Traces of an Old World

The Puzzle of the Pokénogi

On the way to Odl y Môr, the player is sidetracked by some Team Wild grunts inside the Canu'r Gloch Chambers, an old ruin along Route 8. The player meets and battles alongside Signe— an eminent archaeologist and wife of Odl y Mor's fairy type specialist Olwen– against Team Wild grunts who are attempting to steal her research notes on the old ruins. 

Afterwards, Signe wonders aloud whether Team Wild were there looking for answers about the Pokénogi. She explains to the player that the Pokénogi is a set of stories that have been passed down from ancient times, centered around a set of Hafodian characters from times gone by. These stories are largely lost but fragments remain in the form of stone tablets scattered across Hafod. 

Signe explains that these stories somehow unlock a latent potential in some Pokémon, causing them to embrace some aspect of an archetype from the past. This 'Ancestral Form' phenomenon is unique to the Hafod region and is shrouded in mystery. 

Awakening the Ancestral Forms

After the gym battle in Odl y Môr, the player speaks to gym leader Olwen about their chance meeting with Signe. Olwen offers her knowledge, explaining that the stories of the Pokénogi are like the pieces of a puzzle from long ago. She explains that trainers that know about the Pokénogi copy down or create an impression of these tablets onto scrolls which their Pokémon can hold. 

In game, these scrolls serve the purpose of allowing specific Pokémon to unlock their Ancestral Forms and, so, focus on a particular moment where these ancestral characters act and exhibit their unique personality or abilities. Potentially, if more scrolls were discovered, other Hafodian Pokémon could unlock their latent ancestral potential but, as of now, there are 18 scrolls.

Olwen suggests that if the player wants to be a Pokémon master of the Hafod region, they should try and find as many scrolls as they can. She gives the player their first scroll, the Scroll of Warmth (the tale from the Pokénogi that allows Lithowoodo to unlock its Ancestral Form). Every subsequent gym leader will also give the player a scroll too.

She also recommends tracking down Sparrow, a travelling poet and historian, as he may know where other scrolls are located. 

A Poet’s Guide to the Forgotten

Once the player next meets Sparrow, he will explain that he can give clues to the whereabouts of scrolls that the player has not yet found. He will also discuss with the player any scrolls they have found and any secrets of the stories they tell. 

Through their journey, the player can find 18 individual scrolls, each allowing a different Pokémon to unlock their ancestral form. Once all 18 have been found, the player can talk to Sparrow again to unlock the bonus adventure to Tiwlip Lake.