As part of Pokémon GO’s 5th anniversary, there’s a chance to catch a shiny Meltan while the celebrations are happening between 6 and 15 July.
Meltan isn’t out there in the wild: you need to open a Mystery Box. Previously, the only way get a Mystery Box in Pokémon GO was to transfer a Pokémon to one of the Let’s GO games on a Nintendo Switch.
But you don’t need one any longer: you can link your Pokémon GO account to the Pokémon HOME app on your phone and transfer Pokémon to that in order to receive a Mystery Box.
How to link Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME
The first thing to do is to install Pokémon HOME on the phone where you play Pokémon GO, if you haven’t already. You don’t need to sign in or create a Nintendo account in Pokémon HOME just yet, but you can if you like.
Whether you’re like me and don’t have Nintendo account or you already play Pokémon on any other devices with a Ninendo, you just need to be careful to read the messages in Pokémon HOME to ensure you’re tapping the right buttons as you can’t change your mind later about linking accounts.
Anyway, the process to link the two apps is as follows.
1. Open Pokémon GO settings and scroll down to the ACCOUNT section.
2. Tap Pokémon HOME and then SIGN IN.
3. This will take you to a page where you can sign in to an existing Nintendo account or create a new one.
If the latter, you’ll need to pick a user name, enter your date of birth and enter an email address – a verification code will be sent to it.
How to transfer Pokémon to Pokémon HOME (and get a Mystery Box)
4. Once done, you should then be returned to the Pokémon HOME settings screen in Pokémon GO where the SIGN IN button has been replaced by a SEND POKÉMON button.
5. Tap this and you’ll see a message about using the GO Transporter to send Pokémon, and that the amount of energy required depends upon the Pokémon.
The energy bar is full, so there’s nothing to worry about for now.
6. Just choose a Pokémon to send, bearing in mind it’s a one-way transfer. So pick something you would transfer to the professor, not something you’d want to keep.
NOTE (for those who skipped what I just said): Pokémon transferred to Pokémon HOME cannot be returned to Pokémon GO.
7.You can select multiple Pokémon, but one is enough to get a Mystery Box. Tap the TRANSPORT button and when the transfer is finished you’ll be told the Mystery Box is available.
8. Tap OK (this won’t open the Mystery Box) and you’ll see a message telling you that you need to open the Pokémon HOME app to finish moving the Pokémon and you won’t be able to send any more until you complete this step.
9. Tap DONE and, if necessary, close the Settings screen. Tap the Pokéball at the bottom of Pokémon GO’s main screen and tap ITEMS. Tap on Mystery Box in the list and – when you have 30 minutes spare – tap Open.
A series of Meltan will appear for you to catch. And if you’re doing this during the special event to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Pokémon GO, you might even get a Shiny Meltan which can be evolved to Shiny Melmetal.
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Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.