In Pokémon GO there is now, for a limited time, Shiny Meltan. Many players consider this event to be Pay2Win by Niantic. We investigate these concerns.
What happened? Until March 4, players worldwide now have the chance to catch Shiny Meltan. The Meltan come from the Mystery Box, which you receive when trading Pokémon with a Let’s GO game.
Many players are now annoyed because they do not want to buy such a game just to get the Mystery Box and thus a Shiny Meltan. They accuse Niantic of being Pay2Win, meaning you only get something if you pay beforehand. But is that really the case?
What annoys players about the Mystery Box
This is the problem: Meltan cannot be found in the wild or in raids. When you complete the special research, you only get one Meltan. You only receive additional Meltan if you trade a Pokémon with one of the Let’s GO games. It is therefore assumed that you have access to a Let’s GO game.
This is what players say: In our Facebook group, many players are complaining about this event. Jennifer B. writes, “Great, without a Switch this event is also stupid” and receives support.
Thomas M. sees the whole thing a bit more relaxed and writes: “Pfff – nobody buys the Switch just for Shiny Meltan. Eventually, there will be another event where everyone gets thrown the creatures.”
Some players are also frustrated on Reddit. They say: “What if you don’t have access to the Mystery Box? Then you are out of luck.”
This is what players accuse Niantic of: You can definitely only get a Mystery Box in connection with another console and another game. Players now accuse Niantic of only being able to take advantage of this event if you invest money and buy a Let’s GO game.
How you can bypass the purchase: Other players only see this principle as a clever marketing tactic by Niantic. You do not necessarily need to own a Let’s GO game to access the Mystery Box.
It is enough if another player owns a Let’s GO game and then provides everyone access. For example, they can bring the Switch to a raid and within 10 minutes, everyone in the raid group has a Mystery Box on their account. All you have to do is connect with the Switch and send a Pokémon. In return, you get the Mystery Box.
What do you think of the event? Do you consider the Mystery Box to be Pay2Win?
There is also another event currently running in Pokémon GO. You can find everything about the New Year event here:
