Unown
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and
Game Freak is a Japanese video game developer, best known as the primary developer of the mainline ''Pokémon'' series of role-playing video games published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. History Predating the video game company, ''Game Freak'' ...
's '' Pokémon'' franchise. Created by
Ken Sugimori is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is best known as the primary character designer and art director for the ''Pokémon'' franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, in ...
, Unown first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'' and in subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spin off titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Unlike other characters in the franchise, Unown do not have singular voice actors, but instead are voiced by several at once. Commonly referred to as the Symbol Pokémon, Unown are
hieroglyph A hieroglyph ( Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatoni ...
-like, thin, black ancient Pokémon usually found on walls. There are 28 forms of Unown: one for each letter of the English alphabet, a
question mark The question mark (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. History In the fifth century, Syriac Bible manuscripts used que ...
, and an
exclamation point The exclamation mark, , or exclamation point (American English), is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks the end of a sentence, f ...
. They were featured as the main antagonists of '' Spell of the Unown'', the third Pokémon movie. Unown have also appeared in '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and the ''
Pokémon Adventures is a Japanese manga series based on the ''Pokémon'' media franchise created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri and managed by The Pokémon Company. Tajiri once stated that the series is closest to how he imagined the universe of ''Pokém ...
'' manga. Unown does not evolve. Its name is pronounced un-OWN, according to the 2012 Pokémon Scholastic Guide, as if it were "an '' on''", although most people pronounce it like the word "unknown" (including in the anime).


Design and characteristics

Unown were created by
Ken Sugimori is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is best known as the primary character designer and art director for the ''Pokémon'' franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, in ...
for the 1999
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
games, ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver''. Unown began as an alien-type Pokémon, but when artists began to sketch them, they started to look like letters of the alphabet, and the Pokémon eventually became Psychic-type. Unown are
hieroglyph A hieroglyph ( Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatoni ...
-like, thin, black symbols usually found on walls. First appearing in ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'', Unown have 28 different forms, based on the letters of the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...
; the two
punctuation mark Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. A ...
s of a
question mark The question mark (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. History In the fifth century, Syriac Bible manuscripts used que ...
and an
exclamation point The exclamation mark, , or exclamation point (American English), is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks the end of a sentence, f ...
were added in ''Pokémon Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'' (but unavailable until ''Pokémon FireRed'' and ''LeafGreen''). In the Pokémon universe, it is said that each form has different abilities. It is unknown whether the Unown came first, or the letters they resemble. The in-game Pokédex states that Unown can make telepathic contact with other beings. If multiple Unown come together, their power increases, which is shown in '' Pokémon 3: The Movie'', where a large cluster of Unown come together and are able to bend reality. Unown's only known move in battle is "Hidden Power", an attack whose type depends on the individual values of the user. While only thirteen other Pokémon learn the move by level as Unown does, due to the move's TM, almost all Pokémon can learn it. In the movie, Professor Oak studies a new pair of Unown, which are actually modelled after Cyrillic.


Appearances


In video games

Unown made its debut appearance in the Pokémon series in ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver''. In this game, they can be found in the Ruins of Alph of Johto and are triggered once the player completes the puzzles in the caves found in the Ruins, later appearing in other Pokémon games such as ''
Pokémon Crystal is a role-playing video game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. It is the third version of second generation games after ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'', and it is also the final ''Pokémon'' game to ...
'', ''
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and are 2002 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. They are the first installments in the third generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series, also kno ...
'', ''
Pokémon Emerald is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was first released in Japan in 2004, and was later released internationally in 2005. It is a third version ...
'', ''
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and are 2004 remakes of the 1996 Game Boy role-playing video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue''. They were developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. ''FireRed'' and ''LeafGreen'' were ...
'', ''
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and are 2006 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' v ...
'', ''
Pokémon Platinum is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced version of ''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' and is part of the fourth g ...
'', ''
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver and are 2009 remakes of the 1999 Game Boy Color role-playing video games ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'', also including features from ''Pokémon Crystal''. The games are part of the fourth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series ...
'', ''
Pokémon Black and White and are 2010 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series. First releas ...
'', ''
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 and are 2012 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Part of the fifth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series, the games are direct sequels to ''Pokà ...
'', ''
Pokémon X and Y and are 2013 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They are the first installments in the sixth generation of the main ''Pokémon'' video game series. First a ...
'' and ''
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and are 2014 remakes of the 2002 Game Boy Advance role-playing video games ''Pokémon Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'', also including features from '' Pokémon Emerald''. The games are part of the sixth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game ser ...
''. Shiny Unown made its debut in ''
Pokémon Go ''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android ...
'' on July 25, 2020 as part of the Go Fest 2020 event, in which "G" and "O" were released shiny, appearing also in ''
Pokémon Trozei! is a Pokémon-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. It was released in Japan on October 20, 2005, in North America on March 6, 2006, in Australia on April 28, 2006, and in Europe on May 5, 2 ...
'', '' Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team'', '' Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness'', ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky'', ''
Pokémon Rumble Blast ''Pokémon Rumble Blast'', known in the PAL region as ''Super Pokémon Rumble'' and known in Japan as , is an action beat 'em up video game in the Pokémon series for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan on August 11, 2011, in North Ame ...
'', ''
Pokémon Rumble U is a 2013 action video game in the ''Pokémon'' series available on the Wii U eShop. It is the successor to the 2011 3DS game '' Pokémon Rumble Blast''. It features all Pokémon from the first five generations. Up to 100 Pokémon and 4 players ...
'', ''
Pokémon Battle Trozei , released as ''Pokémon Link: Battle!'' in Europe and Australia, is a ''Pokémon''-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo 3DS and is the sequel to the 2005 Nintendo DS title ''Pokémon Trozei!''. It was released in the Nintendo eShop in Japan ...
'', ''
Pokémon Shuffle is a freemium puzzle video game developed by Genius Sonority and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo 3DS. The game, which is a spin-off of the ''Pokémon'' series and is similar in gameplay to '' Pokémon Battle Tro ...
'', ''
Pokémon Rumble World is a freemium action game, action video game in the ''Pokémon'' series developed by Ambrella, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fourth game in the ''Pokémon Rumble'' subseries, and feat ...
'', '' Pokémon Picross'' and '' Pokémon Rumble Rush''. In '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', Unown appear when released from a
Poké Ball Poke ( Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is one of the popular dishes in Hawaii. Traditional form ...
and will fly off the screen. They then return with a large swarm similar to that of Beedrill 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. Opponents caught in this are damaged and juggled. There are also Unown that can be seen on the Pokéfloat stage. In the second half of the cycle, they fly across the screen. Towards the end of the cycle, staying on the stage relies on hopping between the Unown. The Unown also appear as an obtainable trophy. In ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeed ...
'' Unown does not appear from a Poké Ball but instead as a collectible spirit appearing in its F form.


