Ruins of Alph

The Ruins of Alph (Japanese: アルフの Ruins of Alph) are located in Johto near Violet City, with entrances to the south of and west of . The ruins are filled with once any of the four slide puzzles inside the chambers have been activated. The name may come from the first four letters of "alphabet," which the inside represent.
If the listens to the Pokégear radio while near or inside the ruins, they will hear strange noises known as Mysterious Transmission on channel 13.5. In , the player must be inside one of the chambers, and tuning the radio near the center will broadcast these noises. It also increases the chance of encountering an shape the player has not yet encountered.
==Geography==
===Outside the ruins===
There are several s 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. 
===Sinjoh Ruins===
In , if the player has a fateful encounter or Hall of Origin in their party, they can travel to the Sinjoh Ruins via a scripted event.
If the player has not already completed the Sinjoh Ruins event, if they attempt to enter the Ruins Research Center while Arceus is their walking Pokémon, the head researcher will emerge from the door and be shocked by the presence of Arceus. He then escorts the player inside the ruins, where he mentions that something feels different to normal. The player is then suddenly teleported to the Sinjoh Ruins.
If the player has completed the Sinjoh Ruins event with either a Hall of Origin Arceus or a fateful encounter Arceus (but not both), if they enter the ruins hallway with the other Arceus as their walking Pokémon, they will be teleported to the Sinjoh Ruins.
===Puzzle chambers===
Four small chambers in the ruins hold slide puzzles that, when solved, cause the floor below the player to break, dropping the player into the underground hall of the ruins. The puzzles also cause to appear in the underground hall. Each puzzle corresponds to a specific subset of the 26 alphabetic forms of Unown. To unlock all 26 alphabetic forms, all four slide puzzles must be activated. The puzzles can be completed in any order. explains that these puzzles are signals that summon the .
In Generation II, catching three Unown and speaking to a researcher outside the ruins will cause him to unlock Unown Mode in the player's Pokédex. In , 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 ! and ? forms can be encountered in the entrance room.
In Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, each puzzle chamber has a word written in Unown symbols on the far wall that is a hint to unlocking a secret room. When the player completes a certain criterion, the secret room opens, revealing several items. Additionally, in these games, completing the slide puzzles reveals part of the history of Unown written in Unown symbols on the floor of the underground hall. In the Japanese version of 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.
The puzzles cause the following Unown to appear in the underground hall:
Chamber 	In Generation II	In Generation IV
Upper-right entrance 1	 	
Lower-right entrance 1	 	
Upper-left entrance 1 	 	
Lower-left entrance 1 	 	
====Upper-right entrance 1====
The upper-right entrance 1, near the Route 36 entrance, requires no HM moves to access. In Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, the far wall reads <sc>escape</sc> upon inspection. Using an Escape Rope there opens a hidden room. In Crystal, the item is consumed and the player must re-enter the chamber in order to reach the hidden room. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the item is not consumed and the room opens immediately.
The chamber's puzzle forms an image of . Completing this puzzle and falling through to the floor below reveals the following message spelled out on the ground in Unown:
<sc>Our words shall remain here for the ages</sc>
<sc>Our clan engraved words in this place</sc>
====Lower-right entrance 1====
The lower-right entrance 1 requires to cross the pond on the south side of the ruins. In Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, the far wall reads <sc>light</sc>. Using will open the hidden room.
The chamber's puzzle forms an image of . Completing this puzzle and falling through to the floor below reveals the following message spelled out on the ground in Unown:
<sc>Thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside</sc>
<sc>Our clan created Pokémon statue outside</sc>
====Upper-left entrance 1====
The upper-left entrance 1 is accessible only from the basement of Union Cave, which requires to navigate. In Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, the far wall reads <sc>Ho Oh</sc>. The hidden room will open if is the first Pokémon in the player's party in Crystal, or anywhere in the player's party in Generation IV.
The chamber's puzzle forms an image of . Completing this puzzle and falling through to the floor below reveals the following message spelled out on the ground in Unown:
<sc>We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes</sc>
<sc>We humans need to walk with them. We leave here for the sake of them</sc>
====Lower-left entrance 1====
The lower-left entrance 1 is accessible only by moving a boulder in the basement of Union Cave, which requires to navigate as well as . In Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, the far wall reads <sc>water</sc>. In Crystal, the hidden room will open if the player has a Water Stone in their inventory, and in HeartGold and SoulSilver, it will open when the player selects "Use" on a Water Stone from the Bag while facing the wall. This act will not consume the item.
