Author's note:
Double release next Monday to celebrate 200 chapters.
***
“Need to know what they’re saying. Need to! Twenty seven Unown! 27!”
Nina frowned. If she recalled correctly, there should have been 26 Unown representing the English alphabet, in addition to the exclamation and question mark Unowns — the two outliers — for a total of 28 Unown variants.
“27, is that the number of all known Unowns so far?” The girl asked the manic researcher.
In response, the man jolted upright and ran into his tent to procure what appeared to be a very wrinkled and coffee stained stack of papers.
“27! TWENTY SEVEN!!!” The researcher exclaimed as he waved the stack of papers in front of Nina’s face.
“Alright, buddy… Calm down now. I think you might’ve had one too many cuppas. How about we get you a little snack yeah?” Collin moved in with a chuckle to placate the erratic researcher while Nina grabbed the stack of papers to look through.
“The Unown Report…” Nina murmured.
The first three odd pages of the report was a catalogue, consisting of low fidelity, black and white pictures of each known Unown. It seemed that digital cameras did not really work on the enigmatic beings, so they had to rely on film.
As Nina was browsing through each variant, she came to a realization. “The ‘Z’ Unown is missing… Have they not discovered it yet?” But the girl set aside her wonderment for now and continued to read the rest of the report;
"If you turn on the radio in the ruins, you can receive mysterious radio waves! It's proof that the Unown communicate with each other using radio waves!
"Found a strange puzzle in the ruins. Solved it, and suddenly a hole opened up in the ground and I dropped into the room below! Should have known that ancient ruins would have surprising tricks like that…
"Scratched on the floor of the ruins are Unown letters. Finding the room feels like a huge discovery!
"The characters found scratched on the floor in the small room are transcribed here in this report.
OUR FRIENDS LOOK
UP AND HEARTILY
CONGRATULATE US
“We don't know what this could possibly mean yet…”
Nina did not know what that meant either, despite being able to read it perfectly. Was this a message from the Unown or the humans that used to live here? Who were the “friends” that they referred to?
“Right now, we're confirming the existence of 25 kinds of Unown…
"It seems that individually they don't make much sense, but when the various Unown are arranged in order, they begin to make sense. In nature, they seem to be scattered around randomly, but the truth is they're arranged in a very specific order…
“There aren't just 25 different kinds of Unown, two more have been discovered! But that begs the question of where those other two kinds are hiding…
"In the past, it seems that Unown lived with relatives of humans in these ruins. In the lower levels of these ruins is the statue of an unknown Pokemon, maybe an extinct species? We've come to understand that it was those relatives who made that statue.”
Following that paragraph was a picture of the statue in question, of an amorphous looking Pokemon, tail broken and features faded from age. But to Nina’s eyes, the Pokemon was a distinct one; “Mew…”
The girl furrowed her brows in thought. “It makes sense, the existence of Mew is a closely guarded secret. No one with good intentions would willingly document the Pokemon ancestor’s features. So the vast majority of the population has no idea what Mew looks like.” Which really brought to question what Mr Fuji’s deal was, but Nina could only ask him if she was able to find him.
“But more importantly…” From the report, it seemed that at least a couple of the more obvious puzzle rooms were found. Because aside from the earlier transcription, there were two more lines.
OUR WORDS SHALL REMAIN HERE FOR THE AGES
THUS WE SHALL ERECT A POKEMON STATUE OUTSIDE
And beneath every line of transcription were lengthy analysis from, presumably, an etymologist, dissecting the meaning of each word and making conjectures on the meaning of the various phrases.
Nina had to admit, they came quite close. For example, “Our words shall remain here for the ages” was interpreted as “Our clan engraved words in this place”. The logic leading to that interpretation was lengthy and convoluted, and Nina had no idea where they got “clan” from.
“Maybe the collective noun of ‘our’ threw them off?”
“Careful now, girlie. I would hate to see you go mad like that poor sap.” Collin chimed. The man had just finished settling the researcher on a chair to the side.
Nina jolted from her studies and returned the man’s concern with a grateful smile. “No worries, Mr Collin. I’ll pace myself. But more importantly, didn’t you tell me last time that they haven’t figured out the Unown language yet? Seems to me like they’ve made quite a lot of progress.”
The girl gestured at the stack of papers in her hand and passed it over to her companion for a look.
“Hmm…” Collin rubbed at his unkempt beard with a contemplative hum. “So they have… The last time I was here was ages ago, so I’m not too surprised. Seems to me like the key to the mystery was the discovery of these puzzle rooms where some the Unown don’t come to life and muck everything up.”
Nina nodded. It would have been quite difficult to decipher the language if there were no fixed patterns to rely on. The girl was reminded of how the German’s enigma code was finally solved back in her past life. And based on the etymologist’s account, it seemed the key they used was the word “OUR”.
