Cloning
- This article is about the process of genetic duplication. For the glitch, see cloning glitches.
Cloning is a process that creates a genetic duplicate of a being that is or was alive.
In the anime
Cloning has appeared a few times in the anime. Its most prominent appearance is in Mewtwo Strikes Back.
In The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin, Dr. Fuji creates an enhanced clone of Mew as requested by Giovanni in exchange for funding his primary project, a (failed) attempt to clone his dead daughter Amber, and three test clones of the Kanto starter Pokémon.
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo itself makes clones (Japanese: コピーポケモン Copy Pokémon) of various Pokémon belonging to the Trainers who have come to New Island. Mewtwo captures the target Pokémon in special Poké Balls called "Mewtwo Balls"—even those currently in their Poké Balls can be caught by these—then sends these Balls through a special cloning machine. All of Mewtwo's clones appear to have been created fully-grown, unlike Fuji's clones. All cloned Pokémon—excluding Mewtwo—appear identical to a normal Pokémon of their species, though a few of the clones have multiple black horizontal marks on their bodies.
Mewtwo's clones reappeared in Mewtwo Returns.
Cloning also plays a role in Genesect and the Legend Awakened, in which another Mewtwo was cloned from Mew's DNA by an unknown group.
Cloned Pokémon seen in the anime
In the games
In Pokémon GO
In Pokémon GO, Clone Pokémon were made available, in celebration of Pokémon Day and the release of Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution on Netflix, from February 25 to March 2, 2020. While the starters were found in Raid Battles, Pikachu appeared as a photobomb encounter. When caught, Venusaur would know the move Frenzy Plant, Charizard will know Blast Burn, and Blastoise will know Hydro Cannon. Clone Pokémon also cannot Mega Evolve.
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| Clone Venusaur | Clone Charizard | Clone Blastoise | Clone Pikachu |
Trivia
- In an interview with @Gamer magazine, Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori revealed that there was originally going to be a Pokémon based on Dolly, the first cloned sheep, but was deemed "too controversial."
- In the anime, cloned Pokémon appear to be fertile, even those that would normally not be. Baby Rhyhorn and Nidoqueen (not Nidoran♀) are seen in Mewtwo Returns.