The chamber's puzzle forms an image of . Completing this puzzle and falling through to the floor below reveals the following message spelled out on the ground in Unown:
<sc>They possess great insight and refuse the outside world</sc>
<sc>They possess power to sense with mind and reject outside</sc>
====Puzzles====
File:Ruins of Alph NE puzzle GSC.png|Puzzle in the upper-right entrance 1, featuring (Generation II)
File:Ruins of Alph SE puzzle GSC.png|Puzzle in the lower-right entrance 1, featuring (Generation II)
File:Ruins of Alph NW puzzle GSC.png|Puzzle in the upper-left entrance 1, featuring (Generation II)
File:Ruins of Alph SW puzzle GSC.png|Puzzle in the lower-left entrance 1, featuring (Generation II)
File:Ruins of Alph NE puzzle HGSS.png|Puzzle in the upper-right entrance 1, featuring (Generation IV)
File:Ruins of Alph SE puzzle HGSS.png|Puzzle in the lower-right entrance 1, featuring (Generation IV)
File:Ruins of Alph NW puzzle HGSS.png|Puzzle in the upper-left entrance 1 chamber, featuring (Generation IV)
File:Ruins of Alph SW puzzle HGSS.png|Puzzle in the lower-left entrance 1, featuring (Generation IV)
==Items==
===Rock Smash===
If the rock contains an item, the game will pick one of the following:
===Upper-right entrance 2===
===Lower-right entrance 2===
===Upper-left entrance 2===
===Lower-left entrance 2===
==Pokémon==
===Generation II===
====Inside====
The forms of Unown that can appear depend on which puzzles have been solved. Due to how Unown's form is determined, all of the letters except Z have an even chance of appearing—Unown Z appears 2.34375% of the time instead of 3.90625% of the time.
* The puzzle in the upper-right entrance 1 causes Unown A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K to appear.
* The puzzle in the lower-left entrance 1 causes Unown L, M, N, O, P, Q, and R to appear.
* The puzzle in the lower-right entrance 1 causes Unown S, T, U, V, and W to appear.
* The puzzle in the upper-left entrance 1 causes Unown X, Y, and Z to appear.
====Outside====
===Generation IV===
====Inside====
=====Underground hall=====
* The puzzle in the upper-right entrance 1 causes Unown A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J to appear.
* The puzzle in the lower-left entrance 1 causes Unown K, L, M, N, O, P, and Q to appear.
* The puzzle in the lower-right entrance 1 causes Unown R, S, T, U, and V to appear.
* The puzzle in the upper-left entrance 1 causes Unown W, X, Y, and Z to appear.
=====Entrance=====
====Outside====
==Trainers==
===Generation II===
===Generation IV===
==Walking Pokémon effects==
When interacting with walking Pokémon in , the Pokémon may occasionally show an altered mood specific to this location.
Games	Pokémon 	Area 	Quote
 	 	 	
 	(all forms)	Anywhere	<Pokémon's name> started spinning around in circles.
 	(all forms)	Anywhere	Your Pokémon seems to be singing something?
 	(all forms)	Anywhere	A strange sound is coming from <Pokémon's name>...
 	(all forms)	Anywhere	<Pokémon's name> is growling in a way that sounds almost like speech...
 	(all forms)	Anywhere	Your Pokémon isn't moving.
==Layout==
Version	Outside	Hall entrance	Underground hall	Entrance 1	Entrance 2	Research Center
 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	
  	  	  	  	  	  	 
Version	Upper-right entrance 3	Lower-right entrance 3	Lower-left entrance 3	Upper-left entrance 3
 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	
  	  	  	  	 
==Preview==
File:HGSS Ruins of Alph-Morning.png|Morning (Unown S)
File:HGSS Ruins of Alph-Day.png|Day/Evening (Unown G)
File:HGSS Ruins of Alph-Night.png|Night (Unown T)
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
========
The Ruins of Alph appeared in Fossil Fools, where and visited them, meeting upon their arrival. Unlike the , no were featured there. Instead, it was a site where multiple Fossils had been dug out. One of the scientists working at the site was Foster, one of Professor Oak's former top students at the Celadon University.
