Pokémon Let's Go Meltan quest, and Mystery Box explained - how to catch Meltan and Melmetal in Pokémon Go and Let's Go

Pokémon Go's Meltan, and its evolution Melmetal are the only new Pokémon coming to both Go and Let's Go via the new Mystery Box mechanic, and are somewhat unprecedented for the series: a debut of a new, never-before-seen creature outside of the main games or anime.

There are two ways to get Meltan. You can get one through the Let's Go, Meltan quest - the toughest we've seen yet in Pokémon Go - as well as from Let's Go on Switch. The latter is also the best way to get evolution Melmetal, since you'll have to catch a lot to get enough Candy.

On this page we detail exactly how to catch Meltan in Pokémon Go and Let's Go, as well as its big evolution Melmetal.

On this page:

How to catch Meltan with Let's Go, Meltan quest steps in Pokémon Go

Introduced on Pokémon Let's Go's November 16th release date saw the addition of a new Research quest for Meltan.

Similar to Mew, Celebi and Spiritomb earlier in the year, this sees Professor Willow ask you to take on some of the toughest research yet - asking you to catch specific creatures over nine steps in order to catch Meltan (thankfully, some of these are part of new Field Research rewards until late November.

This list of Meltan quest steps is as follows (thanks to MatterGuy98 on reddit for filling in the gaps):

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 1 of 9

• Spin 5 PokéStops of Gyms (500 XP reward)
• Catch 10 Pokémon (500 XP reward)
• Transfer 5 Pokémon (500 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 1: x1000 Stardust, x10 Poké Balls, 1 Incubator

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 2 of 9

• Earn 2 Candies walking your Buddy (1000 XP reward)
• Make 10 Great Throws (1000 XP reward)
• Hatch 3 Eggs (1000 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 2: x2000 Stardust, x2 Lucky Eggs, x1 Fast TM

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 3 of 9

• Catch a Ditto (1500 XP reward)
• Win 2 Gym Battles (1500 XP reward)
• Battle in two Raids (1500 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 3: x10 Great Balls, x3 Incense, x3 Max Revive

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 4 of 9

• Catch 5 Steel-type Pokémon (2000 XP reward)
• Catch 5 Electric-type Pokémon (2000 XP reward)
• Earn 5 Candies walking with your buddy (2000 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 4: x4000 Stardust, x5 Pinap Berry, x5 Rare Candy

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 5 of 9

• Evolve a Grimer (2500 XP reward)
• Catch 5 Slugma or Gulpin (2500 XP reward)
• Make 20 Great Throws (2500 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 5: x5000 Stardust, x20 Great Balls, x5 Lure Module

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 6 of 9

• Evolve a Magnemite (3000 XP reward)
• catch 5 Exeggcute (3000 XP reward)
• Battle in 10 raids (3000 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 6: x1 Silver Pinap Berry, x1 Metal Coat, x10 Ultra Ball

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 7 of 9

• Evolve 1 Drowzee (3500 XP reward)
• Catch 1 Cubone (3500 XP reward)
• Evolve 1 Scyther (3500 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 7: x10 Ultra Balls, x1 Charged TM, x3 Premium Raid Passes

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 8 of 9

• Catch 2 Omanyte or Kabuto (4000 XP reward)
• Catch 2 Lileep or Anorith (4000 XP reward)
• Catch an Aerodactyl (4000 XP reward)

Rewards for completing Step 8: x8000 Stardust, Meltan encounter, x1 Star Piece

'Lets Go, Meltan' Step 9 of 9

• 4500 XP reward
• 4500 XP reward
• 4500 XP reward

Rewards for completing Step 9: x9000 Stardust, x1 Super Incubator, x5 Meltan Candy

How to catch Meltan in Pokémon Go using the Mystery Box

Want to catch a Meltan before the 'Let's Go, Meltan' quest is complete, or simply more to help you evolve into Melmetal? Then you'll need a copy of Pokémon Let's Go on Nintendo Switch.

There are several steps involved, so here's a step-by-step explanation.

How to catch Meltan in Pokémon Go using Pokémon Let's Go

1. Connect your Pokémon Go account to a Nintendo Switch copy of Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee.
2. Transfer a Pokémon from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee. (The Let's Go account needs to have reached the Go Park in Fuchsia City to do this, which is about three quarters of the way through Let's Go's story.)
3. As soon as you do so, you'll be given an item in Pokémon Go called the Mystery Box.
4. Select the Mystery Box in your items menu and open it when you're ready. This will cause Meltan to spawn around you for 30 minutes.
5. Catch as many Meltan as you can, and don't forget to use Pinap Berries on every one, as you're going to need that Candy!
6. You can only do this a maximum of once per week - more on the specifics of this further below!

How to catch Melmetal in Pokémon Go

Catching Melmetal is pretty simple: the only way you can get it is to evolve a Meltan. It costs a whopping 400 Candy, so you're going to need to repeat the process quite a few times!

Once you do have enough Meltan Candy, it's exactly the same as usual, just select evolve for the Meltan you want to evolve, and Melmetal's yours!

