While most trainers evolve Onix into Steelix immediately, the unevolved form has a niche with Eviolite boosting its defenses. Electric moves can't touch it, which offsets the 5 weaknesses somewhat. Can go either physical or special depending on the set. Part of the Gen 1 roster.
The stat bars tell the story: Defense carries everything and Sp. Atk's dead weight. But this Rock Snake Pokemon still yields 1 Defense EV per fight on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
Burrows at high speed in search of food. The tunnels it leaves are used as homes by DIGLETTs.
Onix Weakness
FragileOnix's Rock/Ground typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, and Ground moves. Water and Grass hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Electric-type attacks completely. The Rock/Ground typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Onix's physical bulk (base 160 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
A Rock/Ground type with 385 stats, Onix has a chain leading to Steelix. Breeding won't work. The evolved forms gain up to 125 total stats over Onix.
How to Evolve
an ability isn't flashy, but it matters. Combined with an item for extra utility and flexible EVs EVs, Onix fills the attacker slot reliably. A nature nature finishes the spread.
Best Build
Best Onix Moveset
- Explosion
- Bind
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Onix's Normal coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Earthquake and Dig for same-type damage. Double-Edge and Earthquake are the payoff moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
decent spawn rates across 4 locations for Onix in early-game routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.
Best Locations
4 walking spots from Lv. 14-49 for Onix. Sorted by game progression with rates on each row, so you can compare without scrolling through everything.
At 385 BST, Onix is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Steelix before bringing it to any serious fight.
Watch for Starmie (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Cloyster (Ice) when using Onix. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Starmie is the most dangerous since Water moves deal 4x damage. Fighting and Ground-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.
Onix evolves into Steelix while holding a Metal Coat. Onix is the base form of this evolutionary line.
Onix is a physical attacker with base 45 Attack. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 70 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.
Onix appears in 21 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.
Present since Red & Blue, Onix appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Onix have the longest track record of availability in the series.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A