Is Onix Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Available in Johto caves. Onix can now evolve into Steelix via trade with a Metal Coat in Gen 2, which is a massive upgrade. Without the trade, Onix has the same problem as always: no offense.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Steelix resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Steelix resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Misty's team hits Steelix's weaknesses hard.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
In-Game Trade
Onix can be received through an in-game trade in Violet City. Trade Bellsprout. Trade a Bellsprout to Kyle in the Violet City house to receive Rocky the Onix.
Recommended Moves
- LV 14RockRock ThrowPower 75Accuracy 90%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 40NormalSlamPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
Catch Onix
Catch Onix in Union Cave (walking, Lv 6, rare).
Recommended Moves
- LV 14RockRock ThrowPower 75Accuracy 90%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 40NormalSlamPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
Evolve Onix to Steelix
Onix evolves into Steelix when traded. Most players are ready to trade before reaching Bugsy.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
- TM03GhostCursePower —Accuracy 100%PP 10Gift in the Celadon Mansion roof house, at night only
- LV 49DarkCrunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Onix in Gold & Silver
The early Violet City trade hands you an Onix for a Bellsprout, which beats hunting the wild ones scattered through caves at mixed rarity. A Metal Coat trade later turns Onix into Steelix.
5 locations to catch Onix
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Onix in GS
Onix is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking and trade encounters from Lv. 6-48 across 16 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Evolve into SteelixBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Onix egg.
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Gold & Silver for Onix.
How to Get Shiny Onix in Gold & Silver
Onix from the Bellsprout in-game trade is locked non-shiny, so skip it and hunt wild Onix in Union Cave, Violet City, or on Mt. Silver. Compare Shiny Onix odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Onix Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Gold & Silver shiny odds for Onix.
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
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Onix Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Onix
 Suicune Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Suicune builds →Surf 4x333-393%KO Blizzard 2x139-164%KO Iron Tail 2x39-47% Dig 2x24-29% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Slowbro builds →Surf 4x362-427%KO Blizzard 2x152-180%KO Iron Tail 2x39-47% Dig 2x24-29% | ||
 Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Feraligatr builds →Surf 4x300-353%KO Iron Tail 2x50-60% Blizzard 2x126-149%KO Dig 2x31-38% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Lapras builds →Surf 4x317-373%KO Ice Beam 2x158-187%KO Iron Tail 2x43-51% Rock Smash 2x11-13% | ||
 Bellossom Grass | C | |
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Quagsire builds →Surf 4x260-307%KO Earthquake 2x64-77% Iron Tail 2x43-51% Ice Punch 2x69-82% | ||
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Dewgong builds →Surf 4x277-327%KO Blizzard 2x172-203%KO | ||
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Azumarill Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Azurill (Mt Mortar Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Azumarill builds →Surf 4x243-287%KO Blizzard 2x101-120%KO Iron Tail 2x30-36% Dynamic Punch 2x30-36% | ||
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Meganium builds →Razor Leaf 4x187-220%KO Iron Tail 2x41-49% Mud-Slap 2x11-13% Rock Smash 2x11-13% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Good Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 4x306-360%KO Blizzard 2x101-120%KO Rock Smash 2x12-16% | ||
 Kingler Water | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 14 Super Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Kingler builds →Surf 4x214-253%KO Blizzard 2x90-107%KO Mud-Slap 2x14-18% Rock Smash 2x14-18% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Sandslash builds →Dig 2x44-53% Iron Tail 2x49-58% Dynamic Punch 2x49-58% | ||
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 12 breeding partners from the Mineral egg group. Pass egg moves like Flail, Rock Slide to offspring.
GS Onix Best Moveset
160 Defense blocks physical hits, but 35 Sp. Atk and 35 Sp. Def mean every special attack deals catastrophic damage. MoveEarthquake from 45 Attack can't threaten. Steelix evolves from Onix with a trade now and does everything better with Steel typing added.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Onix's Normal and Steel coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Earthquake and Dig for same-type damage. Earthquake and Iron Tail are the payoff moves.
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.
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
19 of 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It twists and squirms through the ground. The thunderous roar of its tunneling echoes a long way.
It rapidly bores through the ground at 50 mph by squirming and twisting its massive, rugged body.
Onix Gold & Silver Guide
No. Onix only evolves into Steelix through a real trade. There is no in-game alternative in Gold & Silver. The Metal Coat must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Trade a Bellsprout to Kyle in the Violet City house to receive Rocky the Onix. This is an NPC trade, so the Onix you receive is yours immediately, no transfer cable needed.
In Gold & Silver, for a casual playthrough, Onix works as a placeholder. Rock/Ground coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Steelix. That's where the stats start mattering.
In Gold & Silver, use Onix as a balanced. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Earthquake is the primary attack.
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
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