Mewtwo Move Rankings Discrepancy
After the update to the moveset ranking page for Mewtwo something seemed off. The explanation page states that Confusion/Shadow Ball is the top counter against Pokemon not weak to psychic attacks, despite this moveset being ranked slightly beneath Psycho Cut/Shadow Ball. I checked the DPS/TDO ranking against released and unreleased ghost types and saw in nearly every instance Psycho Cut/Shadow Ball scored higher than Confusion/Shadow Ball. In fact, the only time C/SB ranked higher was against Gengar due to it also being weak to psychic attacks.
tl;dr I would revise the ranking explanation to state the following pertaining to raids:
- Confusion/Shadow Ball is ideal against targets weak to both attack types
- Psycho Cut/Shadow Ball is ideal against targets either neutral to or resistant to psychic type attacks
This is probably common knowledge among anyone who has used Mewtwo before but it should be reflected in the explanation.
Answers
Agreed. It's about whether you're using PC to get energy fast for the SBs, or trying to do the most damage with C/SB.
The general rule is that for targets that resist Psychic and are weak to Ghost (like Mewtwo itself), PC/SB is better. Against neutral targets, C/SB is better. Weak to Ghost, neutral to psychic, or resist psychic, neutral to ghost, it's pretty even.
Right now all 4 of my SB Mewtwos have PC, to raid Mewtwo. Eventually, 2 will carry Confusion, for the reasons listed above.
I'm not always totally in-tune with the amount of TMs the more casual players are carrying- but especially for players with multiple Shadow Ball Mewtwo, I'm sure you have some to spare.
I see PC vs Confusion as a toggle option more than an option you have to pick, really. When you Fast TM, you always know you'll get the other move, and doing so will help you to get more Fast TMs if you switch over to the correct one. There's been times where I've TMed a Mewtwo multiple times in a day- say if I was doing a Kyogre Raid and an EX Raid. I'd love to be able to do it from the Raid Lobby, even.
I've slightly reworded (and reordered) the Off Moves Explanation for Mewtwo to hopefully make this clearer.
Previously: "Confusion + Shadow Ball is Mewtwo’s best generalist option for raids and neutral DPS. This moveset ranks as a top counter against Pokemon not weak to Psychic or Ghost attacks because of Mewtwo's incredibly high attack stat."
Now: "Confusion + Shadow Ball is Mewtwo’s best generalist option for raids and neutral DPS. This moveset ranks as a top counter against many Pokemon, even those that are not even weak to Psychic or Ghost attacks. This is because of Mewtwo's incredibly high attack stat. The new Charge Moves Mewtwo received on September 20th now out DPS Shadow Ball if Super Effective, hurting C+SB's overall rating. It still has a use against Ghost-type Pokemon, Pokemon Mewtwo doesn't otherwise have SE coverage against (like Entei), and as a TM-friendly generalist. New options may be better, but Shadow Ball is still an impressive move as a catch-all generalist."
It's a little lengthy and I plan to go a little more in depth when I revisit this article: https://pokemongo.gamepress.gg/dissecting-mewtwos-moves
As far as you seeing PC>C in future Ghost sims, that's actually a breakpoint issue. PC performs better at lower levels because it's still generating higher energy. At higher levels and higher friendship you'll notice Confusion outranks Psycho Cut.
C+SB are only both SE to Gengar and one Gen 7 Pokemon, which I do mention in the link above- but it also technically outperforms against pure Ghost types at the highest levels of play. Again, the full article plans to go into it a little more and I don't want to crowd the OME too much.
That's all a fair point. Given the nuances between the two moves it can get pretty wordy even in summary.
I hadn't considered higher-level breakpoints when looking at the DPS/TDO chart. Running some sims does confirm your point about the two performing very similarly, with C/SB overtaking PC/SB in some cases.
