Abyssal Ruins

Abyssal Ruins		海底遺跡 Undersea Ruins
"Wild Missingno. appeared!"

Map description:

An ancient tomb that is said to be the resting place of an ancient king.

Location:

Undella Bay

Region:

Unova

Generations:

V

Location of Abyssal Ruins in Unova.

Pokémon world locations

The Abyssal Ruins (Japanese: 海底遺跡(かいていいせき) Undersea Ruins) are sunken temple ruins in eastern Unova, accessed through the use of Dive outside of battle. It is east of Undella Town in Undella Bay. The ruins are divided into four floors, each smaller than the last. There are no wild Pokémon or Trainers. In Black 2 and White 2, the Abyssal Ruins are not marked on the Town Map until the player has visited them.

The Ruins are filled with 32 Relic items which have a total value of $1,706,000 when sold to the item maniac in Undella Town, along with 14 Plates.

Each time the player enters the ruins, they are only allowed to take 500 steps until a torrent of water sends the player back to the water's surface. Dull sounds of increasing intensity provide warnings to the player when their step count reaches 100, 300, or 450 steps.

Due to the step limit, it is impossible to get all items of the Ruins in one trip. To reach the second floor, the player must reach the pillar in the middle of the ruins in fewer than 190 steps; as the shortest path reaches the pillar at a step count between 162 and 171 depending on the entrance taken, this can only be done if the player skips almost all the items on the first floor. To reach the third floor, the player must use Flash at the purple pillar located in the central-west path of the floor at a dead end. To reach the fourth floor, the player must use Strength at the purple pillar in the central-east part of the floor.

History

The Abyssal Ruins is what remains of an ancient city built by one of the ancient kings of Unova and his respective legendary dragon about 3,000 years ago. After the king's death, it became his resting place. At some point, the city was sunk to the bottom of the sea by a tsunami.

Items

1F

	Location	Games
Dread Plate	North of the western entrance	B W B2 W2
Earth Plate	Southeast quadrant	B W B2 W2
Fist Plate	Southwest corner	B W B2 W2
Flame Plate	West of the room's center	B W B2 W2
Icicle Plate	South of the room's center	B W B2 W2
Insect Plate	Near the northeast corner	B W B2 W2
Iron Plate	Northwest quadrant	B W B2 W2
Meadow Plate	Southwest quadrant	B W B2 W2
Mind Plate	North of the room's center	B W B2 W2
Sky Plate	North of the eastern entrance	B W B2 W2
Spooky Plate	Southeast quadrant	B W B2 W2
Stone Plate	Near the northern entrance	B W B2 W2
Toxic Plate	Southeast corner	B W B2 W2
Zap Plate	South of the western entrance	B W B2 W2
Relic Gold ×3	Near the northwest corner Southwest quadrant East of the room's center	B W B2 W2
Relic Silver ×3	Northwest quadrant Northeast quadrant Southeast quadrant	B W B2 W2
Relic Copper ×4	Inside the northern entrance Inside the eastern entrance Inside the southern entrance Southeast of the western entrance	B W B2 W2
Relic Statue	Just north of the room's center	B W B2 W2
Relic Vase	Southeast quadrant	B W B2 W2

2F

	Location	Games
Relic Gold ×3	Northwest quadrant Northeast quadrant Along the east wall	B W B2 W2
Relic Silver ×2	Northeast quadrant Southwest quadrant	B W B2 W2
Relic Copper ×2	Southwest quadrant Near the entrance from 1F	B W B2 W2
Relic Statue	Southwest corner	B W B2 W2
Relic Vase	Northwest corner	B W B2 W2
Relic Band ×2	Southeast corner Northeast quadrant	B W B2 W2

3F

	Location	Games
Relic Gold	Southwest corner	B W B2 W2
Relic Silver	South side	B W B2 W2
Relic Statue	Northwest corner	B W B2 W2
Relic Vase ×2	Northeast corner Along the west wall	B W B2 W2
Relic Band ×3	Northeast quadrant Southeast quadrant In the room's center	B W B2 W2

4F

Item		Location	Games
	Relic Crown	In the center of the room	B W B2 W2

Mysterious letters

Some of the pillars that comprise the corridors of the four floors of the Abyssal Ruins are colored purple and marked with mysterious letters, which are believed to be made-up symbols not corresponding to any current or past language. These letters can be transliterated into letters of the Roman alphabet using the correct cipher. When read the correct way (right to left, bottom to top) the sentences from each pillar can be gathered into a coherent message. The cipher shifts between floors: when one moves up a floor the symbols move "down" one letter in the Roman alphabet; for example, if two separate symbols corresponded to the letters G and H on one floor, on the floor above they would correspond to F and G, and on the floor above that they would correspond to E and F, respectively.

Four of the symbols on the first floor—, , , and —correspond to the numerals for 2, 3, 5, and 7 rather than letters. Four of the symbols on the fourth floor—, , , and —do not have any corresponding letter; it is strongly speculated that they are logograms.

