Pokemon Go Armored Mewtwo guide: weakness, counters, best moveset and shiny detailed

Armored Mewtwo is here in Pokemon Go, making one of the most famous and powerful by slapping some armor on it. In this guide, we'll detail how to best beat and catch one for yourself...

Armored Mewtwo is a limited-time addition to Pokemon Go Raids, with this special, armor-clad version of this famous Pokemon available for a limited time. Specifically, Armored Mewtwo appears in raids between July 10 and July 31. It's a Tier 5 raid boss, unsurprisingly, so the top, most difficult tier - though thankfully it's not an invite-only EX Raid boss.

Here's the quick facts you need to know about Armored Mewtwo - and then we'll get into more detail on its weakness, counters and its moveset below.

• Armored Mewtwo is Psychic-type, making it weak to Bug, Dark and Ghost-type Pokemon, as detailed on our Pokemon Go type chart.

• Armored Mewtwo Stats: this variant has different stats to regular Mewtwo. It has a significantly lower attack, but an equally significantly higher defense. Its stamina stat is identical.

• Armored Mewtwo CP: this version can have between 1740 and 1821 CP on catch at level 20 - without weather boost. It'll be higher with a weather boost.

• There is no Shiny Armored Mewtwo variant as far as we can tell - though given how rare Shiny Pokemon Spawns are in Pokemon Go, it could be hiding away as-yet undiscovered... or held for a later event.

Armored Mewtwo Counters and Weakness: how to best beat this raid boss

Here's the good news when it comes to Armored Mewtwo counters and this new form's weaknesses: while the armor is cool-looking and while the armored lad does have different stats, the counter list is actually very, very similar to that for the regular Mewtwo battle.

That means that for our money the best Armored Mewtwo counters at a base line are Giratina Origin Forme, Gengar, Tyranitar, Weavile and, amusingly a regular Mewtwo (or an armored version, if you've already caught one). Here's how we think the counters break down in their ability to exploit the weakness:

• Giratina Origin Forme is by far the best encounter in bang-for-buck terms. Its half Ghost typing makes it ideal for blasting down Mewtwo - just get it with two ghost-type moves.

• Gengar is arguably the best non-legendary counter. If you've got a powerful version of this Pokemon with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball as it moves, it'll be able to damage Armored Mewtwo extremely quickly - though Gengar will prove something of a glass cannon compared to Giratina Origin - it'll deal damage quickly, but also be knocked out quite fast itself. If you have access to a few Pokemon from this list, lead with Gengar then follow up with more hardy Pokemon.

• Tyranitar can really exploit the weakness to dark type, especially if it has access to one or more dark type moves, or even a pairing like Bite and Crunch. It's more of a damage dealer, and is sturdy enough to survive in battle for quite some time.

• Honchkrow is another great Dark-type Pokemon, a dual Dark and Flying-type that can dish out the pain with Dark-type moves. Because it's Flying-type, it'll take less damage from Earthquake or Rock Slide if Armored Mewtwo has those moves, making it a great situational pick.

• Scizor is probably the only bug-type Pokemon worth its salt for this battle despite Armored Mewtwo's bug-type weakness. You'll want it to have two decent bug-type moves like X-Scissor.

• Finally, don't forget another Mewtwo. It can have Shadow Ball, a ghost-type move, as its main charge attack - and given its overall power level that makes it totally viable for this fight.

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Armored Mewtwo Moveset: move options and best moveset

First of all, let's just list the Armored Mewtwo moveset - all the moves that this version of the genetically engineered Pokemon can have in Pokemon Go. This is significant because the moveset is actually one of the things that most differentiates the armor-clad version - it's completely different to regular Mewtwo.

These are of course also the moves that Armormed Mewtwo can have when you battle it in a raid. Here's the move list:

In terms of the ideal moveset - the fact that Armored Mewtwo has reduced attack as a stat but heightened defense actually makes it less inherently useful as a Pokemon used for offensive purposes - but you do have some half-decent offensive move options.

You should always keep Confusion as your Fast attack. This is a powerful Psychic-type move, and is a great base line for Armored Mewtwo. Beyond that, we highly recommend Earthquake, Rock Slide or Dynamic Punch for a Charged move - all excellent moves that you shouldn't sleep on. Finally, don't forget Future Sight - also a totally viable option.

Ultimately, the fact that Armored Mewtwo has a lower attack stat and isn't an inherently great gym defender means you probably shouldn't sweat the best moveset too much, however - focus your candy on leveling up regular Mewtwo instead.