Many Pokemon fans were confounded this past weekend when a strange, unidentified Pokemon began appearing in Pokemon Go immediately following the game’s latest Community Day event. The monster could only be found in the wild for 30 minutes (though it has since been sporadically sighted in the game), and when captured, it would reveal itself to be a Ditto or another Pokemon, furthering the mystery of whether or not it was a deliberate tease on Niantic’s part. It turns out it was, and the unusual Pokemon now has a name.
The Pokemon Company has confirmed that the strange, Ditto-like monster is a brand-new species of Pokemon called Meltan. In a new trailer the company shared, Professor Willow from Pokemon Go calls Professor Oak, the most prominent researcher from the main series, with news that Ditto masquerading as an unidentified Pokemon had been sighted recently. Oak says he recalls seeing the monster in ancient texts and that it’s a Mythical Pokemon known as Meltan.
Meltan is classified as the Hex Nut Pokemon. It is a pure Steel-type with a fluid, amorphous body made of liquid metal. According to the official Pokemon website, Meltan can use its arms and legs to corrode and absorb metal. It can also generate electricity, which it uses both in battle and as a source of energy. You can take a look at some images of it in the gallery above.
It’s unclear how players will be able to obtain Meltan, but as The Pokemon Company previously teased, you will need to connect Pokemon Go to the upcoming Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee in order to obtain it in the Switch games. More details will undoubtedly be revealed closer to those games’ release.
Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee launch for Switch on November 16. As noted, the games feature connectivity with Pokemon Go. On top of being able to obtain Meltan, players will be able to transfer Gen 1 Pokemon they caught in the mobile game (plus their Alolan variants) over to the Switch RPGs. Nintendo is also releasing a Poke Ball-shaped controller called the Poke Ball Plus alongside the games on November 16; everyone who purchases one will receive the Mythical Pokemon Mew.
