Mewtwo, one of the most powerful Pokémon in Pokémon Go, is available to all players for free this week as part of the 'Pokémon 30th Anniversary' event.
While free, Mewtwo is not available immediately or without spending time in the game. You'll need to progress through the event's Go Pass first, and you only have a limited time (until 8pm on Monday 9th March) to do so.
This guide explains how exactly to get free Mewtwo in Pokémon Go, and some ideas of what to do with it once it's yours.
How to get a free Mewtwo in Pokémon Go this week
An encounter with Mewtwo is a free reward as part of the 'Pokémon 30th Anniversary' event's Go Pass - Pokémon Go's version of a battle pass - which is available between 10am on Tuesday, 3rd March and 8pm on Monday, 9th March local time.
As a rank 80 reward, it won't be available right way. As with previous Go Passes, you can only progress a certain number of ranks per day by earning points from catching Pokémon, completing tasks, and so on.
However, the progress cap will be lifted completely on Saturday as part of the 'All Out' portion of the anniversary event.
If you can chip away at the Go Pass in the week, that'll take the pressure off the weekend - free players can earn as far as rank 40 by the end of Friday - but know that with the progress cap lifting completely from Saturday, there's nothing stopping you from simply playing the final days of the event and earning Mewtwo then.
Can the free Mewtwo be shiny?
Yes - all Kanto Pokémon have the potential to be shiny, including Mewtwo. The shiny odds for Pokémon found in Go Pass encounters aren't disclosed - it's likely either 1/64 or 1/128 - so while a shiny Mewtwo possible, your chances are low.
How good will this Mewtwo be, and what do I do if it has poor stats?
Similar to Pokémon encounters in research tasks, there is an IV floor of 10/10/10 in any Pokémon caught in a Go Pass. This means your Mewtwo will have at least 10 in Attack, Defense, and HP (out of a maximum of 15) - meaning it should be off decent from the off.
That said, if it's on the lower end of this range, you can reroll these stats by trading with a friend. If you do it with a Lucky Trade (available through the Lucky Trinket item, or trading Gifts with Best Friends until it unlocks) this will guarantee stats of 12/12/12. A Lucky Mewtwo will require 50% less Stardust to power up, too.
Alternatively, you can undergo Hyper Training by using a Silver Bottle Cap or Gold Bottle Cap to raise its stats that way, though I'd recommend reserving these items for something with a little more value, such as a Mewtwo with a Special Background from an event. Though we haven't seen one of those yet, there might be an opportunity later in the year...
How rare is Mewtwo in Pokémon Go?
Pretty rare. Mewtwo has appeared in raids several times - where you can then catch as many as you like until the raid schedule changes - but these periods are rare. The last appearance was in July 2022 in regular form, and March 2024 in Shadow form.
It's worth knowing Mewtwo is poised to return for Pokémon Go Fest in June (likely part of a much-rumoured Mega Mewtwo debut) so you'll have plenty more opportunities then. Additionally, if previous in-person Go Fest and global Go Fest events are to go by, it'll also have the chance of the Mewtwo having a unique Location Background or Special Background.
Finally, as mentioned in the previous section, you can technically get a Mewtwo at any time through a trade. That means if you miss out on this freebie, you don't have to wait until a future raid event if someone is willing to give you one.
Can the free Mewtwo be transferred to Pokémon Home?
Yes it can, allowing it to be used in other Pokémon games. However, know that this is a one way trip.
Also, Armoured Mewtwo and shadow Mewtwo (which have been made available in Pokémon Go previously) cannot be transferred to Pokémon Home at all.
Can Mewtwo be transferred to Pokémon Champions when it releases?
A tantalising prospect is your free Mewtwo from Pokémon Go being used in Pokémon Champions via Pokémon Home when it arrives, giving you a potent Psychic-type from the off.
However, whether Mewtwo can be transferred from Home has yet to be confirmed, since Champions doesn't support all Pokémon (at launch, anyway). *
Plus, even if Mewtwo is in Pokémon Champions, there otherwise might be extra restrictions around legendaries that we don't know about yet. This is nothing new: if you want to transfer a Pokémon Go legendary to a mainline game like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, for example, then you have to have it registered in the Pokédex there first.
* Source: The bottom of this press release: "At the time of release, only select Pokémon will be available for use in Pokémon Champions—not all Pokémon available in Pokémon Home will appear in Pokémon Champions. The Pokémon you can send to Pokémon Champions via Pokémon Home are limited to Pokémon that appear in Pokémon Champions."
Whether you're playing for Mewtwo or not, best of luck with the 'Pokémon 30th Anniversary' event and catching Volcanion in the 'Pressure Rising' quest this week!
