Meltan

Meltan
Pokémon character
Meltan artwork by Ken Sugimori
First gamePokémon Go (2018)
Created byJunichi Masuda (concept)[1]
Voiced byEN: Samantha Cooper[2]
JA: Kenta Miyake[3]
In-universe information
SpeciesPokémon
TypeSteel

Meltan (/ˈmɛltæn/ ⓘ; Japanese: メルタン) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise. First introduced in Pokémon Go, it was conceived by series director Junichi Masuda as a way to "build a bridge" between players of mobile game Go and those of the mainline Pokémon titles. Since its debut it has since appeared in other titles such as the Nintendo Switch games Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as various merchandise. In media related to the franchise, Meltan has been voiced by Samantha Cooper in English, and Kenta Miyake in Japanese.

Classified as a Steel-type Pokémon, Meltan appears as a small creature with a grey liquid metal body and short arms, a wire shaped tail, and a hardware nut for a head with a small black eye that floats in the center. It was initially revealed via a surprise promotion within Go in 2018, with the game's development team announcing details regarding the species days later. Meltan was designed to reflect the simpler designs of the series' first games in the series, Pokémon Red and Blue. Despite being classified as a Mythical Pokémon, which normally cannot evolve, it can evolve into Melmetal within Pokémon Go.

Meltan's surprise debut received widespread reaction, with fans trying to reason what exactly was occurring and whether or not it was an intentional aspect of the game or a bug. Many fans and some media outlets also offered their own theories regarding the character, as well as giving it fan names such as "Nutto" until the official name was revealed. It has since been cited as significantly helping Go's revenue growth for 2018, and one of the most important Pokémon in the franchise as a whole for how it ties Go to the main franchise games.

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