For Pokémon GO information on this species, see the game's section.
← #200: Misdreavus	Pokémon	#202: Wobbuffet →
This article is about the species. For a specific instance of this species, see Unown (disambiguation).

Unown Symbol Pokémon アンノーン Unknown #201 Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Psychic	Ability Levitate
Gender ratio Gender unknown	Catch rate 225 (39.9%)
Breeding Egg Group Undiscovered Hatch time 10280 - 10536 steps Egg not obtainable
Height 1'08" 0.5 m	Weight 11.0 lbs. 5.0 kg
Base experience yield 61 Gen. II-IV 118 V+	Leveling rate Medium Fast
EV yield Total: 2 0 HP 1 Atk 0 Def 1 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint
Pokédex color   Black	Base friendship 70
External Links On Smogon Pokédex: Generation II Generation III Generation IV Generation V Generation VI Generation VII Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Unown (Japanese: アンノーン Unknown) is a Psychic-type Pokémon introduced in Generation II.

While it is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, as of Generation III, Unown has 28 derivative shapes, chronicled in the Unown Mode in Generation II and the Unown Report in HeartGold and SoulSilver. There are 26 Latin alphabet characters, plus ? (question mark) and ! (exclamation mark) introduced in Generation III. In Generation II, its shape is determined by its individual values; in Generation III, it is determined by its personality value; from Generation IV onward, it is determined by a separate form identifier.

Biology

Unown is a flat, thin Pokémon shaped like an eye with appendages that make it resemble a letter or a punctuation mark. It is entirely black, except for its white sclerae. All twenty-six alphabetic forms of Unown have fully open eyes while the two punctuation Unown have half-closed eyes. Though each of its forms has a counterpart in the Latin alphabet, Unown is said to resemble ancient writing and hieroglyphs. It is a mystery whether Unown predates or postdates written language, and therefore which one is based on the other.

The Pokédex and Professor Oak's research disagree on whether Unown communicates using electromagnetic waves or telepathy. Either way, it can be detected by the Pokégear radio, which interprets it as the melody of the Azure Flute. It is said that an "odd power" emerges when more than one Unown come together. In the anime, it is capable of reading the thoughts of other life forms. Great numbers of Unown are capable of distorting the reality to suit the dreams and wishes of whoever is in control of the Unown. However, they can only do this when more Unown are present, so it could be a shared effort rather than an ability unique to each Unown.

Unown is an extremely rare Pokémon that lives in its own region and rarely ventures outside. When it moves to the Pokémon world, Unown tends to stick to walls like engravings of ancient texts or orbit other Unown.

In the anime

 

Unown in the anime

Major appearances

Unown (M03)

Unown played a large role in Spell of the Unown: Entei, composing the illusions that 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.

Other

In Address Unown!, an Unown G fell out of the Unown region. After it was healed by the group, it helped defend them against Team Rocket, and its mind merged with that of Ash's Larvitar so that the group could help it address its inner pain.

 

The tablet

Markings of Unown were observed on a tablet in Top-Down Training. The tablet reads:

Unown Romaji FRIEND SUBETE NO INOCHI HA BETSU NO INOCHI TO DEAI NANIKA WO UMIDASU

In the English dub, Dawn reads it as "When every life meets another life, something will be born".

In Journey to the Unown!, Saturn had his Bronzor use Confuse Ray on multiple Unown, causing trouble for Ash and his friends. The tablet from Top-Down Training also appeared in this episode. The Unown reappeared in a flashback in Enter Galactic!.

In PK21, an Unown F fell out of the Unown region following an unspecified incident, and Pikachu and his friends had to help it return to the Unown region so it could reunite with the other Unown.

Minor appearances

In The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, a Mirage Unown G was composed by the Mirage Master.

In The Rise of Darkrai, multiple Unown fled from Dialga and Palkia in the Unown region. Others appeared during the opening sequence.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness featured a stone tablet written in Unown.