In other media

The Unown are the main antagonists of '' Spell of the Unown'', the third Pokémon movie. In the movie, the Unown send Professor Hale into their dimension. Later, Molly Hale releases Unown from their dimension. The Unown, reading Molly's mind, make her wishes come true, including turning Greenfield into crystal and creating Entei to be Molly's new dad. Because Molly also wants a mother, Entei kidnaps
Ash Ketchum Ash Ketchum, known as in Japan, is a fictional character in the ''Pokémon'' franchise owned by Nintendo. He is the protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' anime and certain manga series as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. I ...
's mom. Eventually, Molly, upon seeing the consequences of her wishes, realizes that what she is doing is wrong and she wants to stop, but the power of the Unown is out of control. Entei destroys the psychic energy shield around the Unown, sacrificing himself in the process. The Unown are sent back into their dimension, and Professor Hale is released in ''Journey to The Unown'' from the Unown dimension. The Unown also make a brief cameo in the tenth Pokémon movie '' Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai'', in the scenes where Dialga and Palkia are seen fighting each other in the space-time rift dimension, swarms of Unown are seen floating about, many of which are blown away by Dialga and Palkia's attacks. In the
Pokémon Adventures is a Japanese manga series based on the ''Pokémon'' media franchise created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri and managed by The Pokémon Company. Tajiri once stated that the series is closest to how he imagined the universe of ''Pokém ...
manga, Unown first appear in Volume 8, when
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and Bugsy are in the Ruins of Alph. Gold has his Sunkern use Flash to blind
Team Rocket A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
, but this accidentally disturbs the Unown from their slumber. Bugsy later returns to study the Ruins further in Volume 11, where he captures a "G"-shaped Unown. 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 Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...
. 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. They show up in the DP saga when
Diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
,
Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
and
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
visit Solaceon Town. Diamond and Pearl befriend two Unown, "D" and "P", who behave like each of them, respectively.


Critical reception

''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' described Unown as "purely abstract", further feeling them as having none of the appeal of other Pokémon species and "a bad idea that gets worse".
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
described them as "probably the single most useless Pokemon in existence", noting its contrast to other weaker Pokémon which would by comparison evolve into stronger forms eventually, and further described their sole appeal as one for children intending to use them to spell out profanity. Kat Bailey, also writing for IGN, noted it as the worst Pokémon design introduced in ''Gold'' and ''Silver'', describing the Unown as "An Irritating Sidequest Approaches" and as the worst Pokemon of all time.
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
named them the fifth "Lamest Pokémon" in the franchise, describing them as "silly gimmick Pokémon" and "useless" for in-game battles and other in-game events. GamesRadar called them "pretty awful", further describing them as "about as threatening as a vat of Alphabits". Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez cited Unown as an example of the second generation's quality and saying that Unown's design isn't getting worse, and claiming its cuteness. ''
WhatCulture WhatCulture Ltd. is an online entertainment news website and magazine which was launched in 2010. The site offers news in the field of professional wrestling, television, films, video games, and board games. History Originally started by Peter ...
s Chris Comb included Unown in his list of the "laziest" and most "ill-conceived" Pokémon. He stated that he was interested in the Unown as a child, but grew to dislike them when he realized that they were less "rare, exciting, and useful" than they seemed. He claimed that it was "one of the first fears of ''Pokémon'' running out of ideas." However, in an analysis of the article on '' 1UP FM'', the host argued otherwise, feeling that while odd the characters had some appeal with children and further described it as "another layer of insanity" for people who were already interested in collecting all the species. In 2006, research was done on using Unown to teach the biological concepts of classification and
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...
to students, with the researchers finding the results to be "very encouraging".


References


External links


Unown TrueType font
(Right click, save-as)
Unown on Bulbapedia

Unown on Pokemon.com
{{Pokémon directory Pokémon species Extraterrestrial characters in video games Video game characters introduced in 1999 Fictional psychics Eyes in culture Constructed scripts in fiction