Foster's research laboratory is close to the site and includes museum exhibits and the Ancient Pokémon Study Park, a man-made environment designed to replicate conditions from two million years ago. The study park includes a robotic and a volcano. Foster hoped to open the study park within the next year to tourists. Several living and had also decided to live at the park.
After Ash's query, the group made their way to a nearby reservoir, which was being pumped dry of water and its Omanyte and Omastar populations being stolen by . After rescuing the Fossil Pokémon, the group agreed that the ancient Pokémon should be left alone, and promised Foster not to tell anyone about them.
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
========
The Ruins of Alph first appeared in Into the Unown as the location where met Bugsy for the first time. He helped Bugsy rescue his research team who were trapped in the ruins, and also foiled a plan by the Team Rocket Elite Trio to capture the .
In Hurray for Heracross, while doing research at the ruins, Bugsy was challenged by , who was seeking a worthy Trainer to stand on its side during the upcoming confrontation with the Masked Man. Bugsy did his best, but in the end, he was unable to defeat and the Legendary Pokémon.
========
In All About Arceus II, Gold, having rescued Bugsy after Ecruteak Gym was destroyed by , chased Arceus to the Ruins of Alph, where he also found an injured Lance. After leaving Lance in Bugsy's care, Gold confronted Arceus by himself. When and soon arrived at the site, with Silver having managed to collect the 16 Plates from across Johto, Arceus transported the Pokédex holders to the Sinjoh Ruins, unintentionally bringing the four Team Rocket s along as well. Lance also departed on his own to fetch his allies for the upcoming battle.
In All About Arceus IX, Arceus returned the Pokédex holders, the Executives, Lance, , and Pryce to the Ruins of Alph. As thanks for helping to prevent the destruction of the Sinjoh Ruins, brought Giovanni a medicine that cured him of his long-time illness, allowing him to return to leading Team Rocket. He asked Silver if he wanted to join him, but Silver refused, vowing to one day crush Team Rocket and make his father turn over a new leaf. Giovanni respected his son's choice and departed.
========
In PS614, it was revealed that Archie and Maxie had appeared at the Ruins of Alph when their spirits were pulled out of the Distortion World during the events of the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc.
===Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys===
In Let's Aim For The Goal!, arrived at the Ruins of Alph and met Bugsy, who told him that a basketball tournament was being held at the ruins to celebrate their anniversary. Gold decided to participate, eventually facing and defeating Takeo in the finals. As a reward for winning, Gold was given an .
In Extreme Power!! The Friday Pokémon, Gold and Bugsy explored the ruins for a while before deciding to travel to Azalea Town together, only to learn that an accident had caused the Union Cave to be temporarily closed from the public.
===Pokémon Pocket Monsters===
The Ruins of Alph appeared in Rampage at the Ruins of Alph!. Red's Clefairy accidentally caused and his Pokémon to fall through a trap door and meet some . After a while of hanging out together, the Unown got mad at Clefairy for attaching them together and attacked. Afterwards, Clefairy smashed a pillar and caused the ruins to crumble.
==In the TCG==
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring the Ruins of Alph in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
== Merchandise ==
Four keychains with each featuring a sliding puzzle version of one of the puzzles have been released on November 21, 2024 as part of the Pokémon Gold and Silver 25th Anniversary Commemorative Goods collection of merchandise exclusive to the Pokémon Center.
File:GS 25th Ruins of Alph Unown A.jpg|Kabuto puzzle keychain
File:GS 25th Ruins of Alph Unown L.jpg|Aerodactyl puzzle keychain
File:GS 25th Ruins of Alph Unown P.jpg|Ho-Oh puzzle keychain
File:GS 25th Ruins of Alph Unown H.jpg|Omanyte puzzle keychain
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
Category:Johto locations
Category:Gold, Silver and Crystal locations
Category:HeartGold and SoulSilver locations
Alph
de:Alph-Ruinen
es:Ruinas Alfa
fr:Ruines d'Alpha
it:Rovine d'Alfa
ja:アルフのいせき
zh:阿露福遗迹