Is Onix Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Onix looks impressive but the stats tell a different story. Massive Defense means nothing when the Attack is lower than most unevolved Pokemon. Can't deal damage, folds to Water or Grass, and gets outclassed by Geodude's evolution line. One of the biggest gaps between appearance and performance in the game.
Brock's typing presses Onix's defenses.
Misty's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Onix has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's team hits Onix's weaknesses hard.
Onix resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Onix has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Onix has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Onix has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Onix trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Onix in Rock Tunnel (walking, Lv 13-15, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM48RockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
Red & Blue Onix Locations
Onix splits between two caves with a wild level gap: low and rare in Rock Tunnel, then common and much higher in Victory Road. Ten encounters, so timing decides what level you catch.
2 locations to catch Onix
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Onix in Red & Blue
You can find Onix through 5 walking encounters at Lv. 13-45. The list is sorted by game progression, so the earliest accessible spots show up first.
Onix Weakness
Onix's Rock/Ground typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, and Ground. 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 |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Fire, Flying, Rock |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Poison |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- 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
What is Onix Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Onix
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Vaporeon builds →Surf 4x483-568%KO Ice Beam 2x161-189%KO | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Lapras builds →Surf 4x395-466%KO Ice Beam 2x197-233%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Gyarados builds →Surf 4x301-355%KO Ice Beam 2x100-118%KO | ||
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Wartortle Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Wartortle builds →Surf 4x328-387%KO Dig 2x36-42% Ice Beam 2x109-129%KO Submission 2x29-34% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x63-75% Bubble Beam 4x125-147%KO Submission 2x33-39% Ice Beam 2x91-108%KO | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorina (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Nidoqueen builds →Surf 4x241-284%KO Earthquake 2x67-79% Ice Beam 2x120-142%KO Submission 2x37-45% | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Nidoking builds →Surf 4x263-311%KO Earthquake 2x74-87% Ice Beam 2x132-155%KO Submission 2x39-47% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Machoke builds →Earthquake 2x49-58% Submission 2x59-71% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Graveler builds →Earthquake 2x70-83% Submission 2x37-45% | ||
 Rhyhorn GroundRock | C | |
 Hitmonchan Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodSaffron City Gift | ||
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
Onix Evolutions
Onix is a standalone Rock/Ground type at 370 total. It can't breed, which makes catching one the only real option. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Onix Best Moveset
160 Defense but 35 Special means any special attack ends the run instantly. Rock moves are physical but the Attack is only 45. MoveEarthquake is the only real offensive tool, and even that hits modestly. A physical tank that crumbles to anything special.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Explosion
- Bind
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black.
Onix Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, Onix has 370 BST, so weigh it against what your team already covers.
In Red & Blue, 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
Explore
Where to go next after Onix.
Keep playing · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List