Meltan is a tiny Pokémon made of liquid metal—specifically gallium, according to official designs—with a hard golden hexagonal nut for a head. Inside that nut floats a small black sphere that serves as its eye. It's got a red tail that looks like an electrical wire with tiny prongs at the end, and its arms can stretch or shrink as needed.
The thing that makes Meltan interesting is how it eats: its body corrodes metals, which it then absorbs and circulates through itself to generate electricity. That electricity powers it and can be fired as an attack from its eye. The gallium body also produces gallium tears, which is just as weird as it sounds.
Meltan shows up in ancient texts that were supposedly found near the Mystery Box—a strange item that draws Meltan to it when opened. According to Professor Willow, Meltan are thought to form from metal shards when a Melmetal rusts and breaks apart. They live in groups until one strong individual consumes the others and evolves into Melmetal.
In the anime, we've seen that Meltan's hexagonal head piece can actually be removed, and they definitely travel in packs. When threatened, a Meltan will spin its head to make a sound that calls others like it—though it also does this as a sign of affection. They can be tamed with metal-based snacks and apparently reproduce over time.
Meltan ranks among the absolute smallest Pokémon, tied with Alolan Diglett and Klefki for shortest Steel-type.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
