Pokemon games are primarily about three things — beating the Elite Four, stopping whatever dastardly team of goons is trying to steal or hurt Pokemon this time, and catching ’em all. While the first two are tied up as part of your adventure across Sinnoh, the final one requires a bit of additional work on the player’s part. Especially with Pokemon like Budew and Steelix. In this guide, we’ll talk you through how to catch and evolve Onix into Steelix in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
How to Catch Onix in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Onix is a non-exclusive Pokemon and so can be caught in both Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in the following locations:
- Big Bluff Cavern
- Iron Island
- Orebugh Mine
- Rocky Cave
- Sandsear Cave
- Snowpoint Temple
- Stark Mountain
- Typhlo Cavern
- Victory Road
- Volcanic Cave
A lot of these locations are part of the Grand Underground, but you’ll head through locations like Victory Road and Iron Island naturally as part of the story, so with a bit of luck, you can catch Onix then.
If you just return to these areas and walk around, eventually, the RNG gods will smile down on you and an Onix will appear. Make sure to whittle away its health and use Great or Ultra Balls to improve your chances of catching it.
Evolving Onix into Steelix in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
To evolve Onix into Steelix, you need to trade Onix while it’s holding a Metal Coat. As soon as the trade has completed, a short animation will play where Onix evolves.
Once you’ve traded it with someone, just trade the same Pokemon back and you’ll finally have a Steelix to use in your party.
The tricky part about evolving Onix is actually getting the Metal Coat item. As long as you’ve got a trustworthy friend to trade with, the rest is a cakewalk.
How to Get a Metal Coat in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
The Metal Coat is a Hold Item that can be obtained from Iron Island and is used to evolve Onix into Steelix, and Scyther into Scizor.
One can be found in Riley’s house and is given to the player from Byron after obtaining the National Pokedex.
Players can also get a Metal Coat in Pokemon BDSP by stealing one with the ‘Thief’ TM from a Magnemite. These are commonly found in the Grand Underground, and you can boost their spawn rate in the underground by putting Steel-type mods in your secret base.
Finally, there’s a 5% chance of a Metal Coat being held by any of the following Pokemon when you catch them in the wild:
- Bronzor
- Bronzong
- Beldum
- Metang
- Metagross
- Magnemite
- Magneton
- Magnezone
- Steelix
- Skarmory
That’s everything you need to know on how to catch and evolve Onix into Steelix in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. For more tips, tricks and guides, head over to our wiki or see more of our coverage on the game below.
