SS026

Pokémon: Mewtwo — Prologue to Awakening (Japanese: ミュウツー ～覚醒への序章～ Mewtwo: The Prologue to its Awakening) is a special episode of the Pokémon anime, serving as a prologue to Genesect and the Legend Awakened. It first aired in Japan on July 11, 2013 and in the United States on January 11, 2014.

It was released in Japan on December 18, 2013 as part of the "Mewtwo Box" DVD collection, which also includes Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo Returns, Genesect and the Legend Awakened, and Eevee & Friends.

Plot
fights with a and two  in a mountain range. It escapes but is badly injured, while the Tyranitar and Escavalier are swept away by a landslide caused by their fighting.

Sometime later, Virgil is on his way back to base with his after completing another rescue mission. His helicopter has engine trouble, forcing him to land for repairs. He meets 🇺🇳 and her grandfather 🇺🇳, who live in a cabin in the mountains. While talking with Virgil after giving him some lunch, they explain their encounter with a Pokémon whose identity was unknown to them. Some time prior, they had been hiking with their when all three of them fell into a deep crevasse. The Pokémon—Mewtwo, unbeknownst to them—saved them with its before flying away.

Having overheard their conversation, a man with his right arm in a sling approaches them. He introduces himself as Dirk and reveals Mewtwo's identity, explaining that Mewtwo saved him from a landslide but it and his Escavalier were caught up in the disaster. Virgil mobilizes his Team Eevee to aid Dirk in recovering his Pokémon, a mission they successfully accomplish. However, Dirk expresses worry that Mewtwo is badly injured as well, and asks Virgil, Anna, and Oscar to help him find it.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo soaks in an underwater spring to recover. A and  swim up to it, but flee when it glares at them.

Virgil, Anna, and Oscar examine a map of the region and realize that finding Mewtwo will be difficult. Virgil suggests that he can use his helicopter to search from the air, but Dirk says that Mewtwo will be frightened away due to its distrust in humans. When pressed on how he knows so much about Mewtwo, Dirk confesses that Mewtwo was created by humans using the genes of. When it became the subject of cruel experiments, Mewtwo escaped the laboratory. Dirk says that he was searching for Mewtwo to offer it protection, but when he finally found it, they were caught in the landslide.

Virgil sends Team Eevee out to search for Mewtwo alongside Stoutland, and Anna uses her ability to connect with the hearts of the forest Pokémon to get their aid as well. Virgil's Eevee,, and encounter the Marill and Azumarill from earlier and learn of Mewtwo's location. However, they are unaware that a camera drone is following them, recording a feed that Dirk is secretly monitoring on his wrist device. Dirk slips off on his own while the others are not looking.

Team Eevee reunites with Stoutland at the cave Mewtwo occupies, and Eevee,, and Stoutland bring a Revival Herb to Mewtwo. Mewtwo, however, refuses all aid. As they leave the cave, Dirk is standing on a cliff overlooking the clearing. He removes his sling and summons an army of robotic drones to surround the clearing and cave entrance. Angered by the disturbance, Mewtwo attempts to leave, only to be trapped by the electromagnetic barrier generated by the drones and attacked by Dirk's Tyranitar and Escavalier. When seemingly cornered, Mewtwo Mega Evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y and counterattacks using its incredible speed.

Virgil, Anna, and Oscar arrive, discover the scene, and confront Dirk. Dirk claims to not have lied about his goals, saying instead that he simply failed to tell them that he is a Pokémon poacher hired by Mewtwo's creators to recapture it. Mewtwo says that it knew humans could not be trusted before resuming the battle. Anna apologizes to Mewtwo, saying that she did not know the truth about Dirk.

Suddenly, after having been hit by Tyranitar's earlier, some of Dirk's drones spark and cause a forest fire. Virgil calls Team Eevee forth, but the flames quickly surround them. The drones surround Mewtwo and begin attacking it. Within moments, Mewtwo is restrained by energy blasts fired from the drones, but it frees itself using. Mewtwo then dodges several more blasts and Mega Evolves, destroying the drones using its speed and psychic powers. Several of the burning drones crash around Dirk, causing him to fall down the cliff and drop his Poké Balls.

Flying over the forest, Mewtwo muses that it was created to be the strongest Pokémon, but everyone who gets involved with it only finds trouble. It uses Psychic to lift all the water from a nearby lake and drop it onto the fire, extinguishing the flames.

Dirk awakens and calls for Tyranitar and the Escavalier to attack Mewtwo again, only for Mewtwo to crush the Poké Balls with Psychic. Tyranitar and the two Escavalier walk off, freed from Dirk's control. With no other options, Dirk begs Mewtwo for mercy, saying that he only attacked it because the scientists told him to. Virgil's Espeon and use Psychic to lift up and capture Dirk, and Virgil says that he will take Dirk to Officer Jenny. Virgil, Anna, and Oscar all thank Mewtwo for saving them, but it says that it was merely helping the Pokémon. Mewtwo asks them to forget their meeting and then flies away into a thunderstorm, asking itself if it will ever find a place to call home.

At a Pokémon Center,, , and are speaking to Professor Oak, who tells them to visit a park called Pokémon Hills in New Tork City where his friend works. Iris turns around and sees Virgil in an interview on television. The interviewer asks him what is important for the Pokémon Rescue Squad, and Virgil looks up to the sky. Thinking of Mewtwo, he answers that it is all about people and Pokémon connecting to each other with open hearts.

Pokémon debuts

 * (Mega Mewtwo Y)

Humans

 * Virgil
 * Dirk
 * Mewtwo's creators (flashback)
 * Reporter
 * Virgil
 * Dirk
 * Mewtwo's creators (flashback)
 * Reporter
 * Mewtwo's creators (flashback)
 * Reporter

Pokémon

 * (Virgil's)
 * (Virgil's)
 * (Virgil's)
 * (Virgil's)
 * (Virgil's)
 * (Virgil's)
 * (🇺🇳's)
 * (Dirk's; ×2; released)
 * (Dirk's; released)
 * (Normal and Mega Mewtwo Y)
 * (multiple)
 * (Normal and Mega Mewtwo Y)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)

Cast
! colspan=6 | Special appearances by


 * }

Trivia

 * This special was released between BW133 and BW134 in Japan.
 * This side story leads directly into Genesect and the Legend Awakened, with the final scene showing suggesting to  and  that they visit New Tork City.
 * Additionally, the scene of in the thunderstorm from the ending of this special is directly revisited via flashback in the film itself.
 * This is the first time in the that a Pokémon other than  uses.
 * This is also the first time is shown using a  other than  in the anime.
 * There is no To Be Continued screen at the end of the episode.
 * In this side story, Hyper Beam is depicted as it was prior to the.
 * This is the first appearance of a Mega Evolution in the anime.
 * Music from Zoroark: Master of Illusions, White—Victini and Zekrom and Black—Victini and Reshiram, and Genesect and the Legend Awakened is used in this episode.
 * This marks the first time music from a movie is used in the series prior to the movie's release.
 * Along with Pichu Bros. in Party Panic, this is the only Pokémon production whose dub credits indicate the roles of each voice actor.
 * This is the only Best Wishes series special episode to receive an English dub.

In other languages
Mewtu vor dem Erwachen EE12 Mewtwo - prélude à l'éveil SS026 ミュウツー 〜覚醒への序章〜 电影版 精灵宝可梦超级愿望 第16作 特别篇