The Pokemon Mystery Box is the latest piece of information to have been revealed about the Mythical Pokemon, Meltan. This box is first introduced in the exchange between Professor Oak and Professor Willow, and it seems to be the key to bringing Meltan into being. However, how can trainers get a Mystery Box? Even if they have managed to get one—how do they use it? Here’s a guide on how to catch Meltan using the Pokemon Mystery Box.
What Is Meltan?
The description from the official Pokemon: Let’s Go website has the following to say about the brand new Steel-type Pokemon:
Most of Meltan’s body is made from liquid metal, and its shape is very fluid. It can use its liquid arms and legs to corrode metal and absorb it into its own body.
The video released on the Pokemon Twitter page revealed more information on the Mythical Pokemon. After Professor Oak sends Professor Willow a Mystery Box containing a lump of metal constituted of the same elements as Meltan, Willow becomes surrounded by a group of Meltan, dispelling rumors that there may only be one Meltan in existence. The Meltan all seem to be amicable, unlike some Mythical and Legendary Pokemon which can be hostile towards trainers.
Professor Oak and Professor Willow have an update on their #Meltan research, Trainers. Take a look at the most recent findings: https://t.co/3pQih9QLRd pic.twitter.com/8XfsX8empF
— Ghost-type Pokémon (@Pokemon) October 10, 2018
Interestingly, the box didn’t work in Oak’s Laboratory. It seems that Meltan thrives outdoors, when surrounded by nature. This may seem strange at first due to its Steel-typing, but other Steel-types have curious connections to the natural world, too. Metagross, for instance, is tied to the cosmos, as seen by its signature move, Meteor Mash. It seems that the more we learn about Meltan, the more mysterious it becomes.
Why Did Meltan Become Ditto?
Also of interest is the fact that Oak mentioned that Ditto managed to remember Meltan’s form to a remarkable degree. The Meltan in Pokemon Go were Ditto who had transformed. However, they missed the “finer details,” implying that a new form of Meltan may be revealed in the Pokemon Let’s Go games. Could the Meltan we know just be one form of the Mythical Pokemon?
The third video to have been released, titled “New Discovery: Rare Footage of Meltan in the Wild!” further reinforces this view. An ordinary trainer has had their home overrun by charmingly troublesome Meltan. These lovable creatures love all things metal, and seem to be able to absorb them into their liquid metal body. Could it be the case that these Meltan could assimilate enough metal into themselves to become massive in size? Or, even more interestingly, is there a way for the individual Meltan to merge with others? This would surely become a powerful Mythical Pokemon if so.
Now that you’ve heard from the professors, who’s ready to learn more about #Meltan? pic.twitter.com/MpKdhfdVfG
— Ghost-type Pokémon (@Pokemon) October 10, 2018
In fact, at 1:33 in the video, the silhouette of something huge appears after a never-before-heard Pokemon cry plays. This scene follows a scene in which a group of Meltan are huddled closely together. Does this imply that they did in fact merge into the true Meltan? Are there a finite number of Meltan, which were separated centuries ago for an unknown reason? Players will need to wait for more videos in order to find out. However, the answer seems to lie in Pokemon Lets Go, as the videos continuously point to it.
Is Meltan Coming to Pokemon Let’s Go?
The official Pokemon Let’s Go website concluded its initial field report with the following:
Research is being conducted on these appearances of Meltan, but we have learned that Pokémon Go is somehow key to meeting this curious new Pokémon in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!
The Meltan video titled “Meltan Research Update from Professor Oak and Professor Willow,” concludes with yet another “To be continued…” However, the sprites for Pikachu and Eevee appear after this, suggesting that the Mythical Pokemon will have a key role to play in Pokemon Let’s Go. Although we will likely have learned more by the time that Pokemon Let’s Go launches, it seems that the big reveal will be saved for an in-game encounter. As the trainer in the “Rare Footage of Meltan in the Wild” video notes, “I think Meltan still holds a greater secret to be uncovered.” This secret could very well be that Meltan’s true form is the amalgamation of all of its parts. However, in order for the secret to be uncovered, players need to get their Meltan in Pokemon Let’s Go. The way to do this is to get a Mystery Box.
How to Get a Pokemon Mystery Box
We previously speculated that the secret to getting Meltan in Pokemon Let’s Go would be directly tied to importing Pokemon from Pokemon Go. It has since been revealed that this is exactly the case, but not in the way you might think.
According to the official Pokemon Let’s Go website, the Mystery Box is an item that players will get in Pokemon Go the first time they send a Pokemon to Pokemon Let’s Go.
After one use, the Mystery Box will close itself, just as it did for Professor Willow after he opened it in the video. In order to open it again, players will need to wait for a set amount of time before sending another Pokemon to Pokemon Let’s Go. You can send Pokemon to friend’s games, too, but all players can only have one Mystery Box at a time.
When a player opens a Mystery Box, that player will have a chance to catch Meltan as they appear on the game’s field map. All the player needs to do is touch the Meltan in order to instigate the capture opportunity. Afterwards, they can send the Meltan to Pokemon Let’s Go, where it will follow the player around, just as Pikachu did way back in Pokemon Yellow.
On top of that, it seems that Professor Willow and Professor Oak will be reaching out to players in order to reveal other opportunities for catching Meltan very soon. These will be Special Research quests in Pokemon Go. Despite its small stature, Meltan is set to have a big role to play in the highly-anticipated Pokemon Let’s Go titles.
Also, apparently you don’t need a metal detector when Meltan is around, “to put it lightly.”
You don’t need a metal detector when #Meltan is around! This Pokémon loves metal objects—to put it lightly! https://t.co/Y7gAsVQp5t pic.twitter.com/Bra0FadYfL
— Ghost-type Pokémon (@Pokemon) October 10, 2018
