You can find Mewtwo in the hidden cave in Cerulean City. Beat the Elite Four, upgrade to the National Pokédex and finish Celio’s quests in the Sevii Islands to gain access to the cave. Navigate through it to find Mewtwo inside and catch him.
How to Get to the Cerulean Cave
Mewtwo’s hideout is at the cave just hidden out of sight in Cerulean City.
From the Pokémon Center, head on up the Nugget Bridge and continue right to where there is a body of water. Have your Pokémon use Surf on the water.
Surf downwards for a bit until you see another patch of land. You should be able to see the cave entrance. At most points in the game, it is blocked by a man who cautions you that strong Pokémon reside inside, and only special trainers can enter.
To gain entrance to the cave, first check off these requirements on your list:
- Beat the Elite Four – Beating the Elite Four and getting into the Hall of Fame is the prerequisite for acquiring the National Pokédex, which in turn is also a requirement to unlock Celio’s quests and to eventually gain access to Cerulean Cave
- Acquire the National Pokédex – Mewtwo’s Pokédex entry cannot be found in the regular Kanto Region Pokédex. Catch at least 60 different types of Pokémon and talk to Prof. Oak in Pallet Town to upgrade your standard Pokédex into the National Pokédex.
Finish Celio’s quest in Sevii Islands – Finally, the cave entrance will be unlocked once you have finished helping Celio recover the Ruby and Sapphire gems for his long-distance trading machine.
With all these events done, the man previously blocking the cave entrance will be gone, and you should be able to enter Cerulean Cave without any issues.
But before heading inside, make sure you are prepared with key items you can use to make catching Mewtwo easier:
- Bring lots of Pokéballs – You can use the standard red Pokéballs, but better bring lots of Great Balls. Ultra Balls, or any other balls with higher catch rates. Mewtwo is one of the most challenging legendaries to catch, so be prepared. Alternatively, you can also use a Master Ball on him.
- Revives, Hyper Potions, Ethers – Aside from being difficult to catch, Mewtwo is also one of the strongest rare Pokémon in-game. Make sure your party Pokémon are at least Level 70 or above to withstand Mewtwo, as well as the other strong, wild Pokémon you may encounter in the caves.
With this in mind, head inside the caves to find Mewtwo!
Navigating through Cerulean Cave
Mewtwo can be found in the deepest part of the cave. From where you enter, continue a short way up until you find a patch of water. Have your Pokémon use Surf on it.
Follow the path of the water, skipping the first cliff step you see. Continue to your left until you reach the second cliff step.
Climb on it and make your way down across to another set of cliff steps, skipping the stairs you pass on the way.
Go on up from where you are, passing another stairs icon along the way. Continue along the path until you find another icon of stairs going up. Climb on it.
For easier reference, here is the full-sized directional map of Cerulean Cave’s first floor.
From where you climbed up, you will see the pathways bordered by rocks like so.
Follow the available path down and upwards until you reach an icon of the stairs heading down. Refer to the full-size map below.
Once down, continue on to the only available route which is another set of stairs.
In the new area, get down the cliff steps and continue making your way right and downwards until you find another set of cliff steps, as indicated in the floor map below.
Keep following the available path until you eventually get to another patch of water. Use Surf.
From here you should be able to see Mewtwo nestled in between rocks after a cliff step.
Don’t forget to SAVE before you attempt to catch Mewtwo!
Battling and Catching Mewtwo
Mewtwo will be at Level 70 when found and encountered.
His stats at base and move set will be as follows:
| MEWTWO | |||
| STATS | AT BASE | RANGE AT LVL. 50 | |
| HP | 106 | 166-213 | |
| Attack | 110 | 103-178 | |
| Defense | 90 | 85-156 | |
| Special Attack | 154 | 143-226 | |
| Special Defense | 90 | 85-156 | |
| Speed | 130 | 121-200 |
| MEWTWO | |
| MOVES | PP |
| Confusion | 25/25 |
| Swift | 20/20 |
| Psychic | 10/10 |
| Barrier | 30/30 |
Mewtwo can be very challenging and will hammer on your Pokémon with his Psychic move, dealing considerable damage due to its high Special Attack stat. Avoid using Fighting Pokémon as it is weak against Mewtwo. You can also try to bring Steel Pokémon who can withstand psychic attacks.
As with any legendary encounter, the goal is to weaken the Pokémon enough to be able to catch him. Have your Pokémon attack Mewtwo, but be careful to not let him faint as he won’t respawn!
Also try to inflict Status Effects on Mewtwo. Paralysis and Sleep will work, but avoid status effects that diminish HP like Burn and Poison, as you may accidentally have Mewtwo faint on you.
Keep throwing your balls at him, preferably the Ultra Ball until you are able to catch him. It may take multiple tries and a lot of patience, but eventually you will be able to catch Mewtwo!
As mentioned, you can also use your Master Ball if you have not yet used it. With a 100% catch rate, you are sure to capture Mewtwo with no fuss.
Once you’ve succeeded, congratulations! You have yourself a Mewtwo!
Mewtwo is one of the rarest and strongest Pokémon in-game, so it is definitely worth the while to do the required events to get to Cerulean Cave and have a chance at finding and capturing him. Mewtwo is a strong addition to your Pokémon party, and of course to your growing Pokédex collection.
