Unown (Pokémon)
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Unown (Japanese: アンノーン Unknown) is a Psychic-type Pokémon.
It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon. However, as of Generation IV, Unown has 28 derivative shapes. There are 26 English alphabet characters, plus two punctuation marks: ? (question mark) and ! (exclamation mark). That shape is determined by its personality value.
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Biology
They tend to stick to walls or orbit other Unown when in a group.
Physiology
Unown are floating, flat, eye-shaped Pokémon with appendages that make them resemble letters. They are black all over.
Gender differences
This Pokémon is genderless.
Different forms
Unown has 28 different forms, one for each letter of the alphabet, as well as '!' and '?'. These are chronicled in the Unown Dex. The '!' and '?' forms were not introduced until Generation III.
Special abilities
Unown's only known move in battle is the enigmatic Hidden Power. In the anime, they are capable of reading the thoughts of other lifeforms (which isn't a unique ability in itself). However, great numbers of them are capable of warping reality to suit the dreams and wishes of whoever is in control.
Behavior
Unown can make telepathic contact with humans (and many other creatures also). Unown have a timidness that rarely makes them venture outside of their dimension.
Habitat
Unown live in their own dimension.
When they move to the Pokémon World, Unown seem to prefer to make their habitat in ancient ruins stuck to the walls, appearing only in the Ruins of Alph in Johto, Tanoby Chambers in the Sevii Islands, Solaceon Ruins in Sinnoh and Unown Relic and Aegis Cave in the Mystery Dungeon world.
Diet
- Main article: Pokémon food
In the anime
| The picture used in this section is unsatisfactory. Please feel free to replace it so it conforms to Bulbapedia conventions. |
The Unown play a large role in the third movie, creating the illusions which drive the plot.
Notes about Unown can be seen on Professor Oak's computer at the beginning of the movie. The information (as presented in the Japanese version) has been cleaned up and transcribed here:
- Because of their very timid and careful character, Unown do not want to go out to the external world.
- Unown have the power to perceive the feelings of other creatures (including human beings).
- Unown communicate with each other over electromagnetic waves but cannot use telepathy.
- Given all this, Unown are still classified as a species of Pokémon, as opposed to any other sort of creature.
An Unown fell out of the Unown dimension in Address Unown. After it was healed by the group, it helped defend against Team Rocket and its mind merged with that of Ash's Larvitar so that the group could help it to address its inner pain.
Markings of Unown were on a tablet in Top-Down Training.
Many Unown appeared in Journey to the Unown!, and also the same tablet from last appearence is shown.
The tablet is written:
FRIEND
SUBETE NO INOCHI HA
BETSU NO INOCHI TO DEAI
NANIKA WO UMIDASU
(In the dub, Dawn reads it as "When every life meets another life, something will be born").
Multiple Unown also made a brief appearance in the The Rise of Darkrai fleeing from Dialga and Palkia in a different dimension.
Pokédex entries
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In the manga
Pokémon Special
Unown first appeared in Volume 8 when Gold and Bugsy were in the Ruins of Alph. Gold had his Sunkern use Flash to blind Team Rocket, but accidentally disturbed the Unown from their slumber with the light from Flash. Bugsy later returns to study the Ruins further in Volume 11, where he captures an Unown (G).
Unown later appear in Volume 24, having been awakened by Sird from the Tanoby Ruins to use as a distraction while she fought Lorelei. The Unown later appear again throughout the volume, being employed by Team Rocket as living security cameras while impeding the progress of Red, Blue and Green.
It also appeared in DP saga when Diamond, Pearl and Platinum were visiting Solaceon Town. Diamond and Pearl befriended two Unown (D and P) who behaved like them.
In the TCG
- Main article: Unown (TCG)
Other appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee
When one Unown is released from a Poké Ball it will fly off the screen. It then returns with a large swarm similar to what Beedrill did in the original Super Smash Bros. The only difference is that Beedrill only attack from left or right while Unown can come from any direction. Any opponent caught in this is damaged and juggled.
There are also a number of Unown Pokéfloats. In the second half of the cycle, a number fly across the screen. Towards the end of the cycle, staying on the stage relies on hopping between the Unown.
Trophy Information
These Psychic-type symbol Pokémon resemble ancient hieroglyphics found on rocks, a resemblance that's said to be more than superficial. Quite a few different shapes of Unown have been confirmed, and it's believed that each type has unique abilities. These enigmatic Pokémon can be found in the Ruins of Alph.