After defeating the Champion in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, if the player defeats Hugh at Undella Bay and receives HM06 (Dive) from him, Zinzolin will approach the player after Hugh leaves. He gives the player documents left behind by Ghetsis which allow the deciphering of the symbols in the ruins. As the player explores the ruins further, he offers additional guidance for how to read and interpret the messages. Zinzolin notes that the king's ability to see the future, talk to all living things, and unite the people resembles the legendary hero, and speculates that those special powers may have been passed to his descendants.

While inspecting the symbol-inscribed blocks in the ruins, an additional text box containing the direct transliteration of the symbols will appear after the symbols are shown. The player still has to read the transliteration backwards—or if they are on the upper levels, further decipher the translation—before getting a clear message. However, the unknown symbols still cannot be translated using Ghetsis's documents, and instead appear as several black circles in the direct translations provided by the game. In other language versions, the deciphers provided by Ghetsis's documents are translated into the language of the game, but are still enciphered in a similar manner.

In the game's internal data, the letters are mapped to one letter "above" how they are decoded by Ghetsis's documents; for example, the character internally mapped to "L" corresponds to "K" in the displayed decoding. It also includes glyphs which map to the full set of numerals from 1–9 (, , , , , , , , and ). The four symbols are mapped to the Unicode characters "③", "④", "⑤", and "⑥", with two other symbols that are not used in-game— and —mapped to ① and ②.

The message

In all languages, the inscriptions on the ruin's walls remain the same.

Inscription	Transliteration	Message	Notes
1F
	SDROWSGNIKOTNETSIL	Listen to King's words.
	HTURTOTDAELSEMIRP	Primes lead to truth.
	EVARBSIGNIK	King is brave.
	EPOHSESOLREVENGNIK	King never loses hope.
	DNIKSIGNIK	King is kind.
	MAERDASAHGNIK	King has a dream.
	SUORUTNEVDASIGNIK	King is adventurous.
	LLASTPECCAGNIK	King accepts all.
	RENROCDNOCESSNRUTGNIK	King turns 2nd corner.	In the transliteration, "2nd" is spelled out as "second".
	RENROCDRIHTSNRUTGNIK	King turns 3rd corner.	In the transliteration, "3rd" is spelled out as "third".
	RENROCHTFIFSNRUTGNIK	King turns 5th corner.	In the transliteration, "5th" is spelled out as "fifth".
	RENROCHTNEVESSNRUTGNIK	King turns 7th corner.	In the transliteration, "7th" is spelled out as "seventh".
	GNIKFOTRAEHEHTEVAH	Have the heart of King.
	GNIKESIARPEWEREH	Here we praise King.
	SENIHSTHGILSGNIK	King's light shines.
	ELPOEPSIHSEVOMGNIK	King moves his people.
	EVOLHTIWSTCAGNIK	King acts with love.
	DERTAHTHGUOFGNIK	King fought hatred.
	TSOLSTEGGNIKON	No king gets lost.	This message only appears on the middle pillar if the player takes 190 or more steps to reach it.
	GNIKEVARBNOOG	Go on, brave king.	This message only appears on the middle pillar if the player takes fewer than 190 steps to reach it.
2F
	FEVUJUBSHTJFGJM	Life is gratitude.
	FGJMHOJWJFDFSTJHOJUBF	Eating is receiving life.
	MMBUOTJMJWFSPEPPH	Good or evil isn't all.
	DJSBCSBCFCUPOPE	Do not be barbaric.
	FUTBXUPOUTVNFOP	One must not waste.
	TVPJDFSQTJMMB	All is precious.
	TSBFUFUBFSDTSBX	Wars create tears.
	EFFSHBGJFOJIT	Shine if agreed.
3F
	UIPKGDNNCQVUMNCVIPKM	King talks to all beings.
	UGXCYOQTHNNCFGXCU	Saved all from waves.
	NNCTQHGRQJUKIPKM	King is hope for all.
	GXQNJVKYVECMPKJV	Think, act with love.
	FGGTICHKIPQTVUVEC	Act strong if agreed.
4F
	HQROD●●●●●GHWDHIHGJQLN	King defeated alone.
	BDGDQLJQLNGHQLRM●●●●●	joined King in a day.
	VJQLHE●●●●●GHOODFJQLN	King called beings.
	HUXWXIGQDHSRKVLJQLN	King is hope and future.
	●●●●●●●●JQLNWDHUJHKW	The great King .

Interpretation

This section contains fan speculation.
There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article.

On 1F, the inscriptions talk about a brave king who fought hatred and pursued peace. Some of the lines state that primes lead to truth and that the King turns on corners; these corners correspond with the intersections while entering the ruins. Every time the player comes to a choice in the path, either going straight or turning, can be considered a corner. Following this pattern, turning on the prime-numbered intersections, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th, and continuing straight on the others, will lead the player very close to the center of 1F, regardless of which entrance is taken.

This key of 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th corners works on all floors (with the obvious exception of the last floor), and will lead the player to the Relic Crown.

The inscriptions on the 2nd and 3rd floors tell the player to "shine light" and "act strong" if agreed, respectively. Both at the end of these floors, the player must use Flash and Strength, respectively.

