There are a lot of spooky elements in Pokemon. As well as the obvious Ghost Pokemon, there are also Dark Pokemon, some pretty twisted Psychic Pokemon, and the whole tragedy of Marowak. For all the unsettling stories and creatures in the world of Pokemon though, none are quite so depraved as Parasect.
Parasect doesn't get a lot of attention. We all encountered Paras, its pre-evolution, in Mt. Moon in Pokemon Red & Blue, but that was probably the last time we ever thought about it. Offered some sense of stature by its presence in the original 151, it's not even a hated or divisive 'mon like Jynx or Mr. Mime. It's not so underdesigned that it’s maligned for it, like Voltorb or Spearow. It's just... there. Just another Pokemon. Who cares?
It doesn't help that Paras is a Grass/Bug type, and that just a few steps further towards Cerulean City you can encounter either Bellsprout or Oddish, both of whom are far more interesting Grass types that evolve into more powerful 'mons. But mostly, Paras is very dull. Just a crab thing with mushrooms on its back. It might be nice swimming in a sherry butter sauce, but not for being the very best like no one ever was.
For that reason, many of us miss out on the Lovecraftian nightmare that is Parasect. The Cthulhu kind of nightmare, not the racist kind. Parasect seems like a natural evolution of Paras; it goes from a little crab thing to a big crab thing, and it ditches its twin mushroom bunches for one big mushroom cap. Hey, no giggling at the back there.
Unfortunately, Parasect is in fact very unnatural. There's a hint of horror in its design, as its white soulless eyes peek out from the shadows of its own shell, like horrific cave monsters in a Junji Ito sketch. Parasect is not an evolution of Parasect at all, not really. With, say, Squirtle, you have small turtle, medium sized turtle, big turtle. Or maybe at some point it goes from turtle to tortoise. But you get the picture - even though Pokemon lore explains that each evolution is technically a different creature with a distinct personality and thought process, they essentially remain the same being. Not so with Paras to Parasect. Paras is the crab thing, but Parasect is the mushroom. As the evolution occurs, the parasite takes over the host, and it goes from a cute little bug thing to a walking zombie.
The reason Parasect's eyes are glazed white is because Parasect as a living organism is gone. Its body is being eaten from the inside out, devoured by the parasite that sprouts from its back. The mushrooms have taken over. Parasect is dead. Long live Parasect.
These are the types of stories Pokemon should be telling with its evolutions, but the series has made it ever harder to pull this kind of trick off. Pokemon Sapphire reports that Magcargo's body temperature is "approximately 18,000 degrees F" - that's twice the temperature of the surface of the Sun. Meanwhile, Larvitar sleeps after it has "eaten a large mountain," according to Pokemon Gold. That's little two feet tall Larvitar just snacking away on mountains. Course it is.
I know we're not supposed to take Dex entries seriously, but when they're all so stupid, it makes it impossible to tell any real stories with them. They all feel like something a random child made up one day, like the devs took a wander around the streets by the city showing children pictures of Pokemon and asking "how hot is this snail? Not like creepy hot, like temperature hot? Please don't call the police." Yeah, I reckon it went down exactly like that.
If Paras and Parasect arrived in Gen 6 or so, I wouldn't have cared. If the Dex said the mushroom was eating it alive from the inside out, it would have been next to the entry for Wettserella, the Water Pokemon who "drinks an entire lake every morning before brushing its teeth with a Redwood tree," and Wettserella would be three foot six.
Parasect is one of Pokemon's finest creations, not just for its design, but for its compelling story and fantastic use of a parasite Pokemon without leaning on a crutch of Dark or Ghost to bring out a scary, spiky design aesthetic. It's lost in the shuffle of far more obviously scary Pokemon, but this Halloween, it's worth remembering that the little Grass Bug you immediately forgot 25 years ago is the creepiest Pokemon ever.