One Pokémon that has exhibited behavior players may not have been expecting in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the Mushroom Pokémon known as Paras. Paras and its evolution, Parasect, are Pokémon controlled by the parasitic mushrooms on their backs, which have turned them into zombie-like crabs. Though a weaker Pokémon of Grass- and Bug-Type, Paras has shown that it's not afraid to send players running from it on sight, and the plethora of memes that have come up in its wake are a sure sign of the effect its had on players, which makes sense given the cute exterior contrasted with a fairly terrifying concept.
Game Freak's Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a surprise hit for a lot of players coming off of its first weeks. It's one of the highest-rated Pokémon games in the last decade, and dares to take the franchise in a new direction, making it a big and important step for Game Freak’s work. It provides a different look compared to traditional Pokémon games by offering a not-quite-open world and lots of opportunities for exploration and adventure. But given the way the game shows Pokémon being wilder in their natural habitats, and not accepting of their territories being met with eager Trainers. Pokémon in Legends: Arceus are sometimes genuinely terrifying and violent towards trainers, and some act so more than others. What Paras may lack in size, it makes up for with its disturbing mix of cuteness, a scary concept, and its bullying Trainers by getting together in groups and spitting poison.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Obsidian Fieldlands is one of the areas where Paras makes its home, meaning it can be encountered from the start of the game. They may be cute and small, but Paras will spit poison that continues to damage both friendly team Pokémon and the player character over time, even after they have escaped its range. The Pokémon can also use Stun Spore to slow the player character down, which will put the player in a rough spot that does not allow for easy escape. The poison attack that Paras uses also prevents players from mounting a rideable Pokémon, so if Paras doesn't hit the player with Stun Spore, they will already be limited to running over riding. If players wish to catch one, they should make sure to do it crouched from a distance where they can’t see, and should be especially careful to avoid engaging multiple Paras at once, which can amplify the danger considerably.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, every Pokémon in the Pokédex can exhibit different behavior types in the wild. These include: being friendly, being timid, fleeing, sleeping and waking, emoting, or becoming aggressive. These behaviors indicate whether the Pokémon will run from the player when they see them or engage in combat with the player character. If hit with an attack, the player character will not die, but the player's vision turns red, and they will lose some items before waking up at a base camp. Most Pokémon have predictable behaviors so that players are less likely to find themselves being sent back to base camps after they begin to learn the patterns.
Paras is getting a lot of attention from players because it is one of the most common Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Paras appears in four out of five of the game's regions. In the early stages of the game, there is an Alpha Parasect that can come as a big shock to adventurers still in the early stages of the game, since newer players don't usually realize that Alpha Pokémon in Legends: Arceus can be 20 levels higher. Paras are also smaller Pokémon, which means its notorious orange body is sneaking up on players trying to complete other tasks. Trainers lose out on rare Pokémon, get interrupted when mining and harvesting, get snuck up on while trying to approach an Alpha Pokémon, it always seems like they are watching. Although Paras are generally weak Pokémon and easy to defeat in battle, Legends: Arceus players have been surprised to see how bold they can be toward trainers in the Hisui region. Paras' actions are bad enough that it has become a meme throughout the internet discourse on Reddit and Twitter, such as the following post by MtHammer on Reddit.
There are other Pokémon in Legends: Arceus that are as terrifying as Paras, although these tend to be larger and much easier to spot in the wild. Parasect is a bigger creature than its pre-evolved form, and other bug Pokémon such as Kricketune are easy to see, although Kricketune may be trying to throw Hyper Beam in the direction of the player character. Snorlax towers over the human characters, and for a Pokémon well known for sleeping, its glowing red eyes seem to have the trainers on lock. Pokémon such as Kleavor, a Pokémon with massive arms that can easily cut through trees are also a massive risk towards adventuring Trainers. Many Pokémon will attack human players on sight, making stealth important in Pokémon Legends: Arceus' Trainer tactics. It is clear to see why the villagers in the Hisui region are afraid of Pokémon, simply based on their behavior towards the player. Pokémon such as Rapidash, Ursaring, and Machamp are terrifying, and when even low-level Pokémon like Paras are such a common occurrence throughout the world, the environments of Legends: Arceus can be more than a little foreboding.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus has drawn in trainers old and new as members of the Galaxy Expedition Team, and the game has been much more up front about the danger and death inherent to Hisui's early Pokémon world. Trainers are tasked with completing the Pokédex, thus requiring them to go toe-to-toe with many meme-worthy Pokémon like Paras, likely running up against the business end of their poison attacks and pack tactics on more than a few occasions. Who knows where future Pokémon Legends: Arceus DLC might go, but it seems a safe bet that it will have plenty of Pokémon even scarier than Paras.
Source: MtHammer/Reddit
