Is Onix Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Onix has massive Defense with AbilityRock Head or AbilitySturdy but almost no offensive stats. Trade import. Rock/Ground handles Wattson and Winona defensively. Steelix via Metal Coat trade adds Steel typing and real power. Without the double trade, Onix is a wall that can't fight back.
Roxanne's typing presses Onix's defenses.
Brawly's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Onix has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Juan's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Drake's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Wallace's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Trade
Onix cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 114
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by the Tunnel Man in Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TUTORNormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5Pacifidlog Town
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 45SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15
- LV 57NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TUTORRockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
How to Get Onix in Emerald
Onix never tunnels through the local caves, so trade one in for the rock snake. A traded Metal Coat later turns it into Steelix.
How to Obtain Onix in E
- Step 1Onix ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Victory Road, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Victory Road. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Victory Road. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Mt. Silver. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Mt. Silver. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Steelix
How to Get Shiny Onix in Emerald
Onix tunnels nowhere in Emerald, so trade one from FireRed or LeafGreen, where it winds through Rock Tunnel, Victory Road and Sevault Canyon; land the shining serpent underground there, then haul it east. See every game where Shiny Onix can be hunted
Onix Weakness
Onix's Rock/Ground typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Ground, and Steel. 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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Water, Grass |
| 2x (Weak) | Ice, Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Fire, Flying, Rock |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Poison |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Onix Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Onix
 Kyogre Water | S | |
Obtain MethodMarine Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Kyogre builds →Hydro Pump 4x653-768%KO Ice Beam 2x173-204%KO Earthquake 2x46-55% Brick Break 2x35-41% | ||
 Groudon Ground | S | |
Obtain MethodTerra Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Groudon builds →Solar Beam 4x308-363%KO Earthquake 2x98-116%KO Iron Tail 2x65-77% Brick Break 2x49-59% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x129-152%KO Solar Beam 4x306-360%KO Iron Tail 2x57-68% | ||
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x121-142%KO Earthquake 2x54-64% Surf 4x122-144%KO | ||
 Heracross BugFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Heracross builds →Focus Punch 2x125-148%KO Earthquake 2x57-67% | ||
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Sceptile builds →Solar Beam 4x479-564%KO Focus Punch 2x61-72% Earthquake 2x41-48% Iron Tail 2x41-48% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 4x520-612%KO Focus Punch 2x78-92% | ||
 Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Flygon builds →Solar Beam 4x256-301%KO Earthquake 2x69-82% Iron Tail 2x46-55% Rock Smash 2x10-12% | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (Littleroot Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 4x394-464%KO Earthquake 2x39-47% Iron Tail 2x39-47% Rock Smash 2x9-11% | ||
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Cradily builds →Solar Beam 4x391-460%KO Earthquake 2x39-47% Rock Smash 2x9-11% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x421-496%KO Brick Break 2x35-41% Dig 2x28-33% | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x121-142%KO Earthquake 2x54-64% | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Ludicolo builds →Solar Beam 4x421-496%KO Surf 4x336-396%KO Focus Punch 2x52-61% Ice Beam 2x112-132%KO | ||
Onix Evolutions
To get Steelix from Onix, you need a trade. The evolution method matters here. The evolved forms gain up to 125 total stats over Onix. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Onix easily with 23 breeding partners from the Mineral egg group. Pass egg moves like Block, Explosion, Flail and 1 more to offspring.
E Onix Best Moveset
160 Defense on paper, but 35 HP and 45 Attack leave the moveset unable to block effectively or threaten back. AbilityRock Head has no strong recoil moves to exploit. Steelix is the only path to relevance.
Best Build
Onix best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Roar
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Block and Explosion from the egg pool give Onix something extra. Pair those with Earthquake and Dig for STAB and Normal and Steel coverage for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
There is a magnet in its brain that prevents an ONIX from losing direction while tunneling. As it grows older, its body becomes steadily rounder and smoother.
Onix Emerald Guide
Onix isn't catchable in Emerald. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Emerald.
In Emerald, Onix has 385 BST and evolves into Steelix. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
In Emerald, use Onix as a balanced. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Earthquake is the primary attack.
For Emerald, run Impish on Onix. +Defense is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Onix.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List