Inspired by Curse of the Unown King.
Cutting Room Floor: Pokémon Silver (Unreleased Internal Memo – "Pandora Build")
[Recovered Developer Notes | Date: 10/30/1999 | Status: Scrapped] Subject: ALPHA RUINS – FINAL EVENT TRIGGER ("UNOWN KING") This was designed as an easter egg triggered under hyper-specific conditions. The event was ultimately removed for being “too dark” and “unsettling” for the target audience. Developers internally dubbed it the "Pandora Build." Below are notes on how the event was supposed to function and how it could be resolved if accessed. Trigger Conditions (Scrambled): Continue a save file with over 660:00 playtime. Must have a team of six specific Legendaries: Mew, Celebi, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Suicune, Moltres. Time on Pokégear must read exactly 03:00 AM (real-time sync). Play the Unown Radio signal in the main chamber of the Ruins of Alph, standing before the last statue. Interact. This sacrifices the entire party and spawns a new entry in the Pokédex: ??? – The Unown King. Unown King – Pokédex Entry (Internal Build):
"The sleeping monarch of symbols. It speaks in secrets and wakes only when summoned by sacrifice. All things it sees, it silences."
Design: Body shaped like jagged Unown glyphs—only its crown-like head resembles traditional Unown. Its cry is reversed audio of several Unown sounds layered over distorted music box tones. Defeating the Unown King (Debug Sequence): The only way to defeat and capture the Unown King was a convoluted method discovered during internal testing. Most players would fall into the "Doomed Timeline" (all Pokémon/NPCs erased). To avoid this, the player had to: Enter the chamber with a full party of Level 5 Unown that spell out "SLEEP" (in order: S, L, E, E, P). Activate the statue one minute before 3:00 AM, while the Ruins music is still playing (not the radio). As the event begins, the game will glitch—but if triggered correctly, a hidden move becomes available during the final battle: → Move: "Scripted Dream" – can only be used by the Unown named "P".
→ If used, Unown King becomes Scrambled, turning into a shifting glitch-form that loses its form each turn. → On turn 5, it uses "Silence." If the player’s last Unown survives, it will use "Scripted Dream" one more time and capture it automatically.
Afterward, the screen fades to black. The following text scrolls slowly: "The King no longer dreams."
"You have trapped it in its own nightmare."
The game saves. Upon restart, the title screen will show the Unown King’s silhouette behind Lugia—but it flickers briefly before vanishing. The captured Unown King appears in Box 13, level 1, with the ability “Insomnia.” It knows only the move "Nightscript", which crashes the game if used in battle. Post-Event Ending (Unreleased): The player wakes up in New Bark Town, in bed. Their mom says: "You passed out while playing again… Maybe you should take a break from those ruins, honey." The clock reads 9:00 AM. All NPCs have returned. The party is reset to what it was before the event. Celebi appears at the shrine in Ilex Forest and says via telepathy: "Some dreams are better left sealed." Then vanishes. The Pokédex now shows one additional entry at the end:
- 252 – ???
"A dream, or a warning? It remains locked in the code of the world, waiting to be read."
Note: Feature removed before release. Internal concern about psychological effect on younger players. Codenamed “Pandora Event.” Reused partial data in later projects (e.g., Lavender Town Syndrome creepypasta).