How to get Meltan in Pokémon Let's Go - and how to get evolution Melmetal

The two-way reliance between Pokémon Let's Go on Switch and Pokémon Go continues here, as the only way you can get a Meltan in Let's Go is to trade it from Pokémon Go!

There's no way to catch or acquire a Meltan in Let's Go on Switch, or for that matter a Melmetal, in Pokémon Let's Go otherwise. So you need to first get it in Pokémon Go, and then trade it over.

Worth noting as well is the fact that, as far as we know, there's no way to evolve Meltan into Melmetal once you've transferred the Meltan to Let's Go.

As transferring is one-way - as in, you can't take any Pokémon from Let's Go over to Go, only from the mobile Go to the Switch's Let's Go - that means you need to evolve a Meltan in Pokémon Go first, then transfer it to Let's Go, in order to get the big boy Melmetal in Let's Go, too.

Other things to know about the Pokémon Go Mystery Box, Meltan, and Melmetal

There are quite a few specifics to keep in mind, due to all the technicalities that come into play with transferring Pokémon and the Mystery Box's new mechanics, too! Here's everything you should bear in mind about each.

How the Mystery Box works in Pokémon Go

• You only get one Mystery Box - once you've transferred a Pokémon from Go to Let's Go for the first time, it'll stay in your inventory permanently.
• The Mystery Box only opens once per week - once you press Open, you have to wait a full seven days to open it again.
• You need to transfer a Pokémon from Go to Let's Go every time you want to open it - so once that seven-day timer runs down, transfer another Pokémon. It's not clear yet (as it hasn't been a week since the feature went live yet) whether you have to wait until the counter runs down and then transfer a Pokémon, or if you can 'stack' them in advance, so to speak. We assume you'll need to wait!
• The Mystery Box only affects you in Pokémon Go - it basically functions like a special type of Incense, not like a Lure. Meltan only appear for you, not those who happen to be around you at the time.
• You can link as many Pokémon Go accounts as you like to a copy of Let's Go - so one copy of Let's Go can be a source of Mystery Boxes for an infinite number of different Pokémon Go accounts. We knew you could have multiple, but it's good to confirm there's no limit! It also, of course, means it doesn't have to be your copy of Let's Go. You just need to have permission to link it with someone's.

How Meltan and Melmetal work and things to know about them

• Meltan is tradeable - between Pokémon Go accounts, that is. It's surprising for a Mythical Pokémon, but we've tested it here at Eurogamer.
• It seems like set number of Meltan spawn each time you open the Mystery Box - We haven't confirmed it yet, but for several of us here, 10 Meltan spawned over the 30 minutes, at roughly three-minute intervals.
• Meltan is tiny! - It might sound silly, but bear in mind that Meltan is really small, and so can sometimes be hard to spot in Pokémon Go, particularly when it spawns close to you, a Pokéstop or other Pokémon in the game. Keep a close watch out during that entire 30 minutes!
• You can't increase the spawn rate - Lures don't seem to have an effect, and likewise Incense is blocked from use, as the Mystery Box opening counts as a kind of Incense itself!
• You can, of course, have more than one Meltan or Melmetal - It'll probably take you a long time to get two Melmetal, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to!
• You can get Meltan Candy from transferring it to Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee - You get the same amount of Candy from sending a Pokémon to Let's Go as you would from transferring it to the Professor, so you don't miss out if you send it to your Let's Go game!
• Meltan can be placed in Gyms or as your Buddy in Pokémon Go - It's a whopping 20km for one Candy though, so you'll be walking a while!

What is Meltan, and how was Meltan first revealed?

The mysterious Meltan appeared in the wild in Pokémon Go at the conclusion of the September Community Day, flooding the map en mass.

Though it seemed like a regular creature - complete with its own animations, and even appearing on the Nearby radar - there were a few key differences:

• It had no name or CP
• Catching it would see it transform into Ditto
• As a result, after catching, there is no record of it in your Pokédex or elsewhere

Head back to our main Pokémon Let's Go walkthrough and guide hub for all our pages in one place, including detailed, step-by-step help for tough spots like Cerulean Cave, and the Elite Four, plus tough dungeons like Silph Co., Seafoam Islands and Victory Road. Otherwise, take a peek(achu) at our Pokémon Let's Go TM list and all TM locations, Let's Go's starter locations and how to get Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, along with how to get Mew in Let's Go, and how to get Meltan in Let's Go and Go too. Beyond that we also explain how connect Pokémon Go to Let's Go on Nintendo Switch and transfer Pokémon, Catching, catch combos, and how to catch Pokémon, a quick collection of our best Pokémon Let's Go tips and tricks to get you off to a great start, and finally what we know about the Pokémon Pass app distribution event too.

30 minutes after appearing at the end of Community Day, the spawns then slowed right back down to rare or uncommon levels - similar to a regular Ditto's spawn rate, and then disappeared entirely.

It appeared, at first, as though some of these Meltan-Ditto could transform back into Meltan, but then Pokémon issued a clarification:

A little while later, the Pokémon Company trickled out some more trailers and videos, gradually revealing Meltan's nature as an ancient, Steel-type Mythical Pokémon, and the method for how you can catch it with the new Mystery Box.

Now, of course, we know the exact info that we need - so all there's left to do is get transferring, and then get catching!