While Pokémon fans are desperately waiting for the inevitable arrival of Gen VIII, Game Freak has already whetted their appetites with the release of Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. These games are remakes of Pokémon Yellow with several ties to Pokémon GO. Not trying to be overly ambitious, the games only bring back the original 151 creatures and their Alolan Forms.
However, the games introduced not just one but two new Pokémon to the mix: Meltan and Melmetal. Meltan was teased as a secret Pokémon players could obtain by connecting Pokémon GO to Pokémon Let’s Go. This new, mythic Pokémon is a Steel-type and has a unique design unlike any other creature in the franchise. With its exclusivity to the GO universe, fans of both games are likely to put in a lot of hours getting their hands on it and its evolution, Melmetal.
Apart from being simply the next new Pokémon, there are a lot of details about Meltan that most people don’t know. The creation of every mythic Pokémon sparks plenty of discussion among the fanbase, and Meltan is no different. With no new Pokémon teased at the moment, Meltan is getting all of the attention, and there are plenty of details to go over.
There’s more to Meltan than meets the floating eye, and we’re going over 25 secrets about the new Pokémon that only major fans of the franchise would know. If you decide on catching a Meltan, this list might be just the handy guide you need.
24 Evolution
Many were shocked after Meltan’s reveal to hear that it wasn’t the only new Pokémon to be introduced. Those who were lucky enough to properly raise a Meltan would be rewarded with the mighty Melmetal. Like its pre-evolved form, Melmetal can also appear in Pokémon Let’s Go as well as Pokémon GO. Considering Game Freak mostly focuses on one Pokémon at a time, it was a surprising change that they decided to give more depth to Meltan’s usefulness in the series.
23 400 Candies
Trying to get a Melmetal might be an enticing task, but it’s far from a viable one. To evolve a Meltan, one must obtain 400 Meltan candies. Considering that Meltan aren’t exactly as plentiful as Rattata or Pidgey in Pokémon GO, trying to obtain that many would be a massive undertaking. Mystery boxes are likely the most reasonable way to acquire all those candies unless someone had that many Rare Candies stored up and ready to use at any moment.
22 Can’t Be Obtained Through Normal Means
Most Mythic Pokémon are caught by one of two methods: an event or some sort of exploration in the main games.
Meltan isn’t obtained through either.
Instead, catching one entirely depends on how one uses Pokémon GO. One way is to complete a series of research tasks similar to capturing a Celebi or Mew (and they’re every bit as challenging). The second method is to use a Mystery Box in-game by connecting to Pokémon Let’s Go to allow Meltan to spawn in Pokémon GO.
21 Body Of Mercury
Meltan has an interesting design. Similar in structure to Pokémon like Grimer or Slugma, Meltan has a different body composition. According to its official design, it has liquid metal form its body. Many have pointed out that this body is very similar to mercury, which takes on a liquid form. Meltan has a crazy heat mechanism in order to melt metal to form its whole body. This idea only gets more intense as it grows and inevitably evolves into Melmetal.
20 Max Stats Unknown
The way Pokémon GO and Pokémon Let’s Go deal with levels and stats are different than the rest of the franchise. Pokémon Let’s Go calculates levels in tandem with CP so that the two can line up as people use Pokémon in both games. With Meltan being introduced in this corner of the franchise, its max stats aren’t known, seeing that it hasn’t appeared in a main game yet. There’s no confirmation that Meltan can be transferred to the upcoming Pokémon game on Switch, but we’d be shocked if it couldn’t.
19 No Ability
Pokémon GO, being a more simplistic take on the franchise that’s more accessible for casual players, did away with many mechanics that made themselves so popular in the core games.
These changes carried over to Pokémon Let’s Go, and that included abilities.
Every Pokémon had an ability that gave them an edge in battle. With Meltan being introduced in Pokémon GO, it doesn’t have an ability. If it ever gets moved to the core games, it will gain its own unique ability, most likely.
18 Ditto Transformation
The first hints of Meltan’s arrival came in Pokémon GO. Players reported finding Ditto that would transform into this quirky creature. This led to one of Professor Willow’s famous research tasks where players had to catch these Ditto. We’re not entirely sure why Ditto chose to imitate Meltan so frequently, but it’s worth noting that they have similar body structures, as they are both gelatinous beings that have fluid bodies. Catching these Ditto got players a few steps closer to achieving a Meltan of their own.
17 Floating Eye
The most interesting part of Meltan is arguably its head. Resembling some sort of nut, the middle of it is a void save for a lone sphere that functions as its eye. With nothing in the space between, the physiology of how it works is anyone’s guess.
Its possible, based on the eye’s color, that it could work with some sort of magnetism that keeps it afloat.
It could also explain why Meltan has a fluid body, to adjust the magnetic forces pulling on its eye so it can change where it looks.
16 Generates Electricity
If you notice Meltan’s body shape, it manages to generate limbs of its own with its liquid form. These limbs can help it move around as well as accumulate more metal for its own body. The metal is then melted down for Meltan’s own nourishment. However, the melting doesn’t just add to Meltan’s body, but it also generates Electricity for the Pokémon. This could help it keep moving throughout the day, or it could lead to some more unique attacks in its move pool.
