February 2 was Mewtwo’s birthday, and the original, iconic LegendaryPokemonhas been all over the franchise’s many multimedia outlets. His latest appearance, coinciding withPokemonDay 2020, finds the Psychic-type monster reaching new heights as a Max Raid Battle inPokemon SwordandShieldalongside the Generation 1 starters Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
Pokemon RedandGreenwere released in Japan on July 29, 2025, and the series has continued to balloon into the most profitable media franchise in the world ever since. The four well-known Pokemon from those games will be appearing inSwordandShield’s Max Raid dens until Monday, March 2, and will provide rare rewards like Life Orbs, Flame Orbs, Toxic Orbs, and Ability Capsules according to data gathered by Serebii.
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The major caveat to these festivities is that trainers cannot capture a gigantic Mewtwo for themselves. However, thanks to the recently releasedcloud-based storage servicePokemon Home, Mewtwo and other older Pokemon can be brought into the Galar Region from previous titles.
Mewtwo has always been iconic in thePokemonseries because of its raw power and the tragic Frankenstein-esque backstory players can discover surrounding its original appearance in the Kanto Region. But Game Freak and The Pokemon Company have gone all out with representing the Legendary Pokemon this year, featuring it in everything from games likePokemon GOto merchandise likePokemon-themed skateboards.
The originalPokemonanime movie from 1998, of which Mewtwo and its progenitor Mew are the stars, has also recently been reimagined asPokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution.The CGIPokemonremake will be available on Netflixto celebratePokemonDay this year.
Of course the appearances of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle are also big news for fans of the original games, particularly those who might not have them to transfer in throughPokemon Homeor those who are looking to catch variants of the starters with their Hidden Abilities.
However, Mewtwo is clearly the big draw of this limited-time event given the company’s dramatic introduction video using the intense music only otherwise heard when battling Chairman Rose inSwordandShield— music which is admittedly reminiscent of aDark Soulstheme. The music does fit Mewtwo quite well, though perhaps it would even more if the version trainers could encounter was the same as theArmored Mewtwo inPokemon GO.
