Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Maushold will mess you up

Maushold in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might look cute, but it will well and truly wipe the floor with you.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have their fair share of cute creatures, but Maushold may well be the most adorable of them all. An evolution of Tandemaus, Maushold starts off as a pair of hand-holding mice, and evolves into a sweet little mouse family, complete with two teeny-tiny mouse children, when it reaches level 25. The design of each mouse is delightful, too; their cute little faces and big ears make them look like they're built for cuddling, not fighting. But as one Pokemon fan recently discovered, when it comes to battle, Maushold will seriously mess you up. 

TikTok user hopcatsmash revealed just how devastating Maushold can be in a recent video. Admittedly, this Pokemon isn't that great when it's starting out, "it's just a cute Normal type; it's got bad base stats," says hopcatsmash. But all that changes when Maushold reaches level 53 and learns its signature move, Population Bomb. This lets the Pokemon attack up to 10 times in one turn with Normal physical attacks. If any attack misses, the following ones are cancelled, but with a 90% accuracy rating, you're very likely to land plenty of hits. 

It's only a 20 power move, but it can be devastating for whatever unfortunate Pokemon is on the receiving end when the hits start stacking up. What's more, you can increase the accuracy to 99% by equipping Maushold with a Wide Lens, so you're pretty much guaranteed not to miss. 

But that's not all; as hopcatsmash explains, "Maushold's hidden ability is Technician, which makes your weak moves 1.5 times stronger. Because each hit is only 20 base power it applies to all of them, making it 300 base power." Amazingly, if your Pokemon is Terastallized, this increases to a whopping 600.

If you thought this mouse family wasn't broken enough already, it can also use the move Tidy Up to raise its attack and speed and clear hazards like Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Sticky Web from the field. "That's insane," says hopcatsmash. "You get one of these up, and the game is basically over."

Elsewhere in the world of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, a player has discovered how picnicking can help you find shiny Pokemon much faster.

Catch them all with our complete Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex.