[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-5 points
**Overview**: Maushold stands out as a niche setup sweeper and wallbreaker with access to Tidy Up and its signature move, Population Bomb. With Technician-boosted STAB Population Bomb, solid coverage, and a good Speed stat, it can threaten to sweep teams that have been weakened enough by its teammates. Unfortunately, Maushold is often a one trick pony, relying on Population Bomb to deal a massive amount of damage, which can be predicted and exploited easily. In addition, it is very frail, which can lead it to being picked off by faster revenge killers and priority attacks. Finally, it requires opportunities to set up to deal any meaningful damage with coverage moves due to its lackluster Attack, which can slow down momentum in its favor.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: With Tidy Up, Maushold can become almost unstoppable against severely weakened teams with Population Bomb. It usually also has Bite to deal with Ghost-types, making choosing the fourth moveslot difficult, as it likes to run some sort of utility to support its team or run additional coverage against specific threats.
**Wallbreaker**: Even without setup, Maushold can still deal damage instantly by using Population Bomb. It can occasionally also use Choice Scarf to act as speed control or Choice Band to heavily cripple and sometimes KO a foe.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Population Bomb
**Setup Moves**: Tidy Up
**Utility Moves**: Thunder Wave, Encore, Taunt, U-turn
**Coverage**: Bite, Low Kick, Play Rough, Seed Bomb, Bullet Seed, Aerial Ace
Niche Moves
========
**Super Fang**: Maushold can use Super Fang against problematic Rock and Steel-types to chip them down enough for either itself or a teammate to take down later.
**Switcheroo**: Maushold can use Switcheroo to hinder an annoying foe that it may fail to take down by itself.
Common Items
========
**Protective Pads**: Maushold can utilize Protective Pads if it fears foes with a Rocky Helmet or contact effects.
**Wide Lens**: Wide Lens boosts the accuracy of Population Bomb to make it more likely that all of its attacks connect.
Niche Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Maushold can use Heavy-Duty Boots to get around entry hazards that can quickly chip it down, especially if it plans on switching in often.
**Choice Band**: If needed, Maushold can use a Choice Band to muscle through a foe that it otherwise would not KO in one hit or weaken it down for a teammate to revenge kill later.
**Choice Scarf**: Using a Choice Scarf allows Maushold to surprise faster foes and deal instant damage.
Tera
========
Maushold is not at the forefront of demand to be a secondary Tera captain. If you choose to make it one anyway, Tera Normal can boost Population Bomb's damage further, whereas Tera Ghost can turn its singular weakness into an immunity, providing it an opportunity to set up or attack, as well as giving it additional coverage to hit Rock and Steel-types more reliably.
Draft Strategy
========
Maushold should only be drafted on teams that require a Speed tier gap to be filled or if further offensive pressure is required. It's important to note that Maushold can be countered easily with minimal effort, which may dissuade it from coming to matches, but it can serve as a skill check that can overwhelm foes if it receives the right support from teammates.
**Defensive Teammates**: Maushold appreciates teammates that can sponge hits, since it cannot take hits with its poor defensive stats. Pokemon such as Clefable, Zapdos and Landorus-T are good examples to consider.
**Slow Pivots**: Maushold appreciates being able to get onto the field safely to gain the opportunity to sweep. Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Scizor and Iron Hands can slow pivot to it, preventing it from taking unnecessary hits.
**Other Wallbreakers**: Pokemon that may not have the best tools to deal with Steel-types but can chip them down low enough are crucial to allow Maushold to sweep without fear of knocking itself out from Rocky Helmet damage. Pokemon such as Rillaboom, Ogerpon-C, and Iron Crown are good examples to consider, especially the former two, as they can remove problematic items with Knock Off.
Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Effects**: Well-prepared foes often don a Rocky Helmet in the face of Maushold, which can easily lead it to faint if it attacks with Population Bomb. Maushold can also easily fall victim to Pokemon with contact effects, such as Zapdos with Static, Garchomp with Rough Skin, and Moltres with Flame Body.
**Steel-types**: Maushold fails to make progress against common Steel-type Pokemon such as Corviknight, Skarmory, and Metagross. These aforementioned foes also commonly don Rocky Helmet, making them easy switch-ins and potentially causing Maushold to KO itself when they doing so.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Alomomola, Scream Tail, and Ting-Lu can shrug off Population Bomb at full health, and cripple Maushold in return either through damage or status such as paralysis and burn.
