The Ruins of Alph (Japanese: アルフのいせきRuins of Alph) are located in Johto, with entrances to the south and west of Violet City. The ruins are filled with Unown once any one of four slide puzzles inside the chambers have been activated. The name may come from the first four letters of "alphabet," which the Unown inside represent.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, each slide puzzle that is completed unlocks a specific subset of the 26 alphabetic forms of Unown. To unlock all 26 alphabetic forms, all four slide puzzles must be activated. The slide puzzles can be completed in any order; the first completed slide puzzle will cause a man to give the player the Unown Report. Once the first seven pages of the report are complete and the 26 alphabetic Unown forms have been caught, the entrance room of the ruins will have a gold plate that reads "Our friends look up and heartily congratulate us". Reading the plate causes one of the researchers to speak to the player, after which the ! and ? forms can be encountered in the entrance room.
If the player listens to the Pokégear radio while near or inside the ruins, they will hear strange noises generated by it on channel 13.5. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player must be inside one of the chambers and any channel on the radio will broadcast the noises. Some of those noises are actually Ho-Oh's distorted cries, and the melody of the Azure Flute.
There are several scientists in the area listening and studying the ruins to discover more about them. They say it is more than it seems and that the puzzles in the caves must have something to do with the mystery of the past of the Ruins of Alph. In the area there are several small caves with puzzles; solving the puzzles cause Unown to appear in the main ruins. Pokémon Crystal later explains that these puzzles are signals that summon the Unown.
In Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, patterns appear on the walls of the puzzle chambers. When the patterns' directions are followed, doorways to hidden rooms appear, where the player can get many items and learn some of the history of the Unown. In the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, a scientist theorizes that the sudden appearance of these patterns is related to the newly-built Pokémon Communication Center and the radio waves emanating from it.
In the northernmost chamber, the far wall reads escape upon inspection. Using an Escape Rope there opens a hidden room upon re-entering. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, it does not consume the rope and instead the player gets an ! over their head, and the room opens.
It holds:
Falling through to the floor below reveals the following message spelled out on the ground in Unown: Our words shall remain here for the agesWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. Our clan engraved words in this placeWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.
In HeartGold/SoulSilver, this chamber contains a touchscreen puzzle that forms Kabuto. Once completed, the A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J forms of Unown are unlocked in the main chamber.
Second Chamber
In the south-easternmost chamber, the far wall reads light.
Getting a Pokémon to use the field move Flash will open the hidden room which contains the following:
The floor below reveals the message: Thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outsideWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. Our clan created Pokémon statue outsideWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. In HeartGold/SoulSilver, this chamber contains a touchscreen puzzle that forms Aerodactyl. Once completed, the R, S, T, U, and V forms of Unown are unlocked in the main chamber.
Third Chamber
Artwork of Ethan at the entrance of the Ruins of Alph
The third chamber is accessed through Union Cave but requires a boulder to be moved. The far wall reads water. The hidden room will open if the player has a Water Stone in their inventory, though, in HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, the player is required to select "Use" from the items menu while facing the wall for the room to open. Inside, they can find:
The floor below reads They possess great insight and refuse the outside worldWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. They possess power to sense with mind and reject outsideWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. In HeartGold/SoulSilver, this chamber contains a touchscreen puzzle that forms Omanyte. Once completed, the K, L, M, N, O, P, and Q forms of Unown are unlocked in the main chamber.
Fourth Chamber
The final chamber is also accessed through Union Cave. It is the cave just left of the third chamber. The far wall reads Ho Oh.
If Ho-Oh is the first Pokémon in the player's party in Generation II, or anywhere in the player's party in Generation IV games, the hidden room opens, where there are:
The floor below reads We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakesWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. We humans need to walk with them. We leave here for the sake of themWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. In HeartGold/SoulSilver, this chamber contains a touchscreen puzzle that forms Ho-Oh. Once completed, the W, X, Y, and Z forms of Unown are unlocked in the main chamber.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
Trainers with a telephone symbol by their names will give their Pokégear number to the player, and may call or be called for a rematch with higher-level Pokémon.
Trainers with a telephone symbol by their names will give their Pokégear number to the player, and may call or be called for a rematch with higher-level Pokémon.
Layout
This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Needs all HGSS maps
The Ruins of Alph appeared in Fossil Fools, in which Team Rocket tried to steal a group of Omanyte and Omastar living among the ruins. Unlike the games, no Unown were featured.
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring the Ruins of Alph in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Related cards Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Morning (Unown S)
Day/Evening (Unown G)
Night (Unown T)
