Is Steelix Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Trade Onix with a Metal Coat. Steelix is one of the most physically defensive Pokemon in the game. Steel/Ground typing gives it a pile of resistances. Jasmine uses one as her ace, and if you get your own, it handles most of the late game physically.
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.
Trade Onix
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
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 Steelix in Gold & Silver
Steelix needs an Onix traded while it holds a Metal Coat. No wild ones, and like every trade-evolution it takes a partner to complete, so the rare Metal Coat is only half the battle.
Wild Steelix may be holding when caught:
Metal Coat (2% chance) Powers up steel-type moves. (HOLD)Catch Onix at any of these 5 spots to eventually evolve into Steelix.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Onix
- 2Evolve Steelixby trading
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Steelix in GS
The path to Steelix starts with Onix at Lv. 6-48 via walking and trade encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Steelix ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Onix egg.
How to Get Shiny Steelix in Gold & Silver
Steelix comes from a Metal Coat on Onix, so catch a wild shiny Onix around Union Cave, Violet City, or Mt. Silver, then trade it to trigger the evolution. Compare Shiny Steelix odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Steelix 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 Steelix.
Steelix Weakness
Steelix is weak to Fire, Water, Fighting, and Ground. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric and Poison-type moves entirely. With 9 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Steelix's physical bulk (base 200 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Water, Fighting, Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Rock |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric, Poison |
- 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 Steelix Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Steelix
 Ho-Oh Fire | S | |
Obtain MethodTin Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Ho-Oh builds →Fire Blast 2x138-163%KO Earthquake 2x34-41% Rock Smash 2x8-10% | ||
 Marowak Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x35-42% Fire Blast 2x50-59% Dynamic Punch 2x24-28% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Donphan builds →Earthquake 2x50-58% Rock Smash 2x7-9% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x52-61% Dynamic Punch 2x34-41% Fire Blast 2x46-54% Surf 2x37-44% | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Vaporeon builds →Hydro Pump 2x138-163%KO Mud-Slap 2x5-6% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Sandslash builds →Earthquake 2x42-50% Dynamic Punch 2x28-33% | ||
 Suicune Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Suicune builds →Surf 2x94-111%KO Dig 2x14-17% Rock Smash 2x5-7% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x101-119%KO Fire Blast 2x85-101%KO Earthquake 2x22-26% Dynamic Punch 2x22-26% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Lapras builds →Hydro Pump 2x113-133%KO Rock Smash 2x5-7% | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Typhlosion builds →Fire Blast 2x138-163%KO Earthquake 2x25-29% Dynamic Punch 2x25-29% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Good Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x85-100%KO Fire Blast 2x57-67% Rock Smash 2x7-9% | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Houndoom builds →Fire Blast 2x138-163%KO Mud-Slap 2x5-7% Rock Smash 2x5-7% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x122-144%KO Dig 2x15-17% Dynamic Punch 2x24-28% | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Steelix View Arcanine builds →Fire Blast 2x129-151%KO Dig 2x19-22% Rock Smash 2x7-9% | ||
Steelix Evolutions
Getting Steelix requires a trade, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Onix. Breed this form to get Onix eggs (average hatch time). HP grew the most through evolution (+40 over Onix), and Steelix peaks at 510 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Steelix to get Onix eggs easily using 12 partners from the Mineral egg group. Notable egg moves include Flail, Rock Slide.
GS Steelix Best Moveset
200 Defense blocks physical attackers almost unconditionally. Steel/Ground typing resists a huge portion of the format's offensive types and provides Electric immunity. MoveEarthquake for Ground TermStab and MoveRoar for forcing switches into MoveSpikes. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. The ultimate physical tank.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Explosion
- Curse
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs carry this one. Steelix learns Earthquake and Iron Tail naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Rock and beyond give it real matchup play.
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
23 of 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its body has been compressed deep under the ground. As a result, it is even harder than a diamond.
It is said that if an ONIX lives for over 100 years, its composition changes to become diamond-like.
Steelix Gold & Silver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in Gold & Silver, but Steelix does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Steelix hits 610 BST.
Steelix is obtained by trade-evolving Onix. Catch an Onix first, then trade. The Metal Coat must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
In Gold & Silver, Steelix plays as a trick room. It's slow, so Trick Room or priority moves are key. so pick your spots carefully. Earthquake is the primary attack. Set up with Curse when you get a free turn.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Gold & Silver, Steelix has appeared in 18 titles over 8 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 6, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
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 6ORASMega
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 Steelix.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List