Tandemaus and Maushold

About

Tandemaus and Maushold are two unique Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Tandemaus is two identical mice that evolve into Maushold, a family of three or four mice. Their small, cute design has led to fan art and memes, while Maushold's signature move "Population Bomb" has made it infamous in competitive Pokémon.

Origin

Tandemaus and Maushold were introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, released November 18th, 2022, though their designs were leaked roughly ten days prior when the entire Paldean Pokédex was leaked online. The Pokémon have a unique mechanic in which Tandemaus can evolve simply by being in a party and gaining experience post-level 25. Rather than get the traditional evolution cutscene, a player can look in their party and suddenly see Maushold instead of Tandemaus.^[1] Additionally, Tandemaus has a 1/100 chance of evolving into a form of Maushold that only has three "family" members.

Spread

The Pokémon quickly became the subject of memes after they were leaked, largely thanks to their cute and unique design. For example, on November 13th, 2022, Twitter account @CentroLeaks^[2] posted a meme of Tandemaus screaming, gaining over 1,000 retweets and 20,000 likes in one month (shown below, left). On December 2nd, Tumblr user @kupokopi^[3] posted crossover fan art of Maushold and Spy X Family, gaining over 8,400 notes in two weeks (shown below, right).

Maushold quickly grew infamous in the competitive Pokémon scene thanks to its two signature moves, "Tidy Up" and "Population Bomb." Tidy Up clears away any traps an opponent may have set, like Toxic Spikes or Stealth Rock, and boosts Maushold's Attack and Speed stats. Population Bomb is a multi-hit move that can potentially hit ten times in a row. Used in tandem, Maushold could potentially sweep an opposing team. On November 28th, Redditor UnstoppablePhoenix posted an I'm Not Gonna Sugarcoat It edit featuring Maushold, gaining over 860 points in /r/pokemonmemes^[4] in two weeks (shown below, left). On November 19th, Twitter user @shin2036^[5] posted a meme about Maushold's signature move, gaining over 60 retweets and 220 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References