Pokédex entries

In the manga

 

Unown in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Gold, Silver & Crystal chapter

Unown first appeared in Into the Unown at the Ruins of Alph. During a battle with Team Rocket, Gold has his Sunbo use Flash, accidentally awakening the Unown from their slumber. Angered, the Unown retaliated on the Team Rocket Elite Trio, defeating them. Bugsy later returns to study the Ruins further in Hurray for Heracross, where he captures an Unown G and gave to one of his colleagues. Later as he searches for Suicune he finds two chambers with Unown markings. Using his device to translate them, they read the following.

Unown Romaji ANANUKE HOUOU

Three Unown appeared in a flashback in Raising Raichu, being the N, G, and U forms.

FireRed & LeafGreen chapter

In Some Things Are Better Left Unown, Sird gains the control of a small army of Unown after awakening them in the Tanoby Ruins. She initially uses them as a distraction against Lorelei, allowing her to defeat the Elite Four member. Sird later uses them to impede the progress of Red, Blue and Green as they head to the Trainer Tower. Also, two Unown of the ! and ? forms followed Giovanni to Birth Island to relay his successful capture of Deoxys back to the Team Rocket Warehouse.

Diamond & Pearl chapter

In Knowledge of the Unown I, a D and P Unown befriended Diamond, Pearl and Platinum in Solaceon Town. The two enlisted the help of the Pokédex holders to free their friends from a chamber in the Solaceon Ruins. Later, they helped battle Team Galactic at Veilstone City.

Multiple Unown appeared in Halting Honchkrow and Chancing Upon Chingling.

HeartGold & SoulSilver chapter

In All About Arceus IV, a massive group of Unown were spawned at the Sinjoh Ruins when Arceus called Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.

Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All

Multiple Unown appeared in GDZ58.

An Unown appeared in GDZ59.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Multiple Unown appeared in all of the species' forms in Rampage at the Ruins of Alph!!.

In the TCG

Main article: Unown (TCG)

The English Pokédex data for Unown cards in the Neo Destiny expansion say that it is believed that the variety of types of Unown is a result of evolutionary adaptation, but this is not present in the original Japanese text.

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 attacks from left or right while Unown can come from any direction. Any opponent caught in this barrage is damaged and juggled.

There are also a number of Unown Poké Floats featured in the Poké Floats stage. In the second half of the stage's cycle, numerous Unown 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.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Unown does not return as a Poké Ball Pokémon, though it is a Spirit, appearing in its F form.

Game data

Pokédex entries

Game locations

In side games

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

A-Z

! and ?

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Anime-only moves

Side game data

Pokémon Trozei! Rarity: Common
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team   Body size: 1 Recruit rate: (A-Z) 1.8% (!?) 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, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 8.2% IQ group: A
Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ●● Defense ●● Speed ●●●
Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 2.08 seconds Base HP: 47   Base Attack: 71 Base Defense: 47 Base Speed: 60
Pokémon Battle Trozei Psychic Attack Power: ★★★★★
Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 100  5 #537 Relentless Increases damage done by combos if foe has any status condition.			Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 100  5 #537 Flash Mob Increases damage when there are more Pokémon with the same type in the puzzle area.
Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 100  5 #537 Swap+ Sometimes replaces three disruptions with this Pokémon.			Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 100  5 #537 Calm Down Delays your opponent's disruptions.
Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 115  10 #537 Mega Boost+ Fills the Mega Gauge of the same type of Pokémon more.			Pokémon Shuffle Psychic Attack Power: 50 - 100  5 #537 Mind Zap Delays your opponent's disruptions.
Pokémon GO Base Stamina: 134 Base Attack: 136 Base Defense: 91 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 5 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks: Hidden Power Charged Attacks: Struggle

In Pokémon GO, Unown can be obtained by completing 1/4 of the Special Research, Level 50 Challenge.

