How to get Shiny Meltan in Pokemon Go: Return date, Mystery Box, and more

Zackerie Fairfax
How Get Shiny Meltan Pokemon Go

The Pokemon Go exclusive Mythical Meltan can only be summoned using a special item, and its shiny variant is even more elusive. Here’s how to get a Shiny Meltan.

In 2018, Pokemon Go introduced its first exclusive Pokemon, Meltan. This little sliver blob with a hex nut for a head would be released alongside Pokemon Let’s Go with a special way of obtaining it.

In order to summon Meltan in Pokemon Go, players would have to obtain a Mystery Box. These items work like Incense, but they only attract Meltan and only work for 30 minutes.

You can only open a Mystery Box once every 3 days, but once you obtain a box you keep it forever. The real challenge is finding a Shiny Meltan.

Pokemon Go Mystery Box

Getting a Mystery Box in Pokemon GO

Getting a Mystery Box in Pokemon is pretty easy, especially since Pokemon Go now connects to Pokemon Home. All a player has to do is transfer a Pokemon from Go to either Let’s Go on the Nintendo Switch or Home on their mobile device/Switch.

The easiest way to earn a Mystery Box is to download Pokemon Home, connect your accounts, and send a Pokemon from Go. This will instantly reward the player with a Mystery Box without the need for another device.

How to get a Shiny Meltan

Usually, Shiny Pokemon have a 1/512 chance to appear. However, Meltan is a special case that has a 1/125 chance to appear shiny, but only during special times announced by Niantic.

That’s right, Meltan’s Shiny form is a timed exclusive, and there aren’t any set times annually that he is released. This means players have to keep an eye out for when Niantic announces Shiny Meltan’s sporadic return.

Otherwise, getting a Shiny Meltan works like hunting any other Pokemon. Activate the Mystery Box during a time when Shiny Meltan can appear, and check every spawn until you find one that is shiny.

Meltan Mystery Box

When will Shiny Meltan return?

Luckily, players won’t have to wait very long to hunt for Shiny Meltan in Pokemon Go. The next time Meltan can be shiny will be during the Pokemon Go TCG Crossover event from June 16 – 30.

The cooldown time for boxes will also be reduced so players won’t have to wait 3 days in between uses.

As the event draws closer, we will continue to update this guide. And check back after the event to see when the next Shiny Meltan window is in Pokemon Go.

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About The Author

Zackerie is a former Senior Writer for Dexerto who covered a wide variety of games and entertainment. He has a degree in Creative Writing and was previously the editor of The LaRue County News. Zackerie switched to games media in 2020 writing for outlets such as Screen Rant, Fortnite INTEL, and Charlie INTEL.