Mewtwo Returns is a pretty good follow-up to Mewtwo Strikes Back, continuing Mewtwo's arc from where it'd left off as its struggles with its identity continue while still maintaining its growth from the first movie. I really appreciated its focus on Meowth and Pikachu as the secondary leads over the human characters as well; it's a very Poké-focused special and the most important humans are Giovanni and Domino.
Speaking of, Giovanni definitely won some points as a villain with this. He's always been a looming imposing threat that could pop up, but I feel like at some point after the start of season 2 he and the rest of Team Rocket had just sort of disappeared, so getting to see him in action again and seeing his need to control Mewtwo overpowering his judgement makes him feel a little more human in his "evil corporate overlord" shtick.
I'm always the Team Rocket fan, fork found in kitchen, but Meowth was the MVP of this for me idc. I liked his going along with the clones leading to him standing up for them and ending up being the one to convince Mewtwo to preserve their memories, a role that'd normally be saved for Ash as Mr. Protagonist Man.
Overall, good closing on Mewtwo's story in a way that felt natural, and offered a lot for Team Rocket as an institution within the anime's world
I posted earlier some Pokemon Amie of touching Mewtwo in certain spots, 18 minutes (bit more) video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS7mP1EykBE
of petting Mewtwo and their reactions to things, first pets right after they been caught so neutral reactions. Proper reactions are the ones afterwards.
So, a bit or awhile ago I realizing the sequel Mewtwo Returns gives us the only official clue to what Mewtwo looks like under the skin+fur...
Why does Mewtwo feel the need to hide the clones from existence? Most of them look like regular Pokemon, and there have been alternate colored Pokemon before, so the ones with weird patterns will just be dismissed as an alt palette(remember the Pink Butterfree? The Purple Kecleon?)
Maybe because it is scared, there is no problem with friendly humans knowing the Spring's existence, it can just erase the bad people's memories of the Spring(like it did with Team Rocket in the Mewtwo returns special, where this clip is from)
Like, letting other people know their existence is good, they won't really bat an eye at the cloned Pokemon imo.
What did Cullen and Luna do wrong? They just want to do research on the spring, researchers exist in the Pokemon world, its not a bad thing to explore, they shouldn't have had their memories erased, it feels wrong.
I know the clones do get be like natural pokemon in the wild nearing the movie's end, but still, I just want to get my thoughts out here cause they have stayed with me.
Idk why I rambled so much about this, I just think the clones shouldn't be isolated and others knowing their existence isn't bad.
I don't know if these two quotes were meant as a parallel, but it's neat how Mewtwo has spent so much time since he first woke up wondering why he's here, while Misty (after a night's worth of missing memory) just shrugs it off and decides to focus on the present.
But it got me thinking, what do humans have to help us dismiss such important existential questions that Mewtwo doesn't have?
Well, we have other humans.
Billions of other creatures who are in the same boat as we are; who entered life without being told why we specifically were put here. But we see each other going through the same things and realize it's normal to not have a clearly stated purpose, and it's okay to not know.
But he's the only one of his kind, the only one (alive) who was made the way he is. No one else has gone through the same kind of life events he has. So the next best thing for him is to (subconsciously) project his emotional baggage onto his fellow clones.
In Mewtwo Returns he ruminates over how different from everyone else all the clone Pokemon are, how this is not their world, etc. Now there is no clear reason that the clones would not be able to assimilate with the non-clones if they desired. What difference is there really, besides some strange markings and heightened powers? Meowthtwo sees more similarities than differences between originals and clones, and the native Pokemon of Mt. Quena don't seem to mind their presence.
Now I don't think Mewtwo intended to be manipulative of his family, but in a desire to find company for his misery he inadvertently convinces them that they are in the same boat as him, and must live on the fringes of society. (Pikatwo in particular takes it to heart.)
Fortunately after he is called out on his overuse of memory wiping, Mewtwo seems to realize that he shouldn't hold the clones back from living like normal Pokemon. Even if it means he has to go out into the world again to look for answers to all the questions about his existence.
But he won't find answers to his questions. Rather, the solution to his inner conflict is to find someone else who asks those questions too.
