Unown

Unown (アンノーン, Annōn, /ʌnˈnoʊn, ˈʌnoʊn/)[2] is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Unown first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and most of its subsequent sequels. It has also appeared in various merchandise, spin off titles, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.

Unown
Pokémon series character
"F" Unown
National Pokédex
Misdreavus – Unown (#201) – Wobbuffet
First gamePokémon Gold and Silver (1999)
Designed byKen Sugimori[1]
In-universe information
SpeciesPokémon
GenderUnknown
TypePsychic

Unown are hieroglyph-like, thin, black ancient Pokémon usually found on walls. There are 28 forms of Unown: one for each of the 26 letters in the Latin alphabet, a question mark, and an exclamation point. Unown is a Psychic-type Pokémon, and is not able to evolve. It was originally conceived as an alien-like creature, but while designing it, the designers noticed its resemblance to letters in the Latin alphabet, and shifted course.

Unown has received generally negative reception, criticized for being weak, useless, and lacking appeal, with writer Kat Bailey criticizing its gimmick as "silly." It was used as part of a research paper, where they used Unown in order to teach classification and phylogeny to students.

Concept and creation
The Unown alphabet, as depicted in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Pokémon series began in Japan in 1996 with the release of the Pokémon Red and Blue video games for the Game Boy. In these games, the player assumes the role of a Pokémon Trainer whose goal is to capture and train creatures called Pokémon. Players use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon.[3][4] The ultimate goal of the games is to complete the entries in the Pokémon index (Pokédex), a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain creatures from all Pokémon species.[3]

While they were designed to resemble aliens at first, the designers noticed that they began to look like letters of the alphabet, leading them to lean into this and make 26 different forms corresponding to the Latin alphabet.[5] Unlike others in the franchise, Unown do not have singular voice actors, but instead are voiced by several at once.

Unown are Psychic-type Pokemon, and are hieroglyph-like,[6] thin, black symbols found on walls.[7] First appearing in Pokémon Gold and Silver, Unown went on to have a total of 28 different forms, with the latter two Unowns meant to look like a question mark and an exclamation point. 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.[8] If multiple Unown come together, their power increases.[9] Unown's only known move in battle is "Hidden Power", an attack whose type depends on the individual values of the user. In the movie, Professor Oak studies a new pair of Unown, which are actually modeled after Cyrillic.[10] It is generally not used in battle due to its low stats and limited move pool.[11]

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, with a character prompting players to collect all 26 variations of Unown. It also appeared in Pokémon Crystal, where a new story connected to Unown was added.[12] It has appeared in most sequels to Gold and Silver excluding the two pairs of games, Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet due to these two game pairs not having all Pokémon available.[13][14] Unown also appears in Pokémon Legends Arceus, with the 28 variants found at different points in the game, locations indicated to the player by hints written using Unown-based text.[15]

26 forms of Unown were added to Pokémon Go as part of 80 Pokemon from Gold and Silver, although it is uncommon for a player to find any forms of Unown.[16] It has also appeared in other Pokémon games, such as the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. Unown has also appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series. It first appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee as something that can be summoned with a Poké Ball to attack a player's opponents.[17] Its F form also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a collectible.[18]

In other media

The Unown appear from time to time in the Pokémon anime. They star as the main antagonists of Pokémon 3: The Movie, existing in their own dimension until they are brought out by a girl named Molly, who had recently lost her parents. Reading her mind, they make her wishes come true, including creating the Pokémon Entei to be her father, who kidnaps Ash Ketchum's mother to serve as her mother. However, Molly soon learns that her wishes come with threatening consequences and attempts to stop them, but the Unown are out of control, forcing Entei to sacrifice itself to send the Unown back to their dimension. Unown also appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga. The different variants of Unown appear in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.[19]

Promotion and reception

To promote Pokémon 3: The Movie, a lenticular Unown decoder was included with copies of the VHS and DVD versions of the movie.[20] All 28 variants of Unown were also released as plushies in Pokemon's Sitting Cuties product line.[21]

