Competitive Pokémon History - Onix & Steelix Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Onix doesn't look like much in the first generation, but it's access to one move in particular lets it be a menace to slower Pokémon, or Pokémon who cannot immediately threaten it, as it hits the field. What move was this?

Answer: Bind

Lacking access to the other three moves, Onix could become a viable partial trapper using the move Bind. In generation one, partial trapping moves such as Bind, Wrap and Fire Spin will completely immobilize the target until the user stops repeatedly using the move, or the move itself eventually misses. Because of this, Onix could choke a threat out as long as it didn't possess the means to immediately greatly threaten Onix right on the spot. With its very high defense stat, this typically meant Onix could accomplish this as long as the target was not a speedy special attacker, or Haunter due to the fact Haunter was immune to Bind.

2. Sadly, Onix still could not quite cut it in generation one standard play, though it performed somewhat respectably in UU and NU. Here, for its role as a partial trapper, it experienced heavy competition from the likes of Dragonite, Dragonair, Moltres and Arbok between those two tiers. However, Onix has one ace in the hole that, while not necessarily making it outright better than other options, at least let it bring something to the table that they could not. What unique trait did Onix possess for a partial trapper?

Answer: Immunity to Thunder Wave

Gengar and Haunter, the only two noteworthy Pokémon immune to partial trapping, were weak to Ground. Onix's access to Earthquake makes it seem like it could get around them. However, it's terrible attack stat means they'll be able to outgun it with Ice Punch very easily, meaning it cannot actually get around them and their immunity to partial trapping.

Onix was susceptible to Body Slam, Stun Spore and the rare Glare, so it was not fully immune to paralysis. However, the most common and reliable method of spreading paralysis was via Thunder Wave, and Onix was indeed immune to that move. Paralysis was an effective method at dispelling partial trappers, as they could not move before their target once paralyzed and would also have a 30% chance of missing their turn completely, decreasing their capacity to choke a threat out with a partial trapping move. Onix's immunity to Thunder Wave meant it countered this strategy completely, something the other options for partial trapping could not do.

3. In the second generation, Onix received a much needed evolved form, Steelix. Steelix broke into standard play with style, leveraging its titanic defense stat to tank physical attacks quite easily. What was Steelix's defense stat?

Answer: 200

Steelix had the honor of possessing the highest defense stat in the entire game. It also had the typing to put it to use, as Steel has always been notorious for being one of the best defensive typings in the game. This made its niche in standard play clear- tank hits and provide utility for the team in the form of phasing and occasionally dishing out direct damage in response.

4. Getting an evolved form makes it seem as though Onix would simply fade away into obscurity. While that was the case in the second generation, Onix came back into the scene for the third generation, dropping by the NeverUsed tier for a very specific reason: weather setting. What type of weather teams did Onix find itself on here?

Answer: Sun

Lacking access to Rain Dance, Hail and with Sand teams being completely useless at the time, Onix's role was fairly simple- set Sunny Day, then use Explosion to KO itself and get out of the way for its teammates to abuse the favorable weather conditions. With weather based teams being rare, it was unlikely that the opponent would contest the sun themselves, allowing Onix to leave a lasting impression despite only a very brief appearance. While it was possible to set Sunny Day, and then switch Onix out in order to preserve it so it could set Sunny Day later if need be, sun teams tended to lack appreciable defensive profiles, so switching in abusers such as Weepinbell was often a poor idea; thus, sacrificing Onix to get teammates in for free was usually more appropriate.

While not a totally dignifying role, at least Onix was viable. That's more than can be said about the majority of pre-evolved forms.

5. Both Onix and Steelix received the same exact abilities in the third generation. One of them, Rock Head, fell by the wayside and saw next to no use. What was the other one?

Answer: Sturdy

In the third generation games and up until the fifth, Sturdy simply rendered the user immune to OHKO moves, such as Sheer Cold and Guillotine. Those types of moves have consistently been banned from competitive play, making Sturdy useless until the fifth generation.

There, Sturdy was buffed so that it now prevented its user from ever being OHKOed from full health regardless of how strong the incoming attack was. That made it a pretty great ability, allowing Onix to be even better at its role of a suicide lead and allowing Steelix to, in an emergency, take a hit no matter how hard and respond with an attacking move of its own or to remove the threat from the field with Roar.

6. In the fourth generation, Steelix sadly fell out of favor in standard play, though it was at least quite great in UU. In terms of standard play, its main source of competition was Skarmory and, despite being completely statistically inferior defensively, Skarmory was far better at walling than Steelix was. What was the main reason for this?

Answer: Access to instant, reliable recovery

Skarmory's access to Roost meant it could constantly withstand hits all game long, and simply recover off the damage immediately. In order to do the same, Steelix must use Rest and render itself totally useless for two turns- during which, opponents can continue to offensively pressure it, switch out for free into a Pokémon who matches up well with Steelix, or set up with a boosting move right in its face to try and overwhelm it. Because of its consistency and ability to stay active, Skarmory was far superior to Steelix in standard play. Still, at least Steelix settled in to UU quite nicely.

7. Still yet, in the fifth generation, Onix refused to fall out of the competitive picture. What tier was it in here?

Answer: Little Cup

Because it is a preevolved Pokémon and not the evolved form of anything, Onix is eligible for Little Cup play. Here, in the fifth generation, it became arguably the best Pokémon in the entire metagame because it was capable of providing tons of utility for its team and checking nearly any threat in the game. Thus, Onix wasn't just surviving, it was still thriving on the competitive scene here.

8. In the sixth generation, Steelix gained the favor of a Mega Evolution with an absolutely obscene 230 for a defense stat. It's ability, however, was not so terribly impactful. What was Mega Steelix's ability?

Answer: Sand Force

Sand Stream and Veil would have been jaw-droppingly amazing on Steelix, letting it be a premiere sand setter with the former, and an even more amazing tank under sandy weather with the latter. Sadly, Steelix got saddled with Sand Force. Sand Force provides a 1.3x boost to Steel, Ground and Rock type moves when the weather is sandy. Mega Steelix was not really an offensively oriented Pokémon, and the sand archetype was unviable in UU anyway. Because of this, the ability just about never even got activated to see use.

9. Mega Steelix did have to be careful, as in seventh generation UU, it often found itself in the presence of a counter. Which of the following could reliably switch into it and win?

Answer: Moltres

Scizor lacked the tools to seriously hurt Mega Steelix, so it couldn't counter it. Victini and Chandelure would get maimed very hard, the latter a guaranteed OHKO, if they switched in to a strong STAB Earthquake. However, Moltres' Flying type means it doesn't care about Earthquake, nor would it care for Gyro Ball or any other attacking move in Mega Steelix's viable arsenal.

It could come right in and melt Mega Steelix with strong Fire Blasts or Flamethrowers very easily, while specific Moltres variants could Defog Stealth Rock Mega Steelix set away. Because of this, an answer or two to Moltres on Mega Steelix's team, such as Suicune or Latias, was highly advised.

10. Base Steelix gained an interesting new ability, which flew under the radar as its Mega evolved form got the spotlight. What ability was this?

Answer: Sheer Force

The other three abilities would have been extremely great on Steelix. Sadly, the same cannot really be said for Sheer Force, as none of Steelix's commonly used moves actually got a boost from Sheer Force. The only even slightly common move which did was Rock Slide. Even then, Sturdy was preferred for its defensive utility.

Source: Author cavalier87

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Competitive Pokémon History - Onix & Steelix Quiz

The signature Pokémon of Brock and Jasmine respectively, we have Onix and Steelix! Hopefully this quiz won't be too hard for you, as it covers their competitive history from generations 1-8!

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