15 Meltan Combination
There are a few Pokémon that don’t evolve just by leveling up. Magneton is formed when three Magnemite get together, as is a Dugtrio formed when three Diglett create a bond. In a similar way, Melmetal is formed when several Meltan get together. When they get to the same spot, they combine their bodies to form one massive entity. That entity becomes the Steel behemoth known as Melmetal. It takes quite a bit of Meltan to form this Pokémon, so good luck finding that many.
14 Found In Ancient Texts
The Pokémon franchise is notorious for adding to the lore as it goes. Players are simply supposed to accept that those things just happen without any second thoughts, and Meltan and Melmetal are no exceptions to this rule. Meltan was found in ancient texts, which served as great research that Professor Willow would use to discover more about the Pokémon’s resurgence. Meltan’s introduction has been held a bit more canonically sound, as it was supposedly dormant for a long time.
13 Learns Electric Attacks
Meltan doesn’t just have metal within its body, but it also has Electricity that it gains through absorbing new pieces of metal. These Electric currents allow Meltan to have Electric-type attacks that many other Steel Pokémon wouldn’t be able to use. Just by leveling up, Meltan can learn both Thunder Wave and Thunder Shock to paralyze and damage its foes. Its potential for Electric moves goes up when TMs are brought into the mix, giving Meltan another move to learn.
12 Learns Poison Attacks
With Poison moves not being very effective against Steel Pokémon, it’s impressive that Meltan can learn a few of its own.
Just by leveling up, Meltan can learn Acid Armor to give itself a bit more protection against its opponents.
With the help of TMs, Meltan can also learn Toxic to severely Poison its foes. That said, Toxic isn’t an uncommon move for Pokémon to learn, so it’s not quite as surprising as learning Acid Armor, which also has a fairly reasonable explanation.
11 Shortest Steel Pokémon
Size isn’t a serious factor in Pokémon. Some of the smallest Pokémon can leave some of the most devastating results in the meta game and some of the biggest Pokémon can leave players underwhelmed. Meltan joins the roster as the shortest Steel-type Pokémon to date. That said, it isn’t the only Pokémon at that size. Both Alolan Diglett and Klefki are the same size as Meltan, giving the three of them the title of the shortest Steel-type Pokémon to date.
10 Last Pokémon In The National Dex
The National Pokédex is one of the most overwhelming pieces of technology in the entire franchise. As if regional Pokédexes weren’t hard enough to fill out, the National Dex covers every single Pokémon ever created, from the first generation all the way to the last one. Only the ones with the most resources can fill these things out, and that’s saying a lot. Meltan, being the newest Pokémon created, comes in last at the National Dex, putting it next to the Mythic Pokémon of Alola.
9 Worshiped For Creating Metal
Meltan has had documentation in ancient texts, but its evolution seemed to have a greater impact on the people of its time.
While Meltan could easily absorb and melt all types of metal, Melmetal had the ability to create it.
With the ability to do this, the people of the time were so impressed that some of them began worshiping the Pokémon. These ancient records were all anyone knew of Meltan and Melmetal before resurfacing many years later in the present.
8 Flexible Arms
Melmetal is one the sturdiest Pokémon to date. Being composed of numerous Meltan, all of whom were composed of pure metal, Melmetal has a nearly unbreakable body. However, the metal that makes up its form is also liquid, which makes it flexible as well. This metal can change its shape and form, allowing Melmetal to extend its arms to execute devastating punches all on its own. Couple that with its impressive size, and Melmetal is one of the most dangerous Pokémon of its kind.
7 Double Iron Bash
Several Pokémon have had the benefit of learning attacks specific to them. Ditto was the one that introduced Transform. Lucario had Aura Sphere. Melmetal joins the fray by introducing the move Double Iron Bash. It is a Steel move in which the user can hit its opponent multiple times. On top of that, there is a 30% chance that the opponent will flinch, leaving themselves open for another devastating attack. It’s possible another Pokémon could learn this move in the future.
6 Existed 3000 Years Ago
Unlike most new Pokémon, there is actually a reason in-universe that Meltan and Melmetal haven’t appeared in the franchise’s history. These two Pokémon existed 3000 years ago, presumably alongside other older Pokémon of the time period. Ancient documents detailed what they were as well as what they could do. However, both species went dormant for an unidentified reason, never reappearing until thousands of years later with Professor Willow’s research. Perhaps if it weren’t for the Ditto catching on to their appearance, they would’ve remained hidden.
5 Fighting Attacks
While Meltan can learn a few different moves of varying types, Melmetal takes it to a different degree. With its emphasis on the massive arms that can stretch for devastating punches, Melmetal has the potential to add Fighting attacks to its moveset. One that it can learn by leveling up is Superpower, which is an extremely powerful Fighting move. With the use of TMs, there are a few others that Melmetal can learn, giving it more coverage against several types.