Meltan and Melmetal facts for kids

Meltan (メルタン, Merutan) and Melmetal (メルメタル, Merumetaru) are special Pokémon from Nintendo and Game Freak's popular Pokémon games. Meltan is a small, shiny Steel-type Mythical Pokémon. Melmetal is its much bigger and stronger evolved form.

These two Pokémon first appeared in the mobile game Pokémon Go. They could only be caught there at first. Meltan was revealed in September 2018. It was the very first Pokémon that you could only get in Pokémon Go. It was also the first Mythical Pokémon that could evolve into another Pokémon. Melmetal later appeared in the Pokémon Ultra Legends TV show episode called "Z-Move Showdown".

Meet Meltan and Melmetal

Meltan's Look and Powers

Meltan is a small Pokémon, about 8 inches (0.2 meters) tall. Its head looks like a yellow, six-sided nut. Inside its head is a single, round, black eye. Meltan's body is made of a flowing, grey liquid steel. It also has a red tail that looks like an electrical cord.

According to the official Pokémon website, Meltan is a very curious Pokémon. It can use its metal body parts to melt and take in other metal. When it does this, it creates electricity. Meltan uses this electricity for energy and for fighting. It can even shoot electricity from its eye!

Melmetal's Evolution and Strength

Meltan can evolve in Pokémon Go. This makes it the first Mythical Pokémon that can evolve. Its evolved form, Melmetal, is much larger. It stands about 8 feet 2 inches (2.5 meters) tall and has a shape that looks a bit like a human.

Melmetal still has Meltan's grey liquid metal body and its six-sided nut head. But Melmetal also has several other hexagonal nuts that act as its arms, legs, and joints. The Pokémon website says that "Melmetal was worshiped in ancient times as a Pokémon with the power to create metal."

In the games Pokémon Sword and Shield, Melmetal can become a giant "Gigantamax" form. This huge form has a special move called G-Max Meltdown. Gigantamax Melmetal can stretch its body to make giant fists and punch things from far away. It can also create electric charges strong enough to destroy an entire hill!

Where Meltan and Melmetal Appear

In the Video Games

Meltan first showed up in Pokémon Go on September 22, 2018. This happened after a special "Community Day" event for Chikorita. Players in Asia and the Pacific were the first to see them in the game. When players caught Meltan, its name showed up as "???". Then, it would change into a Ditto or a Chikorita.

A few days later, on September 25, The Pokémon Company officially introduced Meltan. They also said that this Pokémon would connect Pokémon Go to the Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! games on the Nintendo Switch. Game director Junichi Masuda said that this surprise reveal was planned to make players excited about Meltan.

In October, a new video showed that Meltan could only be caught in Pokémon Go. You could get it by sending a Pokémon from Go to the Let's Go games. Later that month, another video revealed Meltan's evolution, Melmetal. Melmetal could only be obtained by evolving Meltan in Pokémon Go. In November, after the Let's Go games came out, Pokémon Go started a "Special Research Quest." This quest allowed players to catch Meltan even if they didn't play the Let's Go games.

Meltan can also be moved into Pokémon Sword and Shield through Pokémon Home since February 2020. By linking Pokémon Go and Pokémon Home, players of Sword and Shield could get a special Gigantamax form of Melmetal.

In Other Media

Meltan is also a character in the Pokémon TV show. One Meltan joined the team of the main character, Ash Ketchum. This Meltan later evolved into a Melmetal along with other Meltan.