Game data
Pokédex entries
| Gen | Game | Pokédex entry |
|---|---|---|
| I | This Pokémon was not available in Generation I. | |
| II | Gold | Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related. |
| Silver | Its flat, thin body is always stuck on walls. Its shape appears to have some meaning. | |
| Crystal | Because different types of Unown exist, it is said that they must have a variety of abilities. | |
| Stadium 2 | Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related. | |
| III | Ruby | This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known. |
| Sapphire | This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known. | |
| Emerald | This Pokémon is shaped like ancient text characters. Although research is ongoing, it is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. | |
| FireRed | Its flat, thin body is always stuck on walls. Its shape appears to have some meaning. | |
| LeafGreen | Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related. | |
| IV | Diamond | Shaped like ancient writing, it is a huge mystery whether language or Unown came first. |
| Pearl | They seem to communicate among each other telepathically. They are always found stuck on walls. | |
| Platinum | When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge. | |
Game locations
| Gen | Game | Rarity | Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | This Pokémon was not available in Generation I. | |||
| II | Gold | Silver | Always | Inside Ruins of Alph |
| Crystal | Always | Inside Ruins of Alph | ||
| III | Ruby | Sapphire | None | Trade |
| Emerald | None | Trade | ||
| FireRed | LeafGreen | Always | Inside Tanoby Chambers | |
| Colosseum | None | Trade | ||
| XD | None | Trade | ||
| IV | Diamond | Pearl | Always | Solaceon Ruins |
| Platinum | Always | Solaceon Ruins | ||
| Pal Park | Forest | |||
In side games
| Game | Location |
|---|---|
| Pokémon Trozei! | Phobosphere (G) Endless Level 48 (N) Endless Level 83 (Y) Forever Level 48 (N) Endless Level 83 (Y) Mr. Who's Den |
| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red/Blue Rescue Team | Unown Relic |
| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness | Aegis Cave |
In Pokémon Trozei, rounds at Mr. Who's den that contain Unown will include multiple forms at the same time.
Each form of Unown is found on different floors in the Unown Relic:
Base stats
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Type effectiveness
| Weak to | Resistant to | Immune to | Normal effectiveness |
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Notes:
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Learnset
Unown is capable of learning the following moves in Generation IV.
- Moves in bold are damaging moves to which STAB applies.
By leveling up
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By TM/HM
None.
By breeding
None.
By tutoring
None.
Side game data
| Pokémon Trozei! | ||
|---|---|---|
| | Rarity: Common | |
| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team | ||
| Body size: 1 | Recruit Rate: 1.8% (A-Z) 0.1% (!?) | Friend Area: Aged Chamber |
| Phrases | ||
| 51%-100% HP | What am I, you ask? | |
| 26%-50% HP | My HP has plunged to half... | |
| 1%-25% HP | I cannot go on... I have little power left... | |
| Level Up | I have leveled up. | |
| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness | ||
| | Recruit Rate: 8.2% | IQ Group: A |
Evolution
| Does not evolve | ||
| Unown Letter J Psychic | ||
Sprites
| Gen | Game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Red | Blue | Yellow | Red (Ja) | Green | Back |
| This Pokémon did not appear during Generation I. | ||||||
| II | Gold | Silver | Crystal | Back | ||
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| III | Ruby | Sapphire | Emerald | FireRed | LeafGreen | Back |
| File:Spr 3e 201.gif |
| File:Spr b g3 201.png | |||
| File:Spr 3r 201 s.png | File:Spr 3e 201 s.gif | File:Spr 3f 201 s.png | File:Spr b g3 201 s.png | |||
| IV | Diamond | Pearl | Platinum | HeartGold | SoulSilver | Back |
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| NO SPRITES AVAILABLE |
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Trivia
- In Spell of the Unown, Professor Oak had some pictures of unreleased Unown on his computer. They resemble a few Greek alphabet letters, especially σ (lowercase sigma), Σ (capital sigma), Π (pi) and Ω (omega). However, lowercase letters have never been made into Unown before, so this may be an error or a misinterpretation by fans. The top-middle Unown may be also a variation of an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, the Eye of Horus, or the Russian letter Я (ya). This may lead to the conclusion that there are more forms of Unown, being the prototypes of other known (or unknown) alphabets.
- In Generation II, the Unown appear to be able to generate a radio signal, which the player can tune in to.
- In the third movie, Molly Hale owned a book that had Unown on the cover of it.
- It is the first non-legendary to be in a central role in a Pokémon movie.
- Unown and Ditto are the only two non-legendary, non-baby Pokémon that cannot breed with Ditto.
- Despite being in the book of legendary Pokémon, Unown is not considered a legendary Pokémon.
- The two punctuation Unown have half-closed eyes; all alphabetic Unown have fully open eyes.
- If a player does not have Unown's Pokédex data on a Generation II game when in Oak's lab in Pokémon Stadium 2, Unown's Pokédex number is listed as 252 instead of 201. This happens regardless of which Pokédex display mode is selected.
- In Generation II, there were only 26 forms of Unown, corresponding to the 26 letters of the alphabet. Two more forms were added in Generation III.
Origin
Their appearances are corruptions of the modern Latin alphabet. The shapes of the Unown are used like runes in the Pokémon world, although in Generation III their place has been taken by Braille.
Name origin
Unown's name is a corruption of the word unknown.
In other languages
- German: Icognito - From Ikone (icon) and Inkognito (incognito).
- French: Zarbi - From the word bizarre in verlan, a youth language.
- Korean: 안농 Annong
- Norwegian: Ukjent - Unknown, only in episode 264 - Address Unown, where it was mistakenly translated.
External links
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| | This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species. |