**Priority**: Maushold is very frail, which means it can be easily picked off by strong priority when it has been weakened enough.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-5 points
**Overview**: Maushold stands out as a niche setup sweeper and wallbreaker with access to Tidy Up and its signature move, Population Bomb. With Technician-boosted STAB Population Bomb, solid coverage, and a good Speed stat, it can threaten to sweep teams that have been weakened enough by its teammates. Unfortunately, Maushold is often a one trick pony, relying on Population Bomb to deal a massive amount of damage, which can be predicted and exploited easily. In addition, it is very frail, which can lead it to being picked off by faster revenge killers and priority attacks. Finally, it requires opportunities to set up to deal any meaningful damage with coverage moves due to its lackluster Attack, which can slow down momentum in its favor.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: With Tidy Up, Maushold can become almost unstoppable against severely weakened teams with Population Bomb. It usually also has Bite to deal with Ghost-types, making choosing the fourth moveslot difficult, as it likes to run some sort of utility to support its team or run additional coverage against specific threats.
**Wallbreaker**: Even without setup, Maushold can still deal damage instantly by using Population Bomb. It can occasionally also use Choice Scarf to act as speed control or Choice Band to heavily cripple and sometimes KO a foe.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Population Bomb
**Setup Moves**: Tidy Up
**Utility Moves**: Thunder Wave, Encore, Taunt, U-turn
**Coverage**: Bite, Low Kick, Play Rough, Seed Bomb, Bullet Seed, Aerial Ace
Niche Moves
========
**Super Fang**: Maushold can use Super Fang against problematic Rock and Steel-types to chip them down enough for either itself or a teammate to take down later.
**Switcheroo**: Maushold can use Switcheroo to hinder an annoying foe that it may fail to take down by itself.
Common Items
========
**Protective Pads**: Maushold can utilize Protective Pads if it fears foes with a Rocky Helmet or contact effects.
**Wide Lens**: Wide Lens boosts the accuracy of Population Bomb to make it more likely that all of its attacks connect.
Niche Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Maushold can use Heavy-Duty Boots to get around entry hazards that can quickly chip it down, especially if it plans on switching in often.
**Choice Band**: If needed, Maushold can use a Choice Band to muscle through a foe that it otherwise would not KO in one hit or weaken it down for a teammate to revenge kill later.
**Choice Scarf**: Using a Choice Scarf allows Maushold to surprise faster foes and deal instant damage.
Tera
========
Maushold is not at the forefront of demand to be a secondary Tera captain. If you choose to make it one anyway, Tera Normal can boost Population Bomb's damage further, whereas Tera Ghost can turn its singular weakness into an immunity, providing it an opportunity to set up or attack, as well as giving it additional coverage to hit Rock and Steel-types more reliably.
Draft Strategy
========
Maushold should only be drafted on teams that require a Speed tier gap to be filled or if further offensive pressure is required. It's important to note that Maushold can be countered easily with minimal effort, which may dissuade it from coming to matches, but it can serve as a skill check that can overwhelm foes if it receives the right support from teammates.
**Defensive Teammates**: Maushold appreciates teammates that can sponge hits, since it cannot take hits with its poor defensive stats. Pokemon such as Clefable, Zapdos and Landorus-T are good examples to consider.
**Slow Pivots**: Maushold appreciates being able to get onto the field safely to gain the opportunity to sweep. Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Scizor and Iron Hands can slow pivot to it, preventing it from taking unnecessary hits.
**Other Wallbreakers**: Pokemon that may not have the best tools to deal with Steel-types but can chip them down low enough are crucial to allow Maushold to sweep without fear of knocking itself out from Rocky Helmet damage. Pokemon such as Rillaboom, Ogerpon-C, and Iron Crown are good examples to consider, especially the former two, as they can remove problematic items with Knock Off.
Checks and Counters
========
**Contact Effects**: Well-prepared foes often don a Rocky Helmet in the face of Maushold, which can easily lead it to faint if it attacks with Population Bomb. Maushold can also easily fall victim to Pokemon with contact effects, such as Zapdos with Static, Garchomp with Rough Skin, and Moltres with Flame Body.
**Steel-types**: Maushold fails to make progress against common Steel-type Pokemon such as Corviknight, Skarmory, and Metagross. These aforementioned foes also commonly don Rocky Helmet, making them easy switch-ins and potentially causing Maushold to KO itself when they doing so.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Alomomola, Scream Tail, and Ting-Lu can shrug off Population Bomb at full health, and cripple Maushold in return either through damage or status such as paralysis and burn.
**Priority**: Maushold is very frail, which means it can be easily picked off by strong priority when it has been weakened enough.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276
Last edited:
