The world of Pokémon is actually quite child-friendly, but some monsters hide dark secrets that are not always obvious. The latest Pokémon game, however, tries not to hide the sad fate of a certain monster.
Which Pokémon is it? The Pokédex has some dark entries that are usually not really represented in the games themselves. Sometimes you wonder why some Pokémon are allowed to roam free, while others just make you feel sorry for them.
One of the latter is the bug Pokémon Paras, which has been around since the first generation. Its Pokédex entries don’t fit a child-friendly franchise, yet even the new Pokopia doesn’t try to hide the sad truth.
A fate like in The Last of Us
What is it with Paras? To understand how tragic the fate is, you only need to look at Paras’s Pokédex entry from Ruby and Sapphire: Paras’ back grows parasitic mushrooms called Tochukaso. They grow by absorbing nutrients from the bug/plant Pokémon. They are very valuable as life-extending medicine
(source: PokéWiki).
The mushrooms on Paras’s back are thus not a direct part of it, but a parasitic organism that feeds on its nutrients. When Paras evolves into Parasect, the huge mushroom takes control. You can compare it to The Last of Us – as well as other aspects of the game.
The Pokédex entry for Pokopia states: The mushroom on Parasect’s back uses the Pokémon as a host and drains its energy. It seems to have control over the Pokémon
(source: PokéWiki).
Overall, Pokémon Pokopia doesn’t really try to hide that something is wrong with Parasect.
Pokopia shows the tragic fate of Paras
How does Pokémon Pokopia portray the fate of Paras? In Pokopia, Pokémon do not evolve; you can only discover evolutions in other habitats. In the cozy game, Pokémon also talk to each other, and you can see conversations between Bulbasaur and Paras.
On YouTube, the channel RandomRamShorts shows such a conversation. Paras states that it is starving. Bulbasaur is surprised because Paras just ate. Paras replies that its stomach feels empty and its back feels heavy.
Completely delighted, Bulbasaur says that this probably means that Paras’ flower is finally blooming; it was the same for it. Well, Bulbasaur, the mushroom is getting bigger, but that’s not a good sign for Paras. The dialogue shows that the mushroom is stealing nutrients from Paras and is getting larger as a result.
Bulbasaur is also a suitable conversation partner for Paras, as it also has a plant on its back. However, that seems to give it nutrients instead of draining them, when you look at the Pokédex entry from Diamond and Pearl (source: PokéWiki).
While Paras has a personality in Pokopia, the situation with Parasect is quite different. When you speak to a Parasect in Pokopia, the Pokémon sounds like a robot trying to speak like a human. You can see that here:
It is therefore strongly implied that the mushroom, which according to some entries has taken control, is trying to speak itself, even though it cannot do so as organically as Paras or other Pokémon.
There are also such mushrooms in the real world
Are there such organisms in the real world as well? In the animal world, there are also zombie ants. The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects according to researchers’ assumptions ants in the rainforest, as National Geographic explains.
It attaches to the exoskeleton of the ant and feeds on the insides of the insect. Meanwhile, the ant is forced to go to places better suited for the fungus’s development. After the ant’s death, the body is used to emit spores again.
This is like with Paras. Here, too, one can assume that Parasect is just a dead body controlled by the fungus. Besides the strange conversations in Pokopia, the eyes can also be taken as evidence. Instead of pupils, they are only white after the evolution.
Every time you evolve your Paras in one of the many games, you ensure that your beloved Pokémon actually becomes a zombie controlled only by a large mushroom. Pokopia hides in its own story a sad fate of the world, making it one of the best games in the series: Pokémon Pokopia has the best story of the franchise that reminds me of one of the best sci-fi series
