Got Meltan? (Japanese:新種発見！メルタン、ゲットだぜ！！Discovering a New Species! Catch Meltan!!) is the 112th episode ofPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,051st episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on March 10, 2019 and in the United States on July 13, 2019.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
After analyzing the data collected by Rotom Dex, Professor Oak confirms the mysterious Pokémon is indeed a new species, which he’s named Meltan! One of them has been hiding inside Ash’s backpack, and it soon takes quite an interest in Rowlet. The two Pokémon go on an adventure to find Meltan’s missing head section, and when Rowlet protects Meltan from Team Rocket’s persistent attacks, Meltan repays the favor with its powerful Flash Cannon attack! Back at the Pokémon School, Meltan is reunited with its friends, but it wants to stay with Rowlet, so Ash adds it to his team. As the journey continues, our heroes have a new friend—Meltan!
Plot
Professor Oak contactsProfessor Kukui's home to inform him,Ash, andProfessor Burnet thatyesterday's mysterious Pokémon is in fact a new species. Oak reveals that he has called it "Meltan", theHex Nut Pokémon, and classified it as aSteel type. AsRowlet and the others indulge in some fruit, theMeltan that sneaked into Ash'sbackpack melts its way through one of Burnet's frying pans. By the time Rowlet scolds Meltan for this, it has already eaten the pan's base. Professor Oak wishes everyone well and signs off, prompting Kukui and Ash to prepare for the upcoming school day. As he does so, Ash hears strange noises coming from his backpack, but thinks little of it. After he and Kukui leave home, Burnet finds her ruined frying pan sitting on the kitchen counter.
At thePokémon School, Ash reveals Oak's findings tohis classmates. Excited, the others start scouring the classroom in search of another Meltan. Meanwhile, in the school's basement,Clefable is becoming increasingly tired from stopping the Meltan from eating all of the equipment. Back in the classroom, Kukui announces to his class that they will be battling each other.Kiawe is quick to challenge Ash, whileLana andMallow pair up andLillie is looking forward to battlingSophocles's Vikavolt. Ash tries to wake up Rowlet, but it appears to be in too deep of a sleep, so Ash leaves it inside his backpack for the day.
Later, Meltan attempts to wake up Rowlet. It resorts to spinning its hex nut head, which causes Rowlet to fly out of Ash's bag, though it resumes sleeping on a nearby balustrade. Meltan climbs up to Rowlet and tickles it, but Rowlet simply moves away and returns to sleeping. Meltan's glimmering hex nut also captures the attention of awildMurkrow, who swoops down and grabs Meltan. Rowlet notices that Meltan is missing and gives chase, eventually catching up, kicking Murkrow, and grabbing Meltan. However, it then realizes that Meltan's hex nut head is missing. Meanwhile,Team Rocket stops their doughnut van on the side of the road because of a technical fault.James inspects the van and finds the source of their issues, a broken nut. Just asMeowth wishes for a nut to fall from the sky, Meltan's hex nut hits him in the head. James replaces the broken nut with Meltan's, rendering the van operational again. Elsewhere, Rowlet tries to replace Meltan's nut with something suitable, but all of its candidates for a replacement are deemed unsuitable, prompting it to begin searching for Meltan's nut.
Over at the school, Kiawe and Ash'sTriple Battle match begins.Ash's Torracat usesFire Blast, which overwhelmsMarowak's defense. Kiawe calls out hisTurtonator to set the battlefield alight, butLycanroc'sStone Edge breaks through the fire.Pikachu'sIron Tail collides with anAerial Ace fromCharizard. After the school bell rings, ending the match, Kiawe and Ash thank each other, and Kiawe then asks Ash what he will do now that he has completed all four ofAlola'sgrand trials. Ash contemplates his answer and looks up to the sky, only to notice Rowlet fly by, so he quickly leaves to pursue it. In theUltra Guardians' base, Clefable places the final Meltan in a basket case. As she is about to close the basket, she notices the Meltan eyeing the piece of metal in her hand. She quickly realizes the Meltan like metal.
