While most fans recognize that Mewtwo’s life in Pokémon has a rocky start, another clone in the anime’s universe has a far more tragic life – and backstory. Pokémon The First Movie is the best film in the franchise for many reasons, but many of its important introductory components are not known to fans. This includes the life of Amber – a human clone.
At the beginning of the 1999 animated film, Mewtwo’s development is seen. Scientists discover DNA belonging to the legendary Pokémon, Mew, which is then used to create Mewtwo. Once he has awakened, the cloned Pokémon is seen conversing with Dr. Fuji – the lead scientist on the project who serves as the narrator of the film’s opening. What isn’t shown in the final cut is the reason why Dr. Fuji is involved with this project to begin with.
Pokémon's Most Tragic Clone is Dr. Fuji's Daughter, Amber
Added later as a special feature to the home releases of the film, "The Uncut Story of Mewtwo’s Origin" is an extra bit of footage revealing more about the cloning process. Mewtwo is not the only clone Dr. Fuji created with Team Rocket’s backing. He cloned three additional Pokémon (Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur), as well as a human child. Having lost his own daughter, Amber, he created Ambertwo. Amber died in a car accident, resulting in Dr. Fuji’s drive to perfect cloning. However, this experimentation would not prove effective. “The Uncut Story of Mewtwo’s Origin” details the friendship of the four clones, who can gather in a collective consciousness seemingly created by Amber – though it also seems possible this would be a capability stemming from Mewtwo’s telepathic abilities.
Despite the group becoming close friends, Mewtwo is the only clone that survives and is released from his containment. The others disappeared from the collective consciousness in a heartbreaking sequence that leaves Mew’s duplicate all alone as a much younger version of himself. The loss of his peers and companions is tragic and Ambertwo’s background and fate make his origin story even more depressing. Initially, Mewtwo’s choices seem to stem from a lack of respect for his life and a lack of purpose. However, adding Ambertwo and the other clones’ stories into the mix makes his anger toward the scientists far more reasonable and understandable. Mewtwo isn’t simply lashing out. He has lost the only thing that made him feel alive in his early stages of existence.
For years, Dr. Fuji has seemed to simply be a background character in Team Rocket’s ranks. He serves the purpose of creating a powerful clone Pokémon, introducing Mewtwo via his narration, and getting the story rolling along. The additional footage paints a much bigger picture in which a father tries to regain his daughter through scientific methods and not only fails, but is hated and attacked by his only surviving creation. Not only does he have to live with the secondary loss of his daughter, but he was presumably killed and never succeeded in reaching his actual goals. Mewtwo may be Pokémon’s best-known clone thanks to the film, but he wasn’t the ONLY clone with a tragic history.