Unown has received generally negative reception since its appearance in Pokémon Gold and Silver, with IGN writer Kat Bailey identifying it as the worst Pokémon as of October 2013.[22] In another article, Bailey criticized its gimmick as well as its uselessness in combat.[23] Both IGN and Variety felt that it lacked the appeal of other Pokémon species, with IGN calling Unown one of the "most useless Pokémon in existence" due to its weakness and lack of an evolution.[24][25] In an analysis of the article on 1UP FM, Philip Kollar felt it had appeal with children, and added "another layer" for those trying to complete the Pokédex.[26] In 2006, research was done on using Unown to teach the biological concepts of classification and phylogeny to students, with the researchers finding the results to be "very encouraging".[27]

References
  1. Creatures, Inc. (October 1, 2012). Pokédex 3D Pro (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo.
  2. Creatures, Inc. (October 1, 2012). Pokédex 3D Pro (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo.
  3. Game Freak (September 30, 1998). Pokémon Red and Blue, Instruction manual. Nintendo. pp. 6–7.
  4. Game Freak (September 30, 1998). Pokémon Red and Blue, Instruction manual. Nintendo. p. 11.
  5. Matthew Wanlin (October 13, 2000). "Pokémon Development Team Interview". RPGamer. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  6. Game Freak (2000-10-15). Pokémon Gold (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. Pokédex: Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related.
  7. Game Freak (2000-10-15). Pokémon Silver (Game Boy Color). Nintendo. Pokédex: Its flat, thin body is always stuck on walls. Its shape appears to have some meaning.
  8. Game Freak (2007-04-22). Pokémon Pearl (Nintendo DS). Nintendo. Pokédex: They seem to communicate among each other telepathically. They are always found stuck on walls.
  9. Game Freak (2009-03-22). Pokémon Platinum (Nintendo DS). Nintendo. Pokédex: When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge.
  10. Dickson, Kelsey (October 1, 2020). "Pokémon: How the Series' MOST Mysterious Creature May Have Created Language". Comic Book Resource. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  11. Ratcliff, James (December 24, 2022). "Pokemon Fan Visiting Rome Finds Payphone With Unown Letters on It". Game Rant. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  12. Harris, Craig (July 30, 2001). "Pokemon Crystal". IGN. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  13. Kirk, Patrick (May 26, 2022). "Pokemon Still Missing After Pokemon Sword and Shield's Crown Tundra DLC". Game Rant. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  14. Kirk, Patrick (November 24, 2022). "Every Pokemon Missing from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet At Launch". Game Rant.
  15. Rehfield, Spencer (February 24, 2022). "Pokemon Legends: Arceus Sequels Should Have More Unown, Less Spiritomb Hunts". Game Rant. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  16. Frank, Allegra (February 20, 2017). "Unown is in Pokémon Go, but good luck finding it". Polygon. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  17. Mirabella, Fran; Schneider, Peer (June 16, 2001). "Inside Super Smash Bros. Melee, Part III (GameCube)". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  18. "How Many Pokémon Are Actually in Smash Bros. Ultimate". Screen Rant. 19 March 2022.
  19. "Unown". Pokémon.com. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  20. McCormick, Moira (July 21, 2001). "Child's Play". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 29. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 80. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  21. Shea, Brian (May 17, 2019). "Every Johto Pokémon Is Getting Its Own Plushie". Game Informer. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  22. Bailey, Kat (October 9, 2013). "The Worst Pokemon of All Time". IGN. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  23. Bailey, Kat. "Top 5 Lamest Pokémon". 1UP.com. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  24. Koehler, Robert (2001). "Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unown (Review)". Variety. Reed Business Information.
  25. Staff (2003-01-14). "Pokemon Crystal Version Pokémon of the Day: Unown (#201)". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  26. Phil Kohler (2008-08-25). "1UP FM – August 28, 2008". 1UP.com (Podcast). UGO Networks. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  27. Freidenberg Jr., Rolfe; Kelly, Martin (2006). "Using the Pokemon Alphabet to Teach Classification and Phylogeny". Science Scope. National Science Teachers Association.
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