Is Onix Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Cave encounters throughout Sinnoh. Onix evolves into Steelix by trading with Metal Coat. AbilityRock Head removes recoil damage. Even without evolving, Onix helps against Volkner through Ground moves. Steelix turns it into a Steel-type wall.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Steelix has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Steelix trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Onix on Oreburgh Mine (walking, Lv 8, uncommon).
- LV 17RockRock Tomb9095%15
- After Gardenia
- TM26GroundEarthquake150100%10
- TM28GroundDig120100%10
- After Crasher Wake
- TM64NormalExplosion250100%5
- TM06PoisonToxic—90%10
- After Byron
- TM80RockRock Slide11390%10
- LV 46NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- LV 49RockStone Edge15080%5
How to Get Onix in Diamond & Pearl
Onix's 2-stage line starts with Onix, which appears in the wild in the locations below. Level through 2 stages while you find a trade partner. Everything except the trade step is solo.
Where To Catch Onix in DP
Onix is your first catch on the way to Onix. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 8-56 across 64 total spots in the chain.
Step 1Onix ✓Oreburgh Mine - 1FLv.8CaveRate 10%Oreburgh Mine - B1FLv.8-9CaveRate 10%Victory Road - 1FLv.44CaveRate 20%Iron Island - B2F Right CaveLv.31-33GrassRate 10%Iron Island - 1FLv.32-33GrassRate 10%Iron Island - B1F Left CaveLv.32-33GrassRate 10%Iron Island - B1F Right CaveLv.32-33GrassRate 10%Iron Island - B2F Left CaveLv.32-33GrassRate 10%Iron Island - B3FLv.32-33GrassRate 10%Victory Road - 2FLv.45CaveRate 5%Snowpoint Temple - 1FLv.50-52CaveRate 15%Victory Road - Nat Dex AreaLv.50CaveRate 10%Victory Road - Nat Dex Exit AreaLv.50CaveRate 10%Snowpoint Temple - B1FLv.52-53CaveRate 5%Snowpoint Temple - B2FLv.52-53CaveRate 5%Snowpoint Temple - B3FLv.52-53CaveRate 5%Stark Mountain - EntranceLv.54CaveRate 5%Stark Mountain - InteriorLv.56CaveRate 5%
Step 2Catch or Evolve into SteelixIron Island - B3FLv.33-34GrassRate 30%Iron Island - B2F Left CaveLv.33-34GrassRate 10%Victory Road - 2FLv.47CaveRate 40%Snowpoint Temple - B4FLv.54-56CaveRate 20%Snowpoint Temple - B5FLv.54-56CaveRate 20%Snowpoint Temple - B1FLv.53-54CaveRate 15%Snowpoint Temple - B2FLv.53-54CaveRate 15%Snowpoint Temple - B3FLv.53-54CaveRate 15%Victory Road - Nat Dex AreaLv.52CaveRate 10%Victory Road - Nat Dex Area B1FLv.52CaveRate 10%Victory Road - Nat Dex Exit AreaLv.52CaveRate 10%Victory Road - 1FLv.46CaveRate 5%Victory Road - B1FLv.46CaveRate 5%Snowpoint Temple - 1FLv.52CaveRate 5%or evolve from Onix (Step 1)
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Onix Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Onix
 Heracross BugFighting | B | |
 Monferno FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chimchar (Lake Verity Gift) | ||
 Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
 Buizel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Buizel builds →Focus Punch 2x53-63% Water Gun 4x105-126%KO | ||
 Shellos Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shellos builds →Water Pulse 4x161-189%KO Mud Bomb 2x53-63% | ||
Heracross BugFighting | B | |
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Razor Leaf 4x83-100%KO Brick Break 2x37-44% | ||
Monferno FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chimchar (Lake Verity Gift) | ||
 Grotle Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Grotle builds →Razor Leaf 4x74-89% Rock Smash 2x19-22% | ||
Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Bibarel builds →Focus Punch 2x59-70% Water Pulse 4x141-167%KO | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x414-489%KO Focus Blast 2x137-163%KO | ||
 Cherrim Grass | C | |
Heracross BugFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Heracross builds →Focus Punch 2x127-150%KO Earthquake 2x57-69% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x109-129%KO Earthquake 2x49-57% | ||
 Gliscor Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Gliscor builds →Earthquake 2x73-86% Brick Break 2x36-43% Steel Wing 2x33-40% Ice Fang 2x31-37% | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x134-159%KO Solar Beam 4x306-360%KO | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x414-489%KO Dig 2x40-49% Focus Blast 2x137-163%KO | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Ludicolo builds →Solar Beam 4x414-489%KO Water Pulse 4x210-249%KO Focus Punch 2x56-66% Ice Beam 2x111-131%KO | ||
 Roselia GrassPoison | B | |
 Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 4x179-212%KO Earthquake 2x74-88% Rock Smash 2x22-27% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x127-150%KO Solar Beam 4x304-359%KO | ||
Roselia GrassPoison | B | |
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Bronzong builds →Solar Beam 4x249-293%KO Earthquake 2x43-51% Rock Smash 2x18-22% | ||
Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 4x180-211%KO Earthquake 2x75-89% Iron Tail 2x50-59% Rock Smash 2x20-25% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x127-150%KO Solar Beam 4x295-348%KO Iron Tail 2x58-68% | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x406-477%KO Dig 2x39-45% Focus Blast 2x135-159%KO | ||
Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 4x173-204%KO Earthquake 2x72-86% Iron Tail 2x48-57% Rock Smash 2x21-26% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Seed Bomb 4x140-166%KO Focus Punch 2x127-150%KO Iron Tail 2x57-68% | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x406-479%KO Dig 2x37-45% Focus Blast 2x135-160%KO | ||
Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 4x182-215%KO Earthquake 2x76-91% Iron Tail 2x51-60% Rock Smash 2x22-26% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Breloom builds →Seed Bomb 4x139-164%KO Focus Punch 2x129-153%KO Iron Tail 2x58-68% | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 4x413-487%KO Dig 2x38-45% Focus Blast 2x138-162%KO | ||
Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 4x180-212%KO Earthquake 2x75-88% Iron Tail 2x49-59% Rock Smash 2x21-25% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Vileplume builds →Solar Beam 4x499-588%KO Drain Punch 2x23-28% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Onix View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 4x520-612%KO Focus Punch 2x78-92% | ||
In Diamond & Pearl, Gyarados can KO Onix with Waterfall (179-210%).
 Gyarados Water | S | |
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Onix View Gyarados builds →Waterfall 4x179-210%KO Earthquake 2x74-87% Ice Fang 2x48-57% | ||
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
DP Onix Best Moveset
160 Defense looks imposing, but 35 HP, 45 Attack, and 4x weaknesses to Water and Grass make any offensive moveset pointless. Trade-evolve into Steelix to get real bulk and actual attacking power.
Best Build
Onix best EVs are Attack and Speed
Support Moveset
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Block and Defense Curl from the egg pool give Onix something extra.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
When it travels underground, it causes rumbling and tremors. It can move at 50 mph.
It squirms through the ground using its long and rugged body. It always eats while burrowing.
Onix Diamond & Pearl Guide
At 385 BST, Onix is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Steelix before bringing it to any serious fight.
In Diamond & Pearl, 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, Ground, and Steel-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.
No. Onix only evolves into Steelix through a real trade. There is no in-game alternative in Diamond & Pearl. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Onix to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Metal Coat must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Rock Head protects against recoil damage. That's the one you want on Onix. Sturdy works too if your team needs something different.
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.
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.
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 7LGPE
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