Pokemon and The Last of Us couldn’t be more different on the surface. While one is a fun, lighthearted game about catching cute monsters and battling them against each other, the other is an intense, gory, survival horror game known for its compelling and controversial narratives. While it’s true that Pokemon and The Last of Us have very little in common, one of the creepiest Pokemon is actually quite comparable to a key aspect of The Last of Us.
The link is a surprising one. The Cordyceps infection that caused the zombie apocalypse in The Last of Us has a direct parallel to the Pokemon Paras, which later evolves into Parasect. It’s a bug and grass type Pokemon characterized by a large mushroom growing on its back. It’s a pretty cute Pokemon compared to some, but the true nature of Parasect and its mushroom is revealed through its Pokedex entries.
When Paras evolves into Parasect, it gets a little darker. Paras’s big eyes are now completely white, insinuating that the bug is now blind. The two small mushrooms have grown and connected to form one giant mushroom on its back. Instead of the cute bug being the visual focus of the design, the mushroom is now the most impressive feature of the Pokemon. The in-game universe has a lot of Pokemon with tragic stories, and Parasect is definitely among them.
Reading the official Pokedex entry on the Pokemon website explains what happened during the Pokemon’s evolution: the bug is merely a host for the mushroom growing on its back, which drains it of energy. In addition, it’s revealed that the mushroom is actually controlling Parasect and doing all of its thinking. Paras and Parasect obviously derive from the word “parasite,” but the bug itself is not a parasitic being. Rather, the bug is being afflicted by the mushroom parasite. Why this mysterious mushroom only attaches itself to this one bug is unknown, but it’s not a mutually beneficial relationship in the slightest. In fact, if Parasect’s mushroom is removed, the creature stops moving.
If a lot of this sounds familiar, it should. There’s a lot of resemblances with the Cordyceps virus of Last of Us 2 fame, but it’s more than just a bug and a mushroom. Specifically, it seems the mushroom is more accurately called a Tochukaso, a type of fungus also known as Cordyceps sinensis. It’s not the same stand or type, but the relation is notable.
The Cordyceps in The Last of Us was inspired by a real virus that affects spiders; horrifyingly, it mutated and infects humans in the story. It grows on the brain, slowly driving the host mad.
As most players know, the Cordyceps infection has several stages. People in The Last of Us who come into contact with it, either through a physical bite or by inhaling spores given off by infected, first become Runners. Runners still look human and appear to be trying to fight the infection that’s eating away at their minds. By the time infected reach the Stalker phase, the fungal growths caused by the Cordyceps are visible on the outside of the body and the humans have become true zombies.
One of the scariest enemy types in The Last of Us is the Clicker, which represents the third stage of the virus. Because the Cordyceps grows on the brain, the fungus protrudes from the host’s skull and causes them to become blind. They do, however, have enhanced hearing and will attack anything that moves. They’re much stronger than Stalkers and Runners at this point, and big rooms full of Clickers are some of the most intense encounters in the game as a result.
As the virus progresses over especially long periods of time, Clickers turn into Bloaters. Bloaters are especially dangerous because the fungus has created a kind of armor, which makes them much harder to kill. They also release spores that, when inhaled, spread the virus. Bloaters are capable of hurling spores at their attackers, which means gas masks are a very good idea when dealing with these enemies.
Parasect and the infected from The Last of Us have a lot in common. While the origins of Paras’s infection are unknown, the name is really just the beginning.
The most interesting thing is how both viruses develop. Both start out as fungal, parasitic infections that grow into something much darker as the virus advances. Parasect compares to Clickers in The Last of Us. Like Clickers, Parasect is blind and now controlled by the parasite. The cordyceps virus does not “think” the way the mushroom apparently does, but it does create madness and uncontrollable rage in hosts that make them nearly unrecognizable as humans. The Cordyceps primarily affects the brain, just like Parasect’s mushroom, and while Parasect doesn’t look like a traditional zombie, the fact that freeing it from the mushroom would kill it is hard to ignore.
The final thing they have in common is the emission of spores. Most Parasect training cards list attacks and abilities somehow related to spores, making it a key characteristic of the Pokemon. Some Parasects will have the Dry Skin ability as opposed to Effect Spore, but infected who have gotten to the Bloater stage have a very similar ability. In The Last of Us, spores are found in enclosed areas that have housed infected for long periods of time, but Bloaters use them for combative purposes just like Parasect.
Coming into physical contact with either of these creatures is incredibly dangerous and can result in negative consequences for Pokemon in the case of Parasect, or in the transmission of the Cordyceps infection in The Last of Us. Being dangerous to touch isn’t very unique on its own, but both Parasect and infected are hosts for a fungal parasite. Spores are typically associated with fungi, so it makes a lot of sense.
Of course, The Last of Us infection probably wasn’t influenced by Parasect (Parasect is a Generation 1 Pokemon, so it definitely didn’t happen the other way around), but there are a lot of interesting similarities between them. While it’s nothing more than a coincidence at the end of the day, it’s fun to find a connection like this between two popular gaming franchises and a reminder that there are some really creepy Pokemon out there.
The Last of Us 2 is available on PlayStation 4.
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