“Mr Collin, do you think we’d be able to go visit one of these puzzle rooms?”
The man nodded. “Should be, doubt they’d be able to stop you and that big scary Dragonite of yours anyway. Plus you got all that fancy paperwork.”
Nina chuckled as Collin went back to the researcher to question him about where to access the puzzle room.
***
“Magnemite, use Flash!” Collin commanded, prompting his Pokemon to spark and light up the dim cavern with incandescent Type Energy.
The entrance to the puzzle room wasn’t a full on drop like it was depicted in the games, but rather, a set of stairs beside a statue of Mew. The researcher who discovered it was probably taken aback by the floor that suddenly opened up and suffered through a painful tumble.
“More than likely, the discovery of the puzzle rooms was an accident.” Because from what Nina could tell, the word “LIGHT” was mixed in amongst the deluge of random Unown carved into the cavern walls, but it would be hard to tell amidst the chaotic soup of alphabet Pokemon.
Not to mention, just looking at the Unown for a prolonged period of time seemed to have a strangely psychedelic effect on humans. As evident by Collin groaning in irritation while he was waiting on Nina to finish studying the cavern walls — the girl finally managed to catch the instance of an Unown coming to life from the inert script and was absolutely enamored.
The stylized “N” blinked as Nina came close, jiggling ever so slightly as it wiggled one of its feet free from the stone surface. Until eventually, its white, spherical eyes popped out, looking this way and that while the Unown wrenched itself free, floating off into the air to join its fellow kindred adorning the insides of the dusty ruins.
The Unown looked unreal, like an uncanny 3D cartoon image come to life, oddly smooth and textureless. And the cavern wall, once free of the Unown, shifted. The “N” that was originally carved onto its surface disappeared. And in its place, a new Unown appeared — an “E” this time.
“Fascinating…” Nina murmured before getting up to head down the stairs.
“What can you tell me about the Union Cave?” Nina asked, in an attempt to distract the increasingly fidgety Collin — the effects of the Unown was especially pronounced on the man. Which begs the question of why Nina was unaffected? “The Mew Gem perhaps?”
“Hmm? Oh, that old place? It’s the old route that connects Azalea Town to Violet City — a series of caverns that cuts through the mountain. Before its discovery, folks used to have to go around Goldenrod if they wanted to get to Azalea. In fact, Routes 32 and 33 were only set up after the fact.”
Nina nodded. “I don’t suppose there’re any hidden areas in the cave?”
“Sure there are,” said the geologist. “But most of them are dead ends — not a lot of minerals worth a damn either, which is why the League didn’t bother to mine it. Lots of little lakes and ponds though, the place can get quite flooded during the rainy seasons.”
Nina thanked the man for his guidance and focused on her downward trek. She would have to make a visit at some point. Because although her memory of the Gold and Silver games were quite spotty, she remembered that there were sections of the Ruins of Alph that could only be accessed through the Union Cave.
“From the Unown Report I just read, it seems those segments remain undiscovered. And just so happens, it’s on the way to Azalea Town as well…”
The puzzle room was similar to the caverns above, the air musty and stale, walls covered in randomly arranged Unown. The difference being the inscription on the far wall, overlooking a massive mural of an Aerodactyl, etched in unwieldy slabs of stone broken into even squares to be moved around like puzzle pieces.
THUS WE SHALL ERECT A POKEMON STATUE OUTSIDE
And indeed there was a Pokemon statue outside. What it meant though, was beyond Nina.
Out of habit, the girl pulled out her Pokedex to take pictures of her surroundings, only to find an inert, unresponsive slab of metal and glass.
Collin chuckled. “Forget it, the EMI inside the ruins is too strong, nothing electronic is gonna work in here. It affects the outside as well, just not as noticeable.”
“EMI?”
“Electromagnetic Interference, it happens when you try to use electronics near an electromagnetic field. Causes lots of disruption in all the fiddly bits. It won’t destroy your gadgets or anything, but don’t expect them to work properly.”
“Electromagnets huh…?” Nina tilted her head in consideration, the corner of her eyes catching the searingly bright metal shell of the Magnemite trailing Collin.
“Magnezone…”
“Hmm… Wazzat?” Collin asked, in response to the girl’s barely audible musings.
“Oh, nothing.” Nina dismissed the man’s concern with a wave. “I was just wondering, why haven't you evolved your Magnemite yet? Is that a recent capture?”
“This lil’ guy? Nah, I’ve had Magnemite for ages now. I originally had a name for ‘em, but they just never responded to it. So I gave up and called ‘em by their species name instead.” Collin laughed. “As for why I didn’t evolve ‘em? Guess I just don’t care much for battles. And ol’ Magnemite here just ain’t motivated in that way.
