The Secret of Unowns and the Ruins of Alph

Regional forms are now commonplace in Pokémon games to the point where each generation is now expected to have unique forms from previous Pokémon, but the ancestor of regional forms was introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver with the addition of unknown because the unknown ones have the shape of letters there. There are 26 unique unknown forms and they all first appeared in Alf Runes in Generation 2. Alf Runes can be accessed early on in Gold and Silver just after Violet City, the first major city in the game, and They are probably named after According to the

alph

abet, there are two entrances to the north and east, considering that there is no difference between the entrances and they are both close to each other anyway, the goal was clearly to make the

ruins

difficult to pass. overlooked for the player and it works, anyone who plays gen 2 will.

Chances are you've entered Alf's Wounds at least once, even by mistake, inside the

ruins

you'll find a research laboratory, a main room, and four unique chambers. At first, the main room has no Pokémon encounters, but as you solve the puzzles contained in each of the chambers, you return to the main room with new unknowns added to the pool of obtainable Pokémon. The northeast chamber contains a kabuto puzzle and unlocks unknowns of a decay. the southwest chamber is an ammonite and the letters from left to r. The southeast chamber is an aerodactyl and letters. s to w and the west chamber to ho-oh and the letters from the ruins themselves, the one to the south requires the use of dhm surf.

Both western chambers can only be accessed through an underground passage in Union Cave. This passage also requires surfing with the necessary hm strength to access the west chamber. Interestingly, there is also a patch of tall grass in front of the west chamber. This tall grass is the only place to find both Natu and Smeargle in generation 2. But what is this unknown dex I'm talking about? Well, once you've grasped three different types of unknowns, a scientist. Waits for you outside the main room and updates your Pokedex to add the Unknown Mode expansion that keeps track of the different forms captured.

There are two features that define this mode: first, each unknown letter has a word attached to it, second, they appear in order. which they are trapped in not

alph

abetically that sounds dumb to you because it sounds dumb to me luckily your push team can tune into a special radio channel that can only be accessed inside the ruins. This calming and relaxing music can accompany you in your search for each stranger. You know, in generation 2, the shape of an unknown depends on its individual values, this means that once you have solved all the puzzles, you have a probability of 3.9 of finding any shape, except z, with 2.3 , since it also determines the probability of a Pokémon being shiny.

Because of the Pokémon IVs in Generation 2, the only unknown forms that can be shiny are, curiously, the I and the V. Note that this is purely coincidental now, for the big question, what happens once you complete the unknown decks once you've gotten all the unknown shapes you have? they can and that's it, yes, and if you don't have a Game Boy printer, it's a shame that completing the unknown decks feels more like a punishment than a reward, not only does the unknown mode not display the completed decks in a convincing way , let me fix it.

That's very fast, but if you're like me and crazy enough to catch all the Pokémon, on top of that, you'll run out of space in generation 2. You have access to 14 boxes that can hold 20 Pokémon each for a total capacity. of 280 and get all the Pokémon. means 251 plus the 25 extra forms of four unknowns, we have four extra slots, it could be worse, the japanese version only has 270 total capacity, the alf runes in gold and silver feel unfinished, there is a setup for an interesting plot, a place that asks to start a subquest, but nothing happens in it and it's a shame the developers should have thought of that, as well as one of the notable additions in the enhanced crystal version are the strangers, you can see them communicating telepathically with suicune and they look cool and stuff, yeah, that's just to show that there's nothing in the game between the suicune and the unknown, there's an addition to the alpha runes, though a budding start to the unknown subplot, each chamber now has above the picture puzzle and an extra word written on the back wall. giving you a hint about a specific action you need to perform for the camera with the word escape you need to use an escape rope for the water you need to have a water stone for the light you need to use the flash hm and for ho-oh you need to have Ho'o In your party, once the single action is performed, the back wall opens, giving you access to an additional room containing items and a hole leading to another room with a phrase written in unknown characters.

These four sentences tell the story of an ancient civilization that worshiped Pokémon there. There is mention of a Pokémon statue outside, but the only statues left are the ones inside the ruins and that's it for the additions. It's depressingly small, but I really enjoy the puzzles on the back wall, they're so interesting and unique I can't think of any others. area in Pokémon that asks the player to think outside the box and use items and moves that aren't for its main purpose is really cool, oh and the w design was changed in crystal, now that we're done with the additions , but what about the remakes since then?

Hard Gold and Soul Silver are based on the crystal version from Gen 2. The back wall riddles and messages were added to Gen 4. However, the sentences were changed and to be honest, they are significantly worse. They sound like bad Japanese translations. I don't know, maybe it's just me, regardless we don't learn anything new, but there's more to alf runes in hard gold and soul silver. First, unknown mode is switched to unknown report, a key item provided by an investigator once you solve one. chamber puzzle, it has the same purpose as the unknown mode with the difference that the word for a is now wrath instead of anger, the unknowns are listed alphabetically and capturing unknowns unlocks the researcher's notes, there is a little more information there and it's a good way to reward. the player while completing their unknown decks, second, the northeast chamber unlocks unknowns a to j, allowing the west chamber to unlock four unknowns instead of three previously.

You may also have noticed that we are missing the unknown question and exclamation marks that were added in gen 3. Gen 4 saved them and once you have captured the other 26 shapes, you can find the extra two in the extra entrance to the main hall. Finally, if you enter the ruins with an arceus, an event will trigger where you will be teleported to the sinjar. ruins since those ruins show a mix of Sinnoh and Johto cultures, it was probably built by the same civilization that made Alf's wounds. This is all we learn, but we also get the strangest scene in Pokémon.

This whole event is strange. I love it and that's it for the mysteries surrounding Alf's injuries and the strangers. I'm personally disappointed there isn't more, but this place is exactly how Pokémon stories work. It barely provides enough information to have a subplot and fails to leave players dissatisfied and forced to do so. Make up your own crazy theories, at least the runes got minor refinements over time, with the hard gold and soul silver version being the best. Completing the unknown decks provides a little extra quest and a small stop on a larger journey, personally I caught all the unknowns. on the stream while I make a living if you want to know more about it, I have a playlist in the video description.

Also many thanks to the sponsors who support the content on this channel, now we are almost the same number as unknowns, thank you. Thanks for your time. I hope you learned a thing or two and I wish you a wonderful day.