every bit as sentient as other characters in his franchise. He has been affected by Chaos Abilities meant for living beings before. There's no reason he would be immune to Mewtwo's powers.
TWO: Sure, Chaos Energy's anti-hax have protected from telepaths like the Overmind, but Mewtwo's in another league.
LZ: The Overmind could communicate with every individual on a planet, but that planet was much smaller than Earth, and Earth is arguably smaller than the Pokémon world. Plus, Mewtwo could do much more than simply communicate. He could erase memories, control millions at once, and merge every sentient being on the planet's "minds" together, all with a single move. No telepath in Sonic history comes anywhere close to that. Even gods like Solaris required specific circumstances and extensive rituals to gain that level of telepathic ability. And keep in mind, a single cell in Mewtwo's body has enough psychic power to take over beings that are supposed to be immune to telepathic attack.[5]
TWO: Yes, it could protect Sonic from stuff like the Paradox Prism, but that's not really a mental or soul-based attack. Even then, a lot of those Pokémon Mewtwo was affecting were close to that strong, too, and remember, he could counter some of the power of Dark Matter, a guy who was strong enough to overpower magical protections pretty similar to Chaos Energy shielding. Also, Chaos Energy anti-hax are specifically for magic. Eggman could get past it, no problem, by using tech or bio-weapons. And Mewtwo, as wild as it sounds, isn't magic. Every inch of his powers are all biological.
LZ: Which does pose the question of whether or not Metal Sonic could duplicate Mewtwo's powers. He has taken biological abilities before, like those of Knuckles, as well as powers that are connected to character-specific energies, like those of Shadow. However, Mewtwo has resisted similar abilities in side games. Like in Super Mystery Dungeon, where items that will steal or alter the abilities of other Legendary Pokémon with no issue simply do not work on Mega Mewtwo Y.
TWO: Also, it usually takes a good long while for Metal to copy someone's powers fully. In Sonic Heroes, he had to set up a bunch of plans and premeditated events and stuff so he would have plenty of time to analyze Sonic and his friends and adapt for their powers. Which, against any other opponent, would be fine, he has tons of powers to keep the other guy occupied, but, um, Mewtwo reads minds. And the second he finds out the Metal can copy powers, this fight's over.
LZ: Both characters had methods of ending the fight immediately that the other could not counter. For example, Metal could stop time, and Mewtwo could shut down Metal's body. However, Mewtwo had far more of these one-hit-kill abilities thanks to his psychic powers, and Metal almost never starts out with an instant-win move, even when he knows that it would work. Partly because he wants to study and take powers, and partly because it's just not in his personality. He's far too confident, and has a history of not pulling out his strongest moves until the very end.
TWO: Mewtwo is a lot less hesitant, but it's still reasonable to say that he wouldn't just murk Metal's brain right off the bat. Unless, you know, he reads his mind. As soon as he finds out Metal is playing for time, he's going to crush the tin-can heart before it's too late. And Mewtwo starts out his battles by reading minds pretty much every time he fights.
LZ: Metal may be a machine with a soul, but he's still a machine. He can be hacked, overcharged, upgraded, and shorted out. Mewtwo has affected machines many, many times, including structures just as complex. He would have no trouble crushing his insides, overloading his circuits, or simply removing his power source, all from as far away as he wished.[6] The only way Metal Sonic could prevent this would be to liquify his body, but then he wouldn't be able to use his own moves, while Mewtwo could always, say, tear out his soul.
TWO: Also, even when he's not looking to end a fight instantly, Mewtwo's lasers turn things to stone. Normally, Chaos Energy protects against that kind of stuff, but remember, all biological. He just had to get one hit in, and he'd be looking at a huge advantage, even if that hit didn't immediately win the fight.
LZ: That's one of the odder parts of Death Battle; while we may spend dozens or hundreds of hours researching to find the limits of speed, strength, and special abilities, ultimately what every match comes down to is: who lands the killing blow more times than not? And in this case, even with their durability levels relatively similar, Mewtwo has so many moves that work as an immediate killing blow regardless of all other abilities or durability feats that the edge has to go to him.
TWO: Even without takin' that into account, though, between his way-better-heals (which he can spam relentlessly thanks to that Mist Looplet), huge variety of specialized barriers, and ability to mess with everything Metal tries to do, he'd win the endurance match way more often than not. Even though Metal is a robot with endless stamina, enough damage over time will drain that energy right away. It's happened too many times to count in his world, and Mewtwo's more than smart enough to take advantage of it.
