All Ruins of Alph Puzzles + Hidden Rooms in Pokémon Crystal

The Ruins of Alph is a mysterious location in Pokémon Crystal where you can encounter and catch Unown.

You’ll find the Ruins of Alph southwest of Violet City. There are entrances to the site on Route 32 and Route 36.

Summoning Unown requires you to visit one of four Puzzle Chambers around the Ruins and reconstruct a stone tablet depicting a Pokémon from smaller pieces. Here’s a quick overview of every Puzzle Chamber:

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Chamber	Entrance Location	Puzzle Image	Associated Unown Forms
Top Right Chamber	Northeastern Ruins of Alph	Kabuto	A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K
Bottom Right Chamber	Southeastern Ruins of Alph	Aerodactyl	S, T, U, Y, W
Top Left Chamber	Union Cave, B1	Ho-Oh	X, Y, Z
Bottom Left Chamber	Union Cave, B1	Omanyte	L, M, N, O, P, Q, R

In each of the Puzzle Chambers, there are Hidden Rooms filled with items that can only be accessed by performing a secret action.

There’s a clue written in Unown characters at the back of every Chamber, but they can be hard to interpret.

Don’t worry; we’ve figured it out for you:

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Chamber	Clue	Solution	Hidden Treasure
Top Right Chamber	ESCAPE	Use an Escape Rope.	Berry PSNCureBerry Heal Powder Energy Powder
Bottom Right Chamber	LIGHT	Use Flash.	Heal Powder Energy Root Gold Berry Moon Stone
Top Left Chamber	HO-OH	Have Ho-Oh as your Party Leader.	Revival Herb Charcoal Gold Berry MysteryBerry
Bottom Left Chamber	WATER	“Use” a Water Stone from your Bag in front of the WATER sign.	Stardust Star Piece MysteryBerry Mystic Water

Keep reading for more details on finding each Puzzle Chamber in the Ruins of Alph and tips on how to catch all 26 Unown forms.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Where Are the Puzzle Chambers?

The Ruins of Alph are divided into two halves that house two Puzzle Chambers each.

Map of the Ruins of Alph. Magenta = West. Cyan = East. / Pokémon Crystal — (Click for full-size)

The eastern side (cyan) is accessible from Violet City, while the western side (magenta) can be reached through Union Cave.

The Eastern Chambers: Ruins of Alph Site

You can easily access the eastern side of the Ruins of Alph from Violet City.

North West Exit (Route 36): Go south at the first opportunity to enter the ruins.
South West Exit (Route 32): Go west at the first opportunity to enter the ruins.

Map of Johto indicating the location of the Ruins of Alph.

Once inside, you’ll find the first Puzzle Chamber in the Top Right corner of the map. It’s the first thing you’ll see to your right after coming in from the northern gate (Route 36).

Entering the Top Right Puzzle Chamber.

The second Puzzle Chamber is in the Bottom Right corner of the map, past a small water stream. You’ll need a Pokémon with Surf to cross it and reach the entrance.

Tip: You can get HM03 Surf at Ecruteak City’s Dance Theater. Just be sure to first defeat Ecruteak’s Gym Leader, Morty, so your Pokémon can use it outside combat.

Entering the Bottom Right Puzzle Chamber.

The Western Chambers: Union Cave Basement

To reach the western chambers you’ll need to travel through Union Cave.

Union Cave connects Routes 32 and 33, but it’s easier to reach the Puzzle Chambers from the southern entrance (Route 33). This entrance is located east of Azalea Town.

Entering Union Cave from the Azalea Town side (Route 33).

Once inside, follow the only available road up & then curve west.

Union Cave (near the southern exit).

Keep going westward until you hit a wall, then go up the stairs.

You’ll find a ladder leading down to the basement just past an NPC.

Approaching the ladder leading to the Union Cave Basement.

Climb down the ladder, then go into the water to the northeast.

Entering the water in the Union Cave Basement.

Surf right and follow the water. You’ll find more dry land to the north here.

Exiting the water in the Union Cave Basement.

Disembark here and follow this road until you come across a fork.

Fork in the Union Cave separating two Puzzle Chambers.

Locating the Top Left Puzzle Chamber

The northern path leads to the Top Left Puzzle Chamber.

Exiting the Union Cave on the way to the Top Left Puzzle Chamber.

You’ll come out in a formerly inaccessible area of the Ruins of Alph. Enter the cave on the left to access the Top Left Chamber.

Approaching the Top Left Puzzle Chamber.

Locating the Bottom Left Puzzle Chamber

Back at the fork in Union Cave, if you go south it leads to the Bottom Left Puzzle Chamber. You’ll have to use Strength to remove a boulder on yourway outside.

Tip: You’ll acquire HM04 Strength from a sailor at Olivine City’s Café.

Exiting the Union Cave on the way to the Bottom Left Puzzle Chamber.

Once you move the boulder and exit via the south, just jump down a ledge to the left to reach the Bottom Left Chamber in the Ruins of Alph.

Approaching the Bottom Left Puzzle Chamber.