“‘Sides, Magneton aside, I gotta go all the way up Mount Coronet if I wanna Evolve ‘em into a Magnezone — it’d be a good trek. But I ain’t got the time or the funds for that. Haha!”
Nina nodded. That was indeed a little detail that slipped her mind, the fact that Magneton and Nosepass could only be evolved while under the influence of Mount Coronet’s unique magnetic field.
“Mount Coronet… Spear Pillar… I guess I’ll have to catch myself a Magnemite at some point.” Either that or Nosepass, those guys were kinda cute too. But Magnemites might be more accessible.
Nina had a feeling that they might hold the key to overcoming the electromagnetic interference within the Ruins of Alph and unlocking the complete message being transmitted to the radio earlier.
She could be wrong, but there was a good chance that the incomplete coordinates would lead her to the location of the Spear Pillar. Which if true, would be where she’d be able to get her answers on the mysteries of this world and her origin.
“Thanks Mr Collin. Why don’t you head back outside and get some air. I’ll be fine on my own for a little bit.” The man was getting increasingly antsy under the influence of the Unown and Nina worried for his well being.
“Nah, I’m all good. Can’t leave you here by your lonesome. ‘Sides, how’re you gonna be able to see without my little lightbulb here?” Collin laughed, referring to his glowing Magnemite.
Nina just returned the sentiment with a reassuring smile and a look towards Espy, who shot a bright ball of light at the ceiling — a mild application of Sunny Day.
“Haha! I guess that’s one way of doing things. Alright, I’ll head up then. All these Unown staring at me really gives me the creeps. Stay safe, alright?”
Nina thanked the man and reassured him by gesturing towards her Espeon and the rest of the Pokeballs on her belt. Collin was a kind soul, but when it came to battle prowess, he could hardly compare to Nina’s team.
“Espy, can you memorise the Psychic signature of this place?” Nina asked, eliciting a stiff nod from her darling Espeon. The powerful Psychic Type could also sense that something significant was going on within these ruins.
“And since I can’t take any pictures, do you mind drawing everything you see in this little sketchpad here? Meanwhile, I’ll go about writing stuff in my journal.”
Espy had become quite a prolific little artist over the years. Nina would often find cute little drawings scattered around their dorm room in the Vermilion Flame, causing her to swoon over her endearing little princess every time. Especially during the early days when Espy was mostly experimenting with crayon.
These days though, Espy preferred water color, but she could work with pencil and charcoal as well, which was what she used to sketch the interior of the ruins.
They went about their business for the rest of the day, until Collin came back down to remind them of the time.
At some point, Nina had even tried to capture one of the Unown in a regular Pokeball — a surprisingly easy feat. The Unown didn’t even struggle, just quietly entering the Pokeball in a flash of light before settling on the ground with nary a shake nor a thunk.
The latter was especially significant, because it meant that a Psychic signature was not applied and half-confirmed Nina’s conjecture; that the Unown were, in fact, Ultra Beast and not Pokemon.
This was further reinforced when Nina left the ruins, because the auto-transfer feature of the Pokedex for when she exceeded the six Pokemon carry limit did not trigger, prompting her to release it from its Pokeball as she checked on the empty capture device by using it on a stray Ratata — the capture was a success.
“Should I try with the Beast Ball?” Nina mused, but just as quickly shook her head to dismiss the notion. “I only have one and there’s no guarantee that Maizie will pull through on her end. Gotta make it count…”
Nina broke the Pokeball by its hinges and released the Ratata back into the wild after apologizing with some Berries. She tried feeding the Unown she brought out of the ruins as well. But it just stared at her and floated around aimlessly.
“What a bunch of weird little guys…”
***
Author's note:
For those of you who don't know, the Unown Report is an actual item in the games. I pretty much copied most of its contents verbatim but made some minor adjustments to fit my narrative.
It's frankly a little scuffed and I'm not sure if it's just a translation issue or if it was meant that way. (For example, the relatives of humans part.) But well, I want to honor the source material whenever I can and so I worked with what I got.
Another thing to note is that Nina's pursuit of the Unown has nothing to do with the Mew Gem. It is purely a personal quest on her part.
The Mew Gem is a plotline that will be settled by the end of Part Three. The resolution of the Unown mystery is supposed to function as the ultimate ending to Nina's story. Though recently, I have been entertaining the idea of maybe bringing that ending forward to avoid it being a drag. I should have left enough breadcrumbs for a coherent conclusion. We shall see, I'm still undecided.
That said, they're not entirely unrelated. All legends and myths are tenuously connected in one way or another. And Nina pursuing the Unown will lead her to other legendary encounters as well.
Spoiler
It is also part of the reason why Mew approached her.
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I say all this because I realized that I didn't present this very clearly in writing and I don't want to mislead anyone. I'll be having Nina write about this in her next journal entry as well, in the context of canon.