LZ: And let's not forget that most of Metal's super-forms, including Master Overlord, should function on a time limit based on the available Chaos Energy. Virtually every other character and robot using items like Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald have run through all such energy simply by existing and thereby using it over time. There shouldn't be much of a difference for Metal Sonic. In a battle of equals, that can be a huge disadvantage.[7]
TWO: Ah, well, I have to admit, that was a pretty Metal way to go. Oh, shoot, I did a Metal pun earlier. Um, I don't mean to moan..bius, but I just kant..o see Metal winning this one. This Two! Yeah! Nailed it.
The winner is… Mewtwo.
…
Special Notes (For the Conclusion):
[1] The energy of the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic's own Chaos Energy is sometimes said to be "infinite" or "unlimited." However, Base Sonic does have defined limits to his capabilities and there are other characters who utilize this force far better than him who have their own limits. Even in the event that Sonic's potential is limitless, he clearly has not reached that point yet. And, obviously, none of this would scale to Metal Sonic, who has shown defined limits many times, even when empowered by items just as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds.
[2] Even if Metal Sonic were the stronger of the two, assuming they were remotely close enough in speed for Mewtwo to visually see him, Mewtwo could always use Guard Swap and Power Swap to exchange their statblocks, giving himself the edge in stats while keeping his abilities.
[3] Pokéballs have caught regular animals and even humans in them before, and many Pokémon are just as robotic as Metal Sonic. Even dimensional warping with the Chaos Emeralds would not free Metal Sonic if he were trapped, as many Pokémon have similar dimension-shaping or teleporting abilities, including ultrabeasts, and, canonically, none can escape a Pokéball once it has succeeded in catching them.
[4] If we were to grant Metal Sonic healing items and equipment such as Rings of Life, the same would be done for Mewtwo, granting him access to Reviver Seeds, Elixirs, Full Restores, and similar items. Both characters have never held these items themselves; they are used by other characters in their stories in specific games. As such, it is difficult to justify their inclusion. However, if we do decide to allow items like this, Mewtwo would gain access to a far larger pool of equipment, including items that cause him to automatically dodge any and all projectile or ranged attacks, grant him the ability to phase through all physical objects, and force all projectiles he creates to automatically strike their target with no chance of escape or dodging.
[5] Notably, while Sonic has resisted mind control, no other user of Chaos Energy has. Shadow in particular seems quite vulnerable to it, having been routinely mind-read and mind-controlled by beings far weaker than himself, and even when he was faced with a form of mind-control that he was programmed on a genetic level to resist, it still nearly worked. This could suggest that resisting mental attacks has more to do with Sonic's mind and/or willpower than it does with Chaos Energy.
[6] While the specifics were never directly explained, Mew was once shown able to shut down all electronic devices in his vicinity. These included Pokéballs that already contained Pokémon, and objects specifically made to handle Mew. As Mewtwo wields the same psychic energy, it is possible, though undefined, that he could do the same to Metal Sonic.
[7] Technically, as Mewtwo can teleport any object he knows the location of, he could have access to every known power-up and item in the Pokémon world. This would include objects like Arceus Tablets and Master Balls, things capable of defeating even Master Overlord with a single use. He does not display this ability for this specific purpose in any of his material, however, so it is still questionable. He should still be able to remove and teleport to himself any and all sources of power Metal Sonic has, though. The Phantom Ruby, Chaos Emeralds, everything has to be locked into Metal's body directly for use. When the Master Emerald was disconnected from Master Overlord, he lost his power. Mewtwo should be able to do the same easily, especially with moves like Trick.
…
Next time, on Death Battle…
A teenage girl in traditional southern garb raises a hand and guides it through the air like water, causing a sea's worth of ocean to launch itself at an enemy vessel and sink it.
VS
A teenage boy in an orange T-Shirt's feet float above a pool of water, the flow beneath him erupting into storm waves and miniature hurricanes to prevent the Titan at the other side from reaching him.
(Katara VS Percy Jackson)
I don't like being serious. Not when it comes to something like this story, which was always written as a source of entertainment and escapism.
I wanted to spend this time making jokes about Sonic lore, or screaming about going through all 1000+ episodes of One Piece for the previous episode only to immediately follow it up with 1200+ episodes of Pokémon for this one (told you I was working on this season for a while), or apologizing to Shadowjab for claiming that, yes, Arceus IS a god, or explaining that just because the next episode is a Percy Jackson matchup with a very rarely-requested opponent doesn't mean it won't have incredible effort put into it, and it need not be the only Percy Jackson episode I write.