After becoming tired, Rowlet lands on Team Rocket's van after smelling theirCombee doughnuts. In the van, Jessie, irritated by the slow business, declares that she will search for the mysterious Pokémon, which they refer to as "Laser-Faced Metalheads", they encountered yesterday. James adds that he will inflict pain on the "Laser-Faced Metalheads" for destroying his precious bottle caps. Meowth asks how they will find the "Laser-Faced Metalheads", and Jessie suggests they just walk around. Meowth wishes that it would just fall from the sky, and on cue, Meltan lands directly on him. Meltan's tambourine falls intoWobbuffet's hands and he begins playing with it. The trio spots Meltan with one of their doughnuts as its head, and cannot identify it.
Soon Rowlet lands and begins eating Team Rocket's baked goods. Meowth is immediately infuriated by Rowlet's disrespect and jumps to grab it, but he instead lands in the van. As a result, Meltan's hex nut, which Team Rocket had put in their engine, flies out and reunites itself with Meltan. Team Rocket now recognizes Meltan as their menace. They quickly jump into their van for a quick costume change and perform a briefmotto introduction. James keenly holds a net and tries to swipe Meltan. Rowlet grabs Meltan and flies into the air, it then usesSeed Bomb on James. TheEverstone impact leaves James with an enormous bruise on his head. Rowlet lands on the ground again and says that it will defend its friend. Meowth is none too pleased and readies his sharps claws to attack. Rowlet flies into the air and sends out a barrage ofRazor Leaves, but Meowth somersaults his way through themove. Meowth usesFury Swipes, but Rowlet blocks the way and takes the hits. Rowlet is left scratched up and shivering from the pain. Meowth prepares to make the final attack, but Meltan jumps to Rowlet's defense. Its hex nut head breaks Meowth's Fury Swipes and it fires a directFlash Cannon at him. Meowth is sent flying into the air and lands on top of James. Jessie also receives a Flash Cannon to the face.Stufful and its motherBewear arrive on the scene. Bewear quickly tosses Wobbuffet and the others on to the top of the van, gently places Stufful in the driver's seat and promptly carries the entire van away.
Meltan turns its attention to Rowlet, and it is relieved that its friend is feeling well. Ash and Pikachu then arrive and quickly notice Rowlet's scruffy appearance. Meltan steps in front of Rowlet to defend its friend, but Ash is pleased to have encountered the mysterious Pokémon. Ash returns to the Pokémon School, and his classmates thank Rowlet for protecting Meltan. Just as Sophocles wonders how they will reunite Meltan with its friends, Clefable makes her way up to the classroom with several Meltan following her. She shows the class that she has tamed the Meltan by feeding them metal pieces, and the Meltan perform several acrobatic feats. Rowlet flies Meltan to its friends, but Meltan looks over at Rowlet. Mallow notices that Meltan is very attached to Ash's Rowlet, and it hugs Rowlet as a sign of their strong connection. Ash kneels down with aPoké Ball in hand and offers Meltan a place on his team. Meltan consults Rowlet first, and Rowlet pecks at the Ball to inform Ash that Meltan wishes to join them. Ash is thrilled and throws the Poké Ball at Meltan, but to everyone's surprise the Ball becomes wedged inside Meltan's hex nut head. Ash tries to catch Meltan again, and this attempt works. He performs a victory pose and calls Meltan out, and it quickly rushes to embrace Rowlet.
The English dub was released onGoogle Play on June 15, 2019, on theiTunes Store on June 23, 2019, and on Amazon Video on June 24, 2019, 28, 20, and 19 days before the episode aired inthe United States, respectively.
WhenRowlet comes up with the idea to findMeltan a replacement for its hexagonal nut, a NintendoGame Boy briefly appears in a fantasy above Rowlet's head and Rowlet's eyes turn into altered versions of theGame Freak logo.
This marks the first time a main character has officiallycaught aMythical Pokémon, as well as the first time whenAsh has officially obtained a Steel-type Pokémon.
This episode marks the first appearance of aTriple Battle in the animated series since they were first officially introduced inA Maractus Musical!, 341 episodes earlier.
Rowlet's miscolored bowtie
Tsareena's white arms
