Paras Report

Paras (the Mushroom Pokémon) is a relatively uncommon Bug/Grass-type Pokémon found within caves and forested lands within the Kanto, Johto, Alola and Hisui regions as well as the Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova regions on rare occasions. Although Paras tend to live simple lives as insects, the parasitic mushrooms on their backs complicate things dramatically and help to make their lives both harder and easier at the same time, in turn making them a mixed blessing for trainers. Young trainers should be especially careful around these strange insects; although they might be timid and inherently weak to a large number of types, you can bet that there won't be much fight left in any opponent once they've been hit by a Paras' Spore technique!

When Paras are first born, their bodies are doused in the spores of a parasitic mushroom called tochukaso by their parents. These parasitic mushrooms grow continuously with their hosts as they grow and mature, eventually forming into distinctive mushrooms on the backs of Paras. These parasitic mushrooms are incredibly rough on their hosts' bodies, draining nutrients from their exoskeletons and internal organs at a rapid rate. Furthermore, the parasitic mushrooms seem to have considerable control over their host's nervous system, as they constantly drive Paras unwillingly and forcefully to search for food and seek shelter in cool, damp places whenever possible, such as at the foot of trees in humid forests, consequently making them very skittish and wary towards the approaches of any other creature except those of their own kind. To sustain their lives, Paras usually suck the juices from tree trunks and tree roots, as they contain high enough concentrations of nutrients to keep both the mushrooms and the host Paras happy. Strangely enough and despite this, however, the mushrooms that grow on Paras in the Alola region rarely end up developing properly, though whether this is due to a lack of nutrient-rich food resources or a lack of moisture is currently uncertain.

The only advantage that Paras gain from their parasitic mushrooms is the ability to utilize various plant-based techniques, including Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Spore and Aromatherapy, in addition to the Absorb and Giga Drain attacks. However, Paras learn several relatively powerful offensive moves on their own and their base Attack stat is greater than their base Special Attack stat; even without the advantage of moves like Spore or Stun Spore, it seems quite likely that Paras could easily survive their simple lifestyle without the parasitic mushrooms. As such, Paras were probably first exposed to tochukaso by accident; once the first infected Paras evolved and began spreading the mushroom's spores to its young and others of its kind, it wouldn't take much for a full-blown epidemic to occur as their bodies are not physically designed to hold up very well against resisting parasitism. This might also explain why no one in recorded history has ever seen a Parasect without its signature mushroom, as the evolution into Parasect is not caused by the maturation of Paras themselves but the maturation of the parasitic mushrooms attached to them. It is duly noted that Parasect are actually relatively endangered because of the medicinal, life-extending qualities present in the tochukaso mushrooms found on Paras when they are dried and powdered. Paras are usually hunted for their mushrooms by collectors and herbal healers alike, but the latter group is usually wise enough to only take one mushroom from a Paras and not both.  If one mushroom is taken from them, the spores from the other mushroom can recreate the lost partner; if both are taken, Paras usually cannot re-obtain their mushrooms unless they are young, in turn preventing them from ever evolving.

Although they might not be the strongest of fighters, Paras are nonetheless interesting creatures that can give young trainers some trouble if they can't stand up against physical assaults and status conditions at the same time. Their timid nature may make them rather skittish around humans and therefore somewhat hard to find, but if you are a Grass or Bug-type enthusiast, you'll definitely want to get your hands on one of these little critters. Just be careful about forming too close of an emotional bond with one; once it evolves into a Parasect, there won't be much of a personality or mind left in it to care for!

Professor Wormwood