But too much has happened too recently for me to just drop an episode in silence and leave.
So, let's talk. Seriously.
The closure of RoosterTeeth by Warner Bros. is, to me, not entirely unexpected, but unexpectedly sudden. I think many in the Death Battle community were sharing their thoughts about when the show would be forced to end, and most tied it to the end of RoosterTeeth. General assumptions were around Seasons 15 or 16. Not now. Not after the community has finally united, the show finally has its own dedicated financial support, and we've gone through two massive tournaments that have shown countless possible future episodes that everyone, including Death Battle themselves, would love to see done.
It is, I suppose, possible that Death Battle could survive the closure, assuming its contract with RoosterTeeth took such a situation into account. But it would be different. The majority of employees who work within and alongside the Death Battle team are floaters. That is, they work for RoosterTeeth on a large variety of projects, and Death Battle only happens to be one of those. Even Chad James, voice of Boomstick and oftentimes host of the Death Battle podcast, is a company floater. Many of these would not survive the transition, creating team shortages at best and severe internal structural changes at worst.
Their animation teams, for fights 2D, 3D, and Hand-Drawn, are all in-house RoosterTeeth Animation Studio projects. That was one of the main benefits the show received due to the ScrewAttack/RoosterTeeth merger, and has been frequently stated to be an invaluable asset to the show today. Independent contractors such as DevilArtemis, Blind Ferret, and ismahawk are exceptions, not the rule. While DevilArtemis claimed he would be doing every 3D animation for Season 11, that is now up in the air, and he never claimed to have been hired full-time. Simply put, using the in-house animation teams produces great results and is far cheaper than outsourcing.
Death Battle is not a cheap show to make. It employs, from what we currently know, dozens of full-time employees solely dedicated to this one show, and several dozen to hundreds of floaters from RoosterTeeth. Season 10 went overbudget, and for a time, Death Battle functioned on a deficit. It does not make enough to survive based on YouTube donations alone. The best option would be for the show to be taken in by another company who is willing to match every benefit and budget that RoosterTeeth provided, which, despite the show's connections, would be akin to winning the lottery several times in a row.
Even if this were to occur, there would be no guarantees that the show we know would remain relatively unchanged. Wiz and Boomstick could be replaced, the scripts could be run through separate editors to appeal to a more general audience, and even the show's very nature of being a fight to the death could be altered, depending on who picks the show up. I'm not holding my breath for Death Battle to survive Season 11, but even if it does, to survive Season 11 unchanged would be nearly impossible. The BEST reasonable outcome is a shorter season with cheaper animation utilizing more popular characters, contracted for, at most, a few seasons, and then left to review.
All this to say, I believe Death Battle is, well, dying.
If I am wrong (and all of you reading this story know that I absolutely can be and have been wrong), I will never be happier to be so. I will whoop and cheer and run through the streets, confusing my neighbors, if Hello Fresh suddenly decides to sponsor Death Battle permanently and allow them the freedom and finances to function as their own independent YouTube Channel. But I think that it's important, to me, at least, to prepare for the end.
I hope dearly that everyone on the Death Battle team makes it through this terrible transition with as little harm as possible. Their families, lives, and mental health will be shaken with greater impact than a hurricane at this news, and it is most important that their needs are seen to first, even before the future of the show they were a part of. I cannot aid them in any way beyond what I already donate as a member of the channel, but I will wish them the very best, and, as a religious person, will be praying for them as well.
Naturally, I wish the same for everyone who was affected by this, tearing apart and destroying all of the hundreds of projects that the umbrella of RoosterTeeth was able to allow. RWBY, Red vs. Blue, and Death Battle may be the names you are most familiar with, but RoosterTeeth was the signature that allowed so many countless life goals to be met and art projects to be created. The company itself went through great controversy for very, very understandable reasons, but nobody can deny the impact it made, or the hurt its sudden departure will cause.
And one more acknowledgement. Akira Toriyama is the father of modern anime and manga, even if he would not claim it so. He brought so much into this world and was still bringing even more in until his unexpected passing. When talking in generalities, I love everything he has made, and likely will love everything that will be published in his name posthumously. The words he wove will live forever, and they now prove that they have lived beyond him. To an artist, I believe that is the highest praise I can give. Move forward, Toriyama, and teach a dinosaur to ride a ball.