In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Niantic / The Pokémon Company have created a new Pokémon Go event revolving around Meltan.
For about a month, trainers may find Shiny Meltan in Pokémon Go when opening their Mystery Boxes! Read on for all the details and tips you need to know!
Event Duration
The event starts February 5th, 2019 at 1 PM PST, and ends on March 4th, 2019 at 11:59 PST Players will have until then to find a shiny.
Mystery Box Changes (Temporary)
In order to make the search easier, the real-world cooldown of the Mystery Box has temporarily been reduced from 7 days to 3 days for the event period.
If players keep up with the Mystery Box’s cooldown timer, the Mystery Box can be opened up to 10 times through the event period, giving a total of 5 cumulative hours to look for a Shiny Meltan!
How Do I Know if a Meltan is Shiny?
Unlike Pokémon Let’s Go, shiny pokémon aren’t discernable on the overworld map. To find a shiny, you’ll have to tap on the pokémon, and see if it has different coloring from its species, a process referred to as “shiny popping.”
In Meltan’s example, Meltan’s head is a slightly darker color, almost orange, while its tail is blue.
Getting a Mystery Box
If you’ve been drawing a blank as to what a Mystery Box is, I’ve got you covered on that as well.
A Mystery Box is a special item you get from transferring Gen 1/Kanto pokémon from Pokémon Go to any version of Pokémon Let’s Go.
To do this, you’ll first have to connect your mobile device to your own or a friend’s Switch in Pokémon Go. This process requires turning Bluetooth on the mobile device.
Then, from Pokémon Let’s Go, pause the game and press Y/shake the controller to get to the options menu.
From there, select “Open Pokémon Go Settings” and follow the on-screen prompts.
Finally, once both Switch and mobile device have been paired, go to the Pokémon section of Pokémon Go, and tap on the new Switch icon. Select which pokémon you want to transfer, and from Pokémon Let’s Go, go to the Go Park complex in Fuschia City.
Once there, talk to the clerk at the Go Park, and select “Bring Pokémon” and a Go Park.
The two devices will communicate, and after confirming the transfer from Pokémon Go on the Switch, a Mystery Box will be given with an immediate use.
The box does have a cooldown period however, and cannot be used again until pokémon have been transferred from Pokémon Go to a copy of Let’s Go.
Other Tips
Tip #1: Wait until you are somewhere you’ll be at for a while before opening the Mystery Box.
The Mystery Box functions as a specialized lure that brings Meltan to you.
Use it in a moving car, and the pokémon might not spawn if going too fast. Use it while going someplace, and some Meltan might be left behind.
Tip #2: Don’t use a Pokéball Plus / Pokémon Go Plus for catching.
While these can be extremely helpful for Pokéstops, the problem here lies in catching the pokémon: Using these devices to catch pokémon is a one-shot chance.
The PBP/PGP only use regular pokéballs, and a failed capture attempt will result in the pokémon fleeing. No berry boosts, no pokéball selection, no retries.
And because this event revolves around finding a shiny, seeing, and having multiple attempts to capture one, is in your best interest. After all, you wouldn’t want just one chance to catch a shiny, right?
Fortunately, you can disable the pokémon notifications of the Pokéball Plus and Pokémon Go Plus in the game’s settings, stopping them from trying to capture pokémon in the first place!
To do this, go to Settings (from the game,) and scroll down to the bottom of the list. Choose which peripheral you’re using, and under the Notifications section, uncheck, “Nearby Pokémon.”
You’ll now be able to take your time with capturing a chosen pokémon, and have more chances to catch it!
Tip #3: Use Pinap Berries on every capture attempt.
Meltan are somewhat difficult to catch, but evolving one is a much more demanding process, requiring 300 candies a Meltan.
Adding to this, Meltan don’t seem to be able to evolve in Pokémon Let’s Go, so the evolving has to be done from mobile devices.
Pinap berries mitigate this issue somewhat, doubling the candies you’d normally recieve. Combining this with sending pokémon to the Let’s Go games should make Meltan’s evolution much less cumbersome.
Tip #4: Don’t catch a bunch of random pokémon.
Even though catching pokémon indiscriminately is the point of Pokémon Go, your resources are far more limited than other pokémon games. All players start at a newly raised Pokémon Box limit of 300 pokémon, and pokéballs are typically locked behind real-world pokéstops and/or in-app purchases.
That being said, unless a pokémon is a new species, or a shiny, or a favorite, it’s better to leave them be while shiny hunting. See what CP they have, or see if they’re shiny if you want to, but please, plan your resources carefully.
However,
Tip #5: Do catch other Steel type pokémon.
Crazy, right? Don’t catch just anything, but catch Steel types when you can? There’s a method to this madness, I promise.
From your player profile, you can see your Level, Experience, Weekly Progress, and Gym Badges, but the most important section in this case is the Medals section. Specifically, the Depot Agent medal.
As a bonus for catching 10, 50, or 200 of a specific type of pokémon, that elemental type gets an increased catch rate. This goes for all 17 pokémon types, with a total catch rate bonus of 6 per type.
Wanna check out how far along you are on unlocking these bonuses? Tap on your avatar’s picture on the bottom left corner, and scroll down to the Medals section. The second set of medals are for elemental type captures, and you can see how many you need to catch before completing a tier. (And nabbing those bonuses!)
Tip #6: Manage your Pokémon and Item boxes beforehand.
Especially before using the Mystery Box. Once the box is used, a countdown for 30 consecutive, uninterrupted, real-world minutes begins. Don’t let pokémon limits take away from that time.
Take some time before using the box to inspect your pokémon, appraise their stats and potential, and transfer the ones you don’t want, either to the professor, or to a copy of Let’s Go.
A utilitarian approach, sure, but let’s face it, some pokémon just aren’t the best for battle. And even though Pokémon Go’s main focus is on catching, the battling aspect is just as important.
Tip #7: Save all Meltan to be transferred to Let’s Go.
Preferably when the Mystery Box shows there are 0 days left before use.
Why? Transferring Pokémon to Pokémon Let’s Go also results in getting pokémon candy in Pokémon Go. Also, if transfers are done before the countdown reaches 0, the game won’t register the transfer requirement as being met.
This also isn’t to mention the fact that having lots of the same pokémon in a Go Park in the Let’s Go games unlocks a small herding minigame.
In short, timing is everything, and in this case, quantity over quality helps for the candies in Pokémon Go, while it adds bonuses for Let’s Go.
Conclusion
That’s all you need to know about finding your shiny Meltan! Once you find it, do you plan on keeping it in Pokémon Go, or transferring it to Let’s Go? Let me know in the comments below!
Happy shiny hunting!
-The Candid Gamer
