Is Paras Good in Yellow Playthrough?
The slowest thing in your party and the worst defensive typing in the game. Bug/Grass is weak to everything that matters. MoveSpore for 100% sleep accuracy is the one trick worth knowing about, mostly for catching legendaries.
Brock's typing presses Paras's defenses.
Paras trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Parasect has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Parasect resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Parasect has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Parasect trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Blaine's team hits Parasect's weaknesses hard.
Parasect has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Parasect has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Parasect trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Parasect trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Parasect's weaknesses hard.
Parasect trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Paras on Mt. Moon (walking, Lv 9-11, uncommon).
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- LV 20BugLeech Life120100%10
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody Slam85100%15
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull Bash130100%10
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- LV 34NormalSlash70100%20
- After Sabrina
- TM22GrassSolar Beam180100%10
- After Koga
- TM09NormalTake Down9085%20
Your Paras should hit Level 24 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
- STARTING (Lv 24)
- LV 24BugLeech Life120100%10
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody Slam85100%15
- LV 30GrassSpore—100%15
- After Erika
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM40NormalSkull Bash130100%10
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- After Sabrina
- TM22GrassSolar Beam180100%10
How to Get Paras in Yellow
A few locations for Paras with decent spawn rates across early-game routes. The sort toggle below swaps between best odds and earliest access, so you can approach it based on where you are in the game.
Where To Catch Paras in Y
To get Paras, start by catching Paras through walking and trade encounters at Lv. 9-54. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 1Paras ✓Mt. Moon - B2FLv.13CaveRate 15%Mt. Moon - B1FLv.9-11CaveRate 10%Safari Zone - CenterLv.27FloorRate 5%
Step 2Catch or Evolve into ParasectSafari Zone - CenterLv.27-32FloorRate 15%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.54CaveRate 5%Route 18In-game tradeRate 100%Trade for (give Tangela)or evolve from Paras (Step 1)
Paras Weakness
Type-wise, Paras takes extra damage from Fire, Poison, Flying, Ice, Bug, and Rock. Watch out for Fire, Poison, and Flying attacks, those deal 4x damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Fire, Poison, Flying |
| 2x (Weak) | Ice, Bug, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water, Electric, Fighting |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Paras Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Paras
 Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
 Nidoran♂ (male) Poison | D | |
 Nidoran♀ (female) Poison | D | |
 Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) | ||
Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
 Spearow Normal | C | |
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) | ||
Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
Spearow Normal | C | |
Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Vulpix (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Pallet Town Old Rod) | ||
Spearow Normal | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift | ||
Ninetales Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Vulpix (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Pallet Town Old Rod) | ||
 Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 4x412-485%KO Fly 4x196-231%KO | ||
Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Flareon builds →Fire Blast 4x367-433%KO Smog 4x55-65% | ||
Ninetales Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Vulpix (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
 Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodVictory Road Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Moltres builds →Fire Blast 4x482-567%KO Sky Attack 4x464-545%KO | ||
Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 4x426-502%KO Fly 4x204-240%KO | ||
Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Articuno builds →Sky Attack 4x407-480%KO Blizzard 2x175-207%KO | ||
Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodVictory Road Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Moltres builds →Fire Blast 4x483-568%KO Sky Attack 4x465-548%KO | ||
Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 4x431-508%KO Fly 4x204-240%KO | ||
Dodrio Normal | B | |
Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Paras View Articuno builds →Sky Attack 4x408-480%KO Blizzard 2x175-206%KO | ||
In Yellow, Arcanine can KO Paras with Fire Blast (365-429%). Nidoking threatens a KO with Ice Beam (87-102%).
Arcanine Fire | B | |
Recommended Build Moves
Damage vs Paras View Arcanine builds →Body Slam51-60% Fire Blast 4x365-429%KO Hyper Beam89-105%KO | ||
Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Recommended Build Moves
Damage vs Paras View Nidoking builds →Earthquake21-25% Rock Slide 2x84-100%KO Thunderbolt21-26% Ice Beam 2x87-102%KO | ||
Paras Evolutions
Paras starts a line toward Parasect. Can't breed this Bug/Grass type (295 stats), so keep the evolution path going. Evolving adds up to 110 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Paras Best Moveset
Carries MoveSpore at 100%% accuracy, the strongest sleep move in the game, on a frame with 70 HP and 55 Special. The guaranteed sleep is worth everything. Surviving long enough to use it is the problem, with 4x Fire weakness making the attempt harder.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Leech Life
- Skull Bash
- Solar Beam
- Double Edge
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Ground and beyond give it real matchup play.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Burrows under the ground to gnaw on tree roots. The mushrooms on its back absorb most of the nutrition.
Paras Yellow Guide
- How do I catch Paras in the Yellow Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Paras in Yellow.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Paras from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Paras easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
For Yellow, you can run Paras through the first few routes without issues. 295 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Parasect as fast as you can.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves