Onix (Pokémon)
Encyclopedia
Onix, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
, Onix first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
and in subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Unsho Ishizuka, a Japanese seiyū, voices Onix and its evolved form Steelix in both the Japanese and English versions of the Pokemon anime.
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
. Originally called "Iwark" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. Its name was eventually changed to Onix in English. According to IGN
, its name is based on the semi-precious stone onyx
.
Onix, known as the Rock
Snake
Pokémon, is a giant chain of gray boulders, with a rocky spine on its head. The Pokémon has a magnet in its brain that serves as an internal compass, which helps it keep direction while burrowing. Onix's body becomes more rounded and smoother as it grows with age, as well as getting harder, as it absorbs many of the hard objects it encounters while digging. It tunnels under the ground at over fifty miles per hour, in search of food. Onix can commonly be found in mountains and caves because the Onix can camoflauge itself in them.
and its subsequent remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen
. It cannot evolve into another Pokémon until Pokémon Gold and Silver
where it can evolve into Steelix by being traded to another copy of Gold, Silver, or any main Pokémon title released afterward. It has appeared in each subsequent main title. Outside of the main series, Onix has appeared in Pokémon Trozei!
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, Pokémon Rumble
, and Pokémon Pinball
. Onix appears in the franchise fighting game Super Smash Bros as a Pokémon summoned from a Poké Ball by players. It makes a minor appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee
as a part of a Pokémon-themed level.
, Onix first appeared in Showdown in Pewter City under the ownership of Brock
. He used it in his journeys in Kanto and Johto before giving it to his little brother, Forrest, in A Family That Battles Together, Stays Together. At some time before Grating Spaces, it evolved into a Steelix
. Ash
and co. encountered a giant Onix in To Master the Onixpected. It was on a rampage until Bruno managed to get a Sandslash from under the Rock Snake Pokémon's "skin". Bruno captured the Onix afterward. The Crystal Onix featured a Crystal
Onix. Ash and co. helped a glass sculptor named Mateo search for it because Mateo believed it would help inspire him to be better at his craft. In Hello Pummelo, Drake of the Orange Crew owns an Onix and he used it to fight Ash's Squirtle
in the second round in the Orange League Champion match. A "King Onix" was featured in Hooked on Onix. Team Rocket tricked King Onix into thinking Ash and co. were going to destroy his kingdom. When Ash managed to convince King Onix that he and his friends weren't bad by defeating it in a battle, Team Rocket tried to steal the royal Rock Snake Pokémon, but their plan was foiled. Roark's Onix was first seen in Shapes of Things to Come where it was used against Paul's Elekid and Chimchar. In A Gruff Act to Follow, it defeated Ash's Turtwig, followed by Ash's Pikachu
but Pikachu managed to defeat it in a rematch in O'er the Rampardos we Watched.
In the Pokémon Adventures
manga, Onix debuts in Onix is On! as Brock
's main Pokémon, however a picture of it is shown on a leaflet in Wanted: Pikachu!. Onix later continues to make appearances with Brock in various volumes onwards. Bruno owns an Onix, on which he battles Bill, Lt. Surge and Red on Cerise Island. The Onix later manages to carry Bruno and Koga off the collapsing island. Another wild Onix was also seen on Cerise Island.
wrote that Onix was an "interesting creature" but that it was difficult to recommend it over other Rock or Ground types such as Golem or Aerodactyl
due in part to its lack of an evolution at the time. IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that Onix was inferior to Golem and Rhydon as a Rock type. She wrote that while she "doesn't like Onix in general", Onix was her favourite Pokémon that the character Brock
possessed in the anime and called it "cool". GamesRadar
's Brett Elston similarly found it cool but found its usefulness to be "quite low". Author Ash Dekirk wrote that Onix resembles a "great wurm
of rock". Author Mark Allen Peterson made reference to an anti-Pokémon flyer posted in Cairo
which argued that Pokémon names such as Onix were sending "encoded blasphemous meanings"; specifically, this poster argued that Onix meant "Say no to God". Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Onix the best Rock type Pokémon and that it is "tremendously strong".
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and Game Freak
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
, Onix first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and in subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Unsho Ishizuka, a Japanese seiyū, voices Onix and its evolved form Steelix in both the Japanese and English versions of the Pokemon anime.
Concept and characteristics
Onix was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken SugimoriKen Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. Originally called "Iwark" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. Its name was eventually changed to Onix in English. According to IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, its name is based on the semi-precious stone onyx
Onyx
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
.
Onix, known as the Rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
Snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
Pokémon, is a giant chain of gray boulders, with a rocky spine on its head. The Pokémon has a magnet in its brain that serves as an internal compass, which helps it keep direction while burrowing. Onix's body becomes more rounded and smoother as it grows with age, as well as getting harder, as it absorbs many of the hard objects it encounters while digging. It tunnels under the ground at over fifty miles per hour, in search of food. Onix can commonly be found in mountains and caves because the Onix can camoflauge itself in them.
