Some of the strangest items in Pokémon Pokopia are the Mysterious Slates, and their name is certainly fitting, as you probably won't know exactly what they're for when you first get your hands on them. In this entry of our guide, we'll explain how to use them and how to get all of them easily, so you won't be left wondering what to do with them.
Mysterious Slates have one very specific purpose in Pokémon Pokopia: they are used to complete a strange mural hidden inside a secret cave in the Withered Wastelands. Completing it will give you the chance to befriend the Mythical Pokémon Mew.
You can find the entrance to the mural cave fairly early in the game, once you've learned the Rock Smash move. Once you have it, start from the Withered Wastelands Pokémon Center and head right toward the wall at the back, where you'll initially find several walls that can be destroyed:
After breaking these blocks, you'll open a path like the one shown in the image above. This leads to an open area with trees and streetlights. Be careful, though, because there are more wall blocks immediately to the left. Break them to reveal the entrance to a cave with a staircase leading down, as shown here:
Head down these stairs and you'll enter a cave containing a mural covered in strange symbols.
The symbols on the mural represent the complete Unown alphabet, comprising a total of 27 letters and symbols.
Each Mysterious Slate you obtain fits into a specific position on this mural. How can you tell where it belongs? It's easy: the back of every Slate features a letter or symbol indicating its correct position.
You can pick up a Slate and change its orientation to turn it around and see which symbol it bears. Once you know exactly where it belongs, place it in the correct slot using its default orientation, with the letter or symbol facing away from you.
Once you've placed all 27 Mysterious Slates, you'll complete a mosaic depicting Mew's silhouette. This causes the Mythical Pokémon to appear inside the cave, allowing you to befriend it, register it in the Pokédex, and invite it to live wherever you like.
You may have already worked this out for yourself, but we'll explain it just in case. There is only one way to obtain Mysterious Slates in Pokémon Pokopia: you must rely on luck while breaking terrain blocks with golden sparkles:
Mysterious Slates appear completely at random when you break glowing blocks in any area or biome. You'll never know whether you'll uncover a Slate, a fossil, a relic, or some other kind of treasure, so you'll need to be patient if you want to collect them all.
The good news is that you'll never receive duplicate Slates, meaning that every one you find will be a new piece you still need for the mural.
As a useful tip, you can speed up the search by bringing along a Pokémon with the Search specialty, such as Pidgey, Venomoth, or Zubat, and equipping the Dowsing Machine to look for buried treasures. This increases your chances of finding Mysterious Slates, making the task of unlocking all 27 somewhat easier. You can also offer Mosslax salad recipes after completing the "Brighten Things Up" mission to improve your chances of obtaining rare treasures.
Good luck!
