Paras doesn't have much going for it on its own — the stats just aren't there. The payoff is Parasect, and getting there is worth the grind. An original Gen 1 pick. Watch the Fire and Flying matchup though — quadruple damage means one hit can end it.
Attack and Defense carry most of Paras's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Attack EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
Burrows under the ground to gnaw on tree roots. The mushrooms on its back absorb most of the nutrition.
Paras Weakness
FragileType-wise, Paras takes extra damage from Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison, Bug, and Rock. Watch out for Fire and Flying attacks, those deal 4x damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Dry Skin grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
One evolution ahead. Paras grows into Parasect through a straightforward two-stage chain. No compatible partners for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. Evolving adds up to 120 stat points total.
How to Evolve
Breed Paras easily from the Bug and Plant egg groups.
Dryskin and Eviolite give Paras staying power beyond its evolution stage. Relaxed nature boosts Defense, max HP and Sp. Def EVs set the spread, and the pre-evolution bulk actually works here.
Best Build
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.
Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.
TMs carry this one. Paras learns Solar Beam and Leech Life naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Fighting and beyond give it real matchup play.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Paras appears at decent spawn rates across 4 spots in early-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.
Best Locations
walking encounters for Paras across 4 spots at Lv. 5-10. The catch is that Let's Go Eevee and Let's Go Pikachu don't share every location, so compare what's available in your version.
Paras is meant to evolve into Parasect. At 285 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
Paras's biggest threats include Charizard (Fire), Dodrio (Flying), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Charizard is the most dangerous since Fire moves deal 4x damage. Poison, Bug, and Rock-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. At base 25 Speed, Paras won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.
Paras evolves into Parasect at level 24. Paras is the base form of this evolutionary line.
Dry Skin is what you want on Paras. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Effect Spore, Damp) work on paper but Dry Skin is what makes Paras worth using.
Base 25 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Paras is a physical attacker with base 70 Attack. Defensively? Fragile — can't afford to take many hits.
Paras appears in 19 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.
One of the original 151, Paras has appeared in 19 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A