For those interested in the lore behind this image. Fair warning, it’s not pretty.
For those who didn’t know, the large mushroom on its back is a parasitic fungus called Tochukaso. Paras are exposed to its spores while they’re still in their eggs, which means they’re already infected by the time they hatch. As they grow, the fungus pushes Paras to feed, draining most of the nutrients for itself.By the time Paras evolves into Parasect, the Tochukaso has taken complete control of the host and does all the thinking. The original mind of Paras is essentially gone.So I imagine this image is meant to show the fading consciousness of a Parasect as the fungus fully takes over. Either that, or it’s similar to The Last of Us. Where the host is trapped inside their own body, aware but unable to act, as the fungus hijacks everything.

darkenergy said:
For those interested in the lore behind this image. Fair warning, it’s not pretty.
For those who didn’t know, the large mushroom on its back is a parasitic fungus called Tochukaso. Paras are exposed to its spores while they’re still in their eggs, which means they’re already infected by the time they hatch. As they grow, the fungus pushes Paras to feed, draining most of the nutrients for itself.By the time Paras evolves into Parasect, the Tochukaso has taken complete control of the host and does all the thinking. The original mind of Paras is essentially gone.So I imagine this image is meant to show the fading consciousness of a Parasect as the fungus fully takes over. Either that, or it’s similar to The Last of Us. Where the host is trapped inside their own body, aware but unable to act, as the fungus hijacks everything.

I think the more specific lore for this image comes from Pokopia, where paras and bulbasaur are friends before they evolve, and before paras is fully overtaken by the fungus. That's why ivysaur is in the reflection of his eye, since they both evolved, and the last thing paras sees before losing himself is the friend he was looking forward to growing up with.

Damn, now I'm sad again.

poorlytimeddickjoke said:
I think the more specific lore for this image comes from Pokopia, where paras and bulbasaur are friends before they evolve, and before paras is fully overtaken by the fungus. That's why ivysaur is in the reflection of his eye, since they both evolved, and the last thing paras sees before losing himself is the friend he was looking forward to growing up with.

Damn, now I'm sad again.

Not only that, there's a specific conversation between the two where (iirc) Paras talks about being hungry no matter how much they eat, and their back getting heavier. Bulbasaur thinks it's because they're about to evolve, something that Paras ends the conversation excited about. Poor thing has no idea what's in store...