What To Do in the Ruins of Alph Chambers

Each Puzzle Chamber has a regular puzzle to solve and a hidden room to unlock & access.

Parts of a Puzzle Chamber.

Correctly solving the puzzle opens a hole in the ground and drops you into the Ruins’ main hall. This also summons new Unown forms that will roam this area from now on.

Tip: Solving all four puzzles is required to catch all Unown forms and complete the Unown Dex.

Unown are summoned into the main hall of the Ruins of Alph.

In addition, you can unlock a hidden room by performing a specific task at every Puzzle Chamber. The word written on the wall opposite the entrance offers a clue about how to unlock the hidden room.

Once you’ve fulfilled the secret ritual, a passage opens up in the back where the clue used to be.

Entering the hidden room after opening it.

These hidden rooms are full of useful items, some extremely rare. There’s also a hole leading down at the back of the room so you can get out.

Entering the chamber below the hidden room.

Going down the hole reveals a message from an ancient civilization written down in Unown characters.

Another hole at the bottom right corner of that room leads to the main hall.

One of the cryptic messages left by an ancient civilization.

Let’s look closer at each specific chamber’s puzzle and hidden room.

All Puzzle Solutions + Hidden Rooms

Top Right Puzzle Chamber

Kabuto Puzzle

Complete Kabuto stone tablet puzzle.

Finishing this puzzle will drop you into the main hall and summon the following Unown forms: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K.

Hidden Room

The text in the back of the Puzzle Chamber reads “ESCAPE.”

Use an Escape Rope to exit the Puzzle Chamber, then return inside. You’ll hear the hidden room open in the back.

Inside the hidden room you’ll find the following items:

Berry
PSNCureBerry
Heal Powder
Energy Powder

The cryptic message from the ancient civilization in the room below reads:

“Our words shall remain here for the ages.”

Bottom Right Puzzle Chamber

Aerodactyl Puzzle

Complete Aerodactyl stone tablet puzzle.

Finishing this puzzle will drop you into the main hall and summon the following Unown forms: S, T, U, Y, W.

Hidden Room

The text in the back of the Puzzle Chamber reads “LIGHT.”

Have a Pokémon use Flash in the chamber to open the way into the hidden room.

Tip: You can get HM05 Flash at the Bellsprout Tower in Violet City. Defeating the local Gym Leader, Falkner, lets your Pokémon use it outside combat.

Inside the hidden room you’ll find the following items:

Heal Powder
Energy Root
Gold Berry
Moon Stone

The cryptic message from the ancient civilization in the room below reads:

“Thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside.”

Top Left Puzzle Chamber

Ho-Oh Puzzle

Complete Ho-Oh stone tablet puzzle.

Finishing this puzzle will drop you into the main hall and summon the following Unown forms: X, Y, Z.

Hidden Room

The text in the back of the Puzzle Chamber reads “HO-OH.”

To unlock this hidden room you must catch Ho-Oh at the Tin Tower and have it as your Party Leader, then enter the Puzzle Chamber.

Tip: To find Ho-Oh at the Tin Tower, you must obtain the Rainbow Wing. You’ll get it from a monk at the Tin Tower after catching all three Legendary Beasts (Suicune, Entei, Raikou).

Inside the hidden room you’ll find the following items:

Revival Herb
Charcoal
Gold Berry
MysteryBerry

The cryptic message from the ancient civilization in the room below reads:

“We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes.”

Bottom Left Puzzle Chamber

Omanyte Puzzle

Complete Omanyte stone tablet puzzle.

Finishing this puzzle will drop you into the main hall and summon the following Unown forms: L, M, N, O, P, Q, R.

Hidden Room

The text in the back of the Puzzle Chamber reads “WATER,” which can be tough to interpret in a game with so many things with “Water” in the name.

To open this hidden room you need a Water Stone. Once you have a Water Stone in your bag, approach the wall at the back of the room and use the stone on it. This will unlock the hidden room.

Tip: The fastest way to get a Water Stone is from Bill’s Grandfather at the Sea Cottage northeast of Cerulean City in Kanto. You just have to show him a Staryu!

Inside the hidden room you’ll find the following items:

Stardust
Star Piece
Mystery Berry
Mystic Water

The cryptic message from the ancient civilization in the room below reads:

“They possess great insight and refuse the outside world.”

Completing the Unown Dex

After completing all four Puzzle Chambers, you can catch all 26 different Unown forms in the main hall. Each of them corresponds to a letter of the Latin alphabet.

Catching your first three unique Unown forms will make a Scientist appear outside the main hall. He’s there to install the Unown Mode on your PokéDex so you can track them all.

Scientist approaches us outside the main hall.

You can access the Unown Dex by pressing SELECT in the regular PokéDex screen, then choosing Unown Mode from the options list.

Accessing the PokéDex’s Unown Mode.

The Unown Dex lists every Unown form you’ve caught in the order you’ve caught them.

So it would actually take a lot of effort if you want an alphabetically-sorted Unown Dex.

Complete Unown Dex with all 26 different forms available in Gen II.

BACK TO THE MAIN GAME Pokémon Crystal Full Strategy Guide

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Nelson Chitty

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Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.

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