Shiny Meltan is Pokémon Go’s special Lunar New Year gift

Pokémon Go is getting in on Lunar New Year in more ways than one — the game is also celebrating with a spotlight on Meltan, the rare mythical monster that’s exclusive to the mobile game. Players have the chance to find a shiny Meltan from now until March 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT, Niantic announced.

As usual, players must open a Mystery Box in order to find Meltan throughout their game. Mystery Boxes are obtained by connecting Pokémon Go to the Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! and Let’s Go, Pikachu!, transferring Pokémon from a smartphone to a Switch. (Please note that this process can be a chore.) With each Pokémon traded, players receive a Mystery Box to send back to Pokémon Go.

To aid those who are desperate for a shiny Meltan (which, it turns out, looks pretty much identical to a regular Meltan), Niantic is shortening the cooldown timer between opening Mystery Boxes. Now players will only have to wait for three days before opening one again and looking for more of the special creature.

Don’t forget that it’s possible to not only bring that Shiny Meltan back over to Pokémon: Let’s Go!, but to also evolve it into a shiny Melmetal. Get all them shinies, fam.

Meanwhile, the Lunar New Year event that honors the Year of the Pig — a.k.a. the Year of the Spoink (or, as I like to call it, “ham season”) — is ongoing. It ends Feb. 13, with bonus catch experience and increased spawns of Zodiac-adjacent Pokémon available until then.