Shadow Ball or Focus Blast on Mewtwo?
Which charge move do you prefer on your best Mewtwo, if you are planning to invest Stardust heavily in him?
GamePress lists Shadow Ball as his "Optimal moveset" whilst Focus Blast is listed as "Great Moveset". Though I agree that Shadow Ball is (much) superior to Focus Blast as a charge attack, Focus Blast completely beats Shadow Ball in the sense of type coverage in the gym meta - Shadow Ball has no SE into any of the top 7 (Blissey, Snorlax, Lapras, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Rhydon and Gyarados) and is even x0.51 resisted by 3 of them, 2 of which are the toughest defenders. In comparison, Focus Blast can handle 5 of the top 7, 4 if excluding Tyranitar. And unlike Machamp, you can use the powerful Confusion to kill Dragonite/Gyarados, charge the Focus Blast ready, and then release it at the start of the next battle against Tyranitar(plus several Confusion then T tar will be no more)/Blissey/Snorlax. The true sweeper at round 2/3, IMO.
In raid it may be a totally different story tho. Shadow Ball Mewtwo counters itself and many other strong Psychic Type to come (Mew, Celebi, ...). BUT, back to the question, this is your best Mewtwo, whom you will power up to L39/40. I prefer FB due to the reasons stated above.
Which do you prefer, Focus Blast or Shadow Ball?
Edit: Grammars
Answers
I tried to solo an Alakazam today...I have Tyranitars: 3146, 3111, 3105, 3081, 3051 and a 2002 SC/ShB Gengar...figure I'll have a shot....drumroll Confusion/Focus Blast...I knew I would easily lose but tried anyway, like bugs in a zapper. I did better with Gyarados and Dragonite but nowhere near good enough. I'm not bold enough to forget that shellshock. C/FB is my vote.
Put it this way, if I get Shadowball I am not going to TM it. If I get Focus Blast I am not going to TM it. The game would have to change in a major way (1+ charge TMs a day) and a specific and lasting advantage. If I was lucky enough to get 2, then I would roll and roll and then reroll to try to get the other preferred charge move. I generally have changed my Gengars and Alakazams from FB to ShB (easier w/ Ala b/c FS also good move, plus lot of Alas)
I honestly can't remember the last time I fought a gym that had 2 of your list (Blissey, Snorlax, Lapras, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Rhydon and Gyarados) in it.
I barely ever see a Blissey anymore (people want thier gym to fold)
I never see a Lapras
I never see a Tyrantir (not unless its under 2050, everyone is using them for raids)
I barely ever see a Dragonite
I barely ever see a rhydon (people using them for raids)
I do see a fair amount of Garys