The final symbol, , is represented in Ghetsis's documents as ●●●●● in the Japanese and Korean versions; ●●●●●●●● in the English, French, and Italian versions; and ******* in the Spanish version. This symbol is speculated to mean "Harmonia", the last name of N and Ghetsis, as it has five characters in Japanese (ハルモニア); five in Korean (하르모니아); eight in English, French, and Italian (Harmonia); and seven in Spanish (Armonia). This is supported by how N has the powers to see the future and talk to both humans and Pokémon, which Zinzolin remarks may have been passed to the ancient king's descendants.

, , and are all represented in Ghetsis's documents as ●●●● in the Japanese and Korean versions, ●●●●● in the English and Italian versions, ●●●●●●● in the French version, and **** in the Spanish version. Assuming that the representations correspond to the length of the name in each language, there is currently no leading hypothesis as to what these symbols stand for, though it could not be a Pokémon's name as the number of letters in the Spanish and English versions are different (as no Pokémon that existed as of Generation V has a Spanish name different from its English name). If only the Japanese version's representation is taken into account, then possible interpretations that are four characters long and relate to the legend of the ancient hero include humans (にんげん), Reshiram (レシラム), Zekrom (ゼクロム), Kyurem (キュレム), and Pokémon (ポケモン).

In the German version, all four symbols are represented as ########## in Ghetsis's documents.

Gallery

Artwork

Concept art from Black and White by Keiko Moritsugu^[1]

Layout

Version	1F	2F	3F	4F
Black
White
Black 2
White 2

In animation

Abyssal Ruins in Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Pokémon the Series

The Abyssal Ruins was once a thriving city home to the Protectors, an ancient civilization who guarded Meloetta from falling into the wrong hands. In ancient times, Meloetta sunk the city to the Undella Bay seabed after people began fighting over control for it. Survivors fled to a hidden location on the Unova mainland, where their descendants continued to protect Meloetta.

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

The Abyssal Ruins first appeared in the end of Piplup, Pansage, and a Meeting of the Times! as Jessie, James, Meowth, and Dr. Zager spoke about using Meloetta's song to undo a seal inside the ruins. They later discovered the entrance to the ruins in Goodbye, Junior Cup - Hello Adventure!.

The Abyssal Ruins played a key role in the climax of Team Rocket's "Operation Tempest" in Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! and Unova's Survival Crisis!. Giovanni brought Meloetta to the ruins to unlock the Reveal Glass, allowing him to raise the ruins to the surface, summon Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, and take control of the three Legendary Pokémon in their Therian Formes. However, thanks to the efforts of Ash, his friends, Cynthia, and Ridley, the Legendary Pokémon were freed from Giovanni's control and the Reveal Glass was resealed. Afterwards, the Abyssal Ruins returned to the seafloor.

In the manga

Abyssal Ruins in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Black 2 & White 2 arc

The Abyssal Ruins debuted in N Returns. During their battle with Colress on the Plasma Frigate, Blake and Whitley were defeated when Colress had Kyurem freeze them solid before commanding some Team Plasma Grunts to toss the duo and their Pokémon into the sea below. Later, Blake found himself at the Abyssal Ruins, where he was taken to after his Keldeo, Kelden, broke free of the ice with an Aspear Berry Blake had given it prior to facing Colress. There, Blake discovered he had the ability to hear Kelden's thoughts, which he attributed to being a special property of the area. After meeting up with Whitley, Kelden took the two to the frozen bodies of its mentors, Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion. With Genesect's Fire-type Techno Blast, Keldeo's mentors were freed from their ice prison.

In Abyssal Ruins, Blake noticed several wild Pokémon roaming around the ruins, and decided that he and Whitley should catch some of them in preparation for confronting Team Plasma again. Blake caught himself a Shelmet and had Whitley catch a Karrablast, after which they traded their Pokémon, evolving them into Accelgor and Escavalier, respectively. Shortly afterwards, a safety mechanism started flooding the Abyssal Ruins, forcing Blake, Whitley, Keldeo, and Keldeo's mentors to escape from it.

Trivia

The Splash Plate and Draco Plate are the only Plates that are not found here, located instead on Route 13^BW or in Undella Bay^B2W2. However, the man who gives these two plates to the player in Black and White states that he found them in the Abyssal Ruins himself, meaning that all the plates originate from the Abyssal Ruins.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's The Indigo Disk expansion, if talked to in Blueberry Academy's League Club Room on three separate meetings, Raifort mentions having visited the Abyssal Ruins.
The ruins strongly resemble the Yonaguni Monument, an underwater rock formation off the southernmost coast of the Ryukyu Islands.

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	海底遺跡 Hóidái Wàihjīk
Chinese	Mandarin	海底遺跡 / 海底遗迹 Hǎidǐ Yíjì
European French		Ruines des Abysses
German		Unterwasserruine
Italian		Rovine degli Abissi
Korean		해저유적 Haejeo Yujeok
European Spanish		Ruinas Submarinas