Evolution

Unevolved Unown  Psychic

Forms

A	B	C	D	E	F	G
H	I	J	K	L	M	N
O	P	Q	R	S	T	U
V	W	X	Y	Z	!	?
Does not evolve
Unown  Psychic

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation II.
Generation II   Gold   Silver   Crystal         Front Back   Front Back   Front Back
Generation III   Ruby Sapphire   Emerald   FireRed LeafGreen         Front Back   Front Back   Front Back
Generation IV   Diamond Pearl   Platinum   HeartGold SoulSilver         Front Back   Front Back   Front Back
Generation V   Black White   Black 2 White 2     Front Back   Front Back
Generation VI   X Y   Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire     Front Back   Front Back
Generation VII   Sun Moon   Ultra Sun Ultra Moon     Front Back   Front Back

 For other sprites and images, please see Unown images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

 

The Unown featured in Spell of the Unown: Entei

• In Spell of the Unown: Entei, Professor Oak had some pictures of Unown on his computer which have never appeared in any other media. Some resemble Greek alphabet letters, particularly σ (lowercase sigma), Σ (capital sigma), Π (capital pi), and Ω (capital omega). The top left large image also resembles the Greek ligature, Ȣ (ou). Others resemble the Cyrillic letters ю (yu) and б (lowercase be). The Unown in the top-middle large image resembles the Cyrillic я (ya).
• 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.
• Unown is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 336.
• Unown currently is represented in the Trading Card Game by the most cards of any Pokémon after Pikachu, with 90 unique cards.
• Unown is the only Generation II Pokémon that has not been featured in a Ranger series game.
• Due to Unown's letter and Shininess both being determined by IVs in Generation II, Shiny Unown will always be either an I or V in these games.
  • This in turn matches the acronym for IVs, which determined its Shiny status. However, this is only a coincidence, as "Indivdiual Values" (IVs) is a fan-originated term.
• Despite Unown being able to use TM10 in Generation VI and Generation VII, it still cannot do so legitimately because it will always already know Hidden Power.
• Unown is the only Pokémon in the Sinnoh Pokédex (that is not a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon) not used by any Trainer in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
• Unown is the only Pokémon that can't learn any status moves.
• The two main official artworks for Unown represent a G-shaped Unown (for Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions) and an F-shaped one (for Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions onward), which may allude to the acronym for Game Freak.

Origin

Unown's appearances are corruptions of the modern Latin alphabet, as well as the exclamation mark (!) and the question mark (?), while the G form of Unown is based on a double-story lowercase G. The shapes of the Unown are used like graphic symbols in the Pokémon world, although in Hoenn and the Sevii Islands, their place is taken by Braille. Unown being weak alone and strong together may be inspired by the idea that a single letter can not convey much information, but many letters forming a sentence can communicate a hypothetically infinite number of interpretations and ideas.

Name origin

Unown is a corruption of unknown.

Unknown is literally unknown.

In other languages

Language Title Meaning  Japanese アンノーン Unknown From unknown  French Zarbi From the word bizarre in Verlan, a youth language consisting of reversed words  Spanish Unown Same as English name  German Icognito From icon and inkognito  Italian Unown Same as English name  Korean 안농 Annown Transliteration of its Japanese name  Cantonese Chinese 未知圖騰 Meihjītòuhtàhng From 未知 meihjī and 圖騰 tòuhtàhng  Mandarin Chinese 未知圖騰 / 未知图腾 Wèizhītúténg From 未知 meihjī and 圖騰 / 图腾 túténg

[hide]More languages  Danish Ukendt / Ukendte* Literally "unknown"  Finnish Tuntemattomat* Literally "the unknown"  Hebrew אנון Anon Transcription of English name  Hindi अननोन Unown Transcription of English name  Hungarian Öntudatlan* Literally "senseless"  Norwegian De ukjente* Ukjent* Literally "The unknown" Literally "unknown".  Russian Аноун Anoun Transcription of English name  Swedish Okänd* Literally "unknown"  Thai อันโนน Annon Transcription of Japanese name

Related articles

• Unown (M03)
• List of Pokémon with form differences

External links

• Article on Wikipedia

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Pokémon

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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.