In the video games
Onix first appears in Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and its subsequent remakes Pokémon Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
are enhanced remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue video games, which were released in 1996. The new titles were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with...
. It cannot evolve into another Pokémon until Pokémon Gold and Silver
Pokémon Gold and Silver
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to...
where it can evolve into Steelix by being traded to another copy of Gold, Silver, or any main Pokémon title released afterward. It has appeared in each subsequent main title. Outside of the main series, Onix has appeared in Pokémon Trozei!
Pokémon Trozei!
, released as Pokémon Link! in Europe, is a Pokémon-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on October 20, 2005, in North America on March 6, 2006, in Australia on March 30, 2006, and in Europe on May 5, 2006.-Gameplay:...
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
- Manga :*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky.-...
titles, Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble is a Pokémon video game for WiiWare. It was developed by Ambrella. Pokémon Rumble was rated "E10+" by the ESRB, making it the first Pokémon video game to be given an ESRB rating higher than "E" for Everyone...
, and Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball
is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related....
. Onix appears in the franchise fighting game Super Smash Bros as a Pokémon summoned from a Poké Ball by players. It makes a minor appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
as a part of a Pokémon-themed level.
In other media
In the animePokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
, Onix first appeared in Showdown in Pewter City under the ownership of Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
. He used it in his journeys in Kanto and Johto before giving it to his little brother, Forrest, in A Family That Battles Together, Stays Together. At some time before Grating Spaces, it evolved into a Steelix
Steelix
Steelix, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Steelix first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
. Ash
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri as the protagonist of the anime and manga series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise...
and co. encountered a giant Onix in To Master the Onixpected. It was on a rampage until Bruno managed to get a Sandslash from under the Rock Snake Pokémon's "skin". Bruno captured the Onix afterward. The Crystal Onix featured a Crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
Onix. Ash and co. helped a glass sculptor named Mateo search for it because Mateo believed it would help inspire him to be better at his craft. In Hello Pummelo, Drake of the Orange Crew owns an Onix and he used it to fight Ash's Squirtle
Squirtle
Squirtle, known as in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. It was originally conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori...
in the second round in the Orange League Champion match. A "King Onix" was featured in Hooked on Onix. Team Rocket tricked King Onix into thinking Ash and co. were going to destroy his kingdom. When Ash managed to convince King Onix that he and his friends weren't bad by defeating it in a battle, Team Rocket tried to steal the royal Rock Snake Pokémon, but their plan was foiled. Roark's Onix was first seen in Shapes of Things to Come where it was used against Paul's Elekid and Chimchar. In A Gruff Act to Follow, it defeated Ash's Turtwig, followed by Ash's Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
but Pikachu managed to defeat it in a rematch in O'er the Rampardos we Watched.
In the Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures, released in Japan as , is a Pokémon-related manga based on the video games. Satoshi Tajiri once stated that the Pocket Monsters Special series is closest to what he imagined the Pokémon world to be:...
manga, Onix debuts in Onix is On! as Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
's main Pokémon, however a picture of it is shown on a leaflet in Wanted: Pikachu!. Onix later continues to make appearances with Brock in various volumes onwards. Bruno owns an Onix, on which he battles Bill, Lt. Surge and Red on Cerise Island. The Onix later manages to carry Bruno and Koga off the collapsing island. Another wild Onix was also seen on Cerise Island.
Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote that Onix was an "interesting creature" but that it was difficult to recommend it over other Rock or Ground types such as Golem or Aerodactyl
Aerodactyl
Aerodactyl, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Aerodactyl first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
due in part to its lack of an evolution at the time. IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that Onix was inferior to Golem and Rhydon as a Rock type. She wrote that while she "doesn't like Onix in general", Onix was her favourite Pokémon that the character Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
possessed in the anime and called it "cool". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
's Brett Elston similarly found it cool but found its usefulness to be "quite low". Author Ash Dekirk wrote that Onix resembles a "great wurm
Wurm
The Wurm is a river in Germany , a left tributary of the Rur. The source of the Wurm are several brooks in the forests southwest of Aachen, which form the Wurm after the Diepenbenden reservoir. From there the Wurm nowadays flows through canals through the city of Aachen, until it resurfaces at the...
of rock". Author Mark Allen Peterson made reference to an anti-Pokémon flyer posted in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
which argued that Pokémon names such as Onix were sending "encoded blasphemous meanings"; specifically, this poster argued that Onix meant "Say no to God". Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Onix the best Rock type Pokémon and that it is "tremendously strong".