Meltan XL Candy farming
The fastest legal XL Candy farm in-game. Two Mystery Boxes max out any mons (296 XL). Step-by-step Pokémon Home setup, box cooldown rules, and Pinap + Mega multiplier math.
Most Mythical Pokémon are one-encounter Special Research rewards. You catch one Mew, one Celebi, one Jirachi — and that's it forever. Meltan is the exception: it spawns unlimited via the Mystery Box, and every catch is a guaranteed XL Candy drop because Meltan is Mythical.
Two boxes (about a week of farming with the 3-day cooldown) yields enough XL Candy to max any Pokémon from L40 to L50. Compared to grinding XL from wild catches at ~1% drop rate, Meltan is 30-50× faster.
| Variable | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Catches per Mystery Box | ~60 | 3-minute catch interval × 30 minutes box duration |
| XL Candy per catch (base) | 3+ | Mythical Pokémon — guaranteed XL drop |
| XL Candy per box (base) | ~180 | 60 catches × 3 XL each |
| XL Candy needed to max (L50) | 296 | Standard L40 → L50 progression |
| Boxes to max any Pokémon | 2 | 2 × 180 = 360 > 296 |
| Mystery Box cooldown | 3 days | Send to Pokémon Home again to refresh |
- 1Install Pokémon Home from the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android). It is free; no Nintendo Switch required.
- 2Sign up with your Nintendo Account. Take note of which email — you'll use this in-game.
- 3In-game: Settings → Connected Devices and Services → tap Pokémon Home → sign in with the same Nintendo Account.
- 4In the same menu, tap Send Pokémon. Select any Pokémon you don't mind giving up (Pokémon don't come back to in-game from Home). The Mystery Box appears immediately in your item bag.
- 5Open the Mystery Box from the bag. Stay in one spot (or in motion — both work) for 30 minutes while Meltan spawn. Use Pinap berries on every catch.
- 6After 3 days, send another Pokémon to Pokémon Home to refresh the box.
Stack as many candy multipliers as possible during a Mystery Box session:
- · Pinap berry on every catch → +1 candy + +1 XL chance
- · Mega evolve a Steel-type (Mega Aggron, Mega Scizor) before opening → +1 candy + increased XL drop rate
- · Max Mega Level on the Mega → extra +1 candy and bonus XL chance
- · Excellent throws → +1 additional candy and +50 stardust
Stacked: a single Meltan catch with Pinap + Mega Aggron + Excellent throw nets 6-7 candy + 4+ XL. Across a 60-catch box, that's 360-420 candy and 240+ XL — enough for two L50 pushes from one box.
XL Candy is fungible per species, not transferable. So Meltan XL only helps if you're maxing a Pokémon you've actively been farming. The XP from Meltan catches IS shared across all your collection — useful for L40 → L50 trainer-level grind requirements.
- · Melmetal — direct evolution of Meltan. Top Steel-type with exclusive Double Iron Bash.
- · Trainer-level XL Candy requirements — L70-80 progression demands maxed-out Pokémon. Use Meltan as the "easy max" for that requirement when your meta-relevant Pokémon have stalled XL drops.
- · Any Pokémon you have ~200 XL toward — Meltan farming bridges the last 96 XL faster than wild catches will.
▸How fast can I farm XL Candy with Meltan?
Two Mystery Boxes max out one Pokémon. Each box gives ~60 Meltan catches over its 30-min duration, and each Meltan catch yields at least 3 XL Candy because Meltan is Mythical. That's ~180 XL Candy per box, ~360 across two boxes — more than the 296 needed to take any Pokémon from L40 to L50.
▸How do I get a Mystery Box?
Link your in-game account to Pokémon Home, then send any Pokémon from in-game to Home. The Mystery Box appears in your in-game item bag immediately. Pokémon Home is free on iOS and Android (no Nintendo Switch required) — sign up with a Nintendo Account, link via Settings → Connected Devices and Services in the game.
▸How long is the Mystery Box cooldown?
You can re-open the box every 3 days, but only after sending another Pokémon from in-game to Pokémon Home. The 3-day timer starts when you open the previous box. So the realistic farming cadence is one box every 3 days, ~60 Meltan catches per box.
▸Should I use Pinap Berries on Meltan catches?
Yes — Pinap doubles candy on the catch. Combined with the Mystical Pokémon XL guarantee, Pinap-berried Meltan catches yield ~6 candy + 3+ XL per catch. Run Pinap throughout the box duration if you have a stockpile.
▸Does Mega evolving boost Meltan catches?
Yes. Mega evolve any Steel-type Pokémon (Mega Aggron, Mega Scizor, etc.) before opening the box. The Mega bonus adds +1 candy per catch and increases the XL drop rate. Combined with Pinap berries, you can hit 9-10 candy + 4+ XL per single Meltan catch — the highest XL candy yield rate available in-game.
▸Why is Meltan the best XL farm versus other Mythicals?
Most Mythical Pokémon are one-and-done (Mew, Celebi, Jirachi — single Special Research encounter, no further catches). Meltan is the only Mythical you can re-catch repeatedly via the Mystery Box. The unlimited respawn during the 30-min box window makes it the only Mythical that contributes meaningfully to XL Candy stocks.
▸Can I use Meltan XL Candy on Melmetal?
Yes. Meltan candy converts to Melmetal candy on evolution (400 Meltan candy required). Once evolved, the Melmetal can use the XL Candy you farmed from the same Meltan line — useful because Melmetal is a top Steel-type attacker (Double Iron Bash is exclusive to Melmetal).