The recent distribution of the Gen 5 mythical Meloetta via Pokemon HOME came as a huge surprise to many Pokemon fans, with this event marking the first time the mythical Pokemon has been officially distributed as an event Pokemon in over six years. Many mythical Pokemon from throughout the Pokemon franchise have generally become more accessible to players over the last few years, but the distribution of Meloetta – and a shiny one, at that – is a particularly huge deal.
All Unreleased Pokemon Seen in the Massive Leak Explained
The major leak that hit Game Freak and the Pokemon franchise has unveiled a great deal about Pokemon that were scrapped years ago.
How To Claim This Shiny Event Meloetta
This shiny Meloetta was made available on October 16 in what is technically its first-ever permanent in-game event distribution, thanks to a new Pokemon HOME feature that grants users rewards for completing certain Pokedexes. To obtain it, players will need to complete the Paldea, Kitakami, and Blueberry Academy Pokedexes. To many players, that's a pretty tall order in and of itself, but unfortunately, snagging this shiny Meloetta is even harder than it sounds. Players will actually need to manually transfer every single Pokemon in all three Pokedexes to Pokemon HOME. Essentially, players will need to build and transfer an entire living dex, and each Pokemon has to be obtained within the Gen 9 games; no transfers from other games are allowed.
A living dex is a fan term that refers to a game file containing one member of every single species of Pokemon that's available – essentially a complete biological archive. This means having each member of an evolutionary family stored individually.
How This Shiny Meloetta Represents a First For The Franchise
The reward for completing and registering all of these Pokedexes in Pokemon HOME is an enticing one, though. The special thing about this Meloetta is the fact that, until now, a shiny Meloetta has been totally impossible to obtain through official means since the critter was first introduced in the Gen 5 Pokemon games. The last time Meloetta was even distributed as an event mon was in August 2018 for that year's World Championships, marking the eleventh and final time that Meloetta was distributed via events until now. Every single one of these distributions saw Meloetta shiny-locked, with the catchable Meloetta in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet also incapable of spawning shiny.
Prior to this occasion, the only way players could lay eyes on a shiny Meloetta was if they were to generate one through the use of unofficial third-party software. Meloetta is also an example of a Pokemon that categorically cannot be traded with other players via the internet. As such, players who would artificially generate Pokemon historically avoid doing so with certain ones such as shiny Meloetta, as even owning one carried a risk of being barred from using online services in the past.
This Pokemon HOME Event Could Have Big Implications For The Future
Its rarity aside, though, some might consider a shiny Meloetta to be a rather odd choice of a Pokemon to reward players with for filling up Scarlet and Violet's various Pokedexes. With Meloetta being a Gen 5 creature, some have interpreted it as a hint that Unova-themed events could be coming for Pokemon spin-off titles such as Pokemon GO in the near future.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Would Be The Perfect Opportunity to Redistribute More Mythicals
While this idea may be a bit of a stretch, it is certainly within the realm of possibility. Perhaps more interesting, though, is the possibility of similar shiny mythical Pokemon being distributed in the future as similar rewards for Pokedex completions. Mythicals such as Victini, Keldeo, Volcanion, and Hoopa remain impossible to obtain legitimate shiny variants of, making them perfect event Pokemon in the future. The Gen 6 mythicals Volcanion and Hoopa in particular would be fitting event Pokemon to appear following the launch of Pokemon Legends: Z-A next year, which will be taking players back to the Kalos region for the first time since Pokemon X and Y.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 48%
- Released
- November 18, 2022
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
The school that you’ve enrolled in as you play Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet hosts a special independent study project. The theme of this assignment is "A Treasure Hunt." Explore the world and seek out your very own treasure!
Three stories will be woven into your adventure while traversing the sprawling Paldea region. Along Victory Road, you will go to Gyms in different locations in order to to achieve Champion Rank. On the Path of Legends, you can join Arven in search of rare ingredients. And in ★ Starfall Street ★, you’ll challenge Team Star, a group of delinquents causing trouble for the school.
These stories are set in an open world, so where you go is all up to you. A world teeming with Pokémon and people to meet is waiting for you—traverse the Paldea region wherever you heart desires.
