Physical
Balanced
70Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

The stat bars tell the story: Defense carries everything and Special's dead weight. But this Rock Snake Pokemon still yields 1 Defense stat exp per fight on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Avg
HP35
F
Attack45
D
Defense160
S
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def30
F
Speed70
C
Total370
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height8.8 m
Weight210.0 kg
Base XP77
Abilities
Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.
Rock Head
Protects against recoil damage.
Sturdy
Prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.
Weak ArmorHA
Raises Speed and lowers Defense by one stage each upon being hit by a physical move.
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe
Defense training source
Pokedex Entries

As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black.

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.

Onix Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
4x (Critical)Water, Grass
2x (Weak)Ice, Fighting, Ground
0.5x (Resist)Normal, Fire, Flying, Rock
0.25x (Resist)Poison
0x (Immune)Electric
Type ChartFragile
5Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Score-5
Gen I Type Chart
  • 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
4xCritical
¼xResist
0xImmune
How to Beat Onix in Red & Blue (Best Counters)
Lapras
Lapras
WaterIce
B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift
Available Moves
Moves
  • Ice BeamTM13
  • SurfHM03
  • Bubble BeamTM11
  • Water GunTM12
Damage vs Onix
Ice Beam 2x
187-221%KO
Surf 4x
375-442%KO
Bubble Beam 4x
275-324%KO
Water Gun 4x
174-205%KO
View Lapras builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

A Rock/Ground type with 370 stats, Onix has a chain leading to Steelix. Breeding won't work. The evolved forms gain up to 140 total stats over Onix. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution
Onix
#095Onix
Does not evolve
Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Onix Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

  • ExplosionCoverage
  • BindCoverage
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rock SlideSTAB

Moves

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

Lv 1
Screech
D8540Normal
Lv 1
Tackle
D3510035Normal
Lv 15
Bind
S157520Normal
Lv 19
Rock Throw
506515Rock
Lv 25
Rage
2010020Normal
Lv 33
Slam
807520Normal
Lv 43
Harden
D30Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM34
Bide+1
10Normal
TM08
Body Slam
A8510015Normal
TM28
Dig
10010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
D12010015Normal
TM26
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
TM47
Explosion
S2501005Normal
TM27
Fissure
305Ground
TM31
Mimic
10Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM44
Rest
C10Psychic
TM48
Rock Slide
A759010Rock
TM36
Self-Destruct
C2001005Normal
TM40
Skull Bash
D10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM50
Substitute
C10Normal
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
A9010Poison

Egg Moves

Onix doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Onix can't learn any Tutor moves

Red & Blue Onix Locations

Onix is available from early-game routes onward at high spawn rates. 10 encounter spots give you plenty of options. Grab one early and it'll be ready to evolve or train by mid-game.

Best Locations to Catch Onix in Red & Blue

Onix's encounter pool splits between Blue and Red. You've got 10 walking spots at Lv. 13-45 total, but your version determines which ones actually show up.

Rock Tunnel - 1F
BlueGrass Lv.13-15 Cave
10%Early
Rock Tunnel - 1F
RedGrass Lv.13-15 Cave
10%Early
Rock Tunnel - B1F
BlueGrass Lv.13-17 Cave
10%Early
Rock Tunnel - B1F
RedGrass Lv.13-17 Cave
10%Early
Victory Road - 1F
RedGrass Lv.36-42 Cave
30%Late
Victory Road - 1F
BlueGrass Lv.36-42 Cave
30%Late
Victory Road - 2F
RedGrass Lv.36-42 Cave
30%Late
Victory Road - 2F
BlueGrass Lv.36-42 Cave
30%Late
Victory Road - 3F
RedGrass Lv.42-45 Cave
20%Late
Victory Road - 3F
BlueGrass Lv.42-45 Cave
20%Late

Onix Guide

  • At 370 BST, Onix is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Steelix before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • In Red & Blue, 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 is a physical attacker with base 45 Attack. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 70 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many.

  • In Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, run Explosion, Bind, Earthquake, and Rock Slide on Onix. Explosion is the most common pick at 21% usage. Earthquake provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

Present since Red & Blue, Onix appears in 21 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Onix have the longest track record of availability in the series.

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