The Unown are a curious species of Pokémon, introduced back in the second generation, that always had a shroud of mystery surrounding them. Unown are often rare Pokémon that seem to also play a role in conveying messages on the walls or stone tablets that make up the ruins of regions like Johto and Sinnoh. This is due to Unown’s most defining characteristic: its 28 different forms that each resemble a letter or symbol of the Latin alphabet.

While some forms are easy to compare to their alphabetical counterparts, some of them are not so obvious. Reading the Unown alphabet is often required to solve puzzles or read hidden messages across the Pokémon games when and wherever these Pokémon appear. Having a guide to quickly translate these tougher translations can make solving these messages or possibly making your own a lot easier.

Here is how to translate the Unown alphabet and letters.

The Unown alphabet debuted with 26 characters resembling solely the letters of the Latin alphabet, but two more forms were introduced in the third generation corresponding to the “?” and “!” symbols.

How to get Unown

Unfortunately, Unown has been absent from the main series games as of late, last appearing in the duo of Sinnoh games Legends: Arceus and Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. One of the biggest reason for this is the removal of Unown’s signature move, Hidden Power, from the list of available moves.

Hidden Power was a move that most Pokémon could originally learn through TM, and was a unique move that was able to become any type based on the Pokémon’s individual stat values. While not exclusive to Unown, it was the only move that Unown could learn and that combined with its downright pitiful stats make it a species of Pokémon not in any way suited for battle.