Pokemon Pokopia Player Discovers Horrifying In-Game Conversation

Pokemon Pokopia players have discovered a truly disturbing conversation that can occur between Bulbasaur and Paras. While already a surprisingly dark game for an entry into the cozy life-sim genre, Pokemon Pokopia has a few particularly grim elements involving the lore of some classic critters. However, this recently discovered dialogue exchange may be the most disturbing in the entire game.

As a spin-off entry in the series, Pokemon Pokopia breaks new ground for the franchise in many ways. Not only is it the first time Pokemon has dipped its toes into the cozy life-sim genre, but it also sits as the highest-rated Pokemon game ever across sites like Metacritic and OpenCritic. What’s more is that Pokemon Pokopia is likely the darkest game in the franchise, as exemplified by this shocking conversation that these two Gen 1 Pokemon can have.

Pokemon Pokopia’s Most Disturbing Conversation Comes From Bulbasaur and Paras

Shared by X user PLDHnet, this conversation shows Bulbasaur discussing hunger with Paras. In this conversation, Paras says that they are “absolutely starving,” to which Bulbasaur notes that they just ate. Paras follows up by saying, “I dunno why, but it feels like my tummy is bottomless lately. And now I think I’m starting to get kinda heavy…Especially up on my back…” as a response. This is likely in reference to the mushrooms on Paras’s back, which grow into one large mushroom when it evolves into Parasect. Unfortunately, the process by which this happens has dire consequences for the Pokemon.

Another interaction between Bulbasaur and Paras has the two dreaming about their future evolutions, with Bulbasaur sharing that the bulb on its back is getting bigger and feels like it’s going to bloom. This makes sense, as Bulbasaur’s bulb turns into a massive flower as it evolves into Ivysaur and then Venusaur. However, Paras responds by sharing their own excitement about growing and evolving, promising to meet back up with Bulbasaur when they evolve to show off their new forms. However, any Pokemon fan familiar with the lore of Paras and its evolution, Parasect, knows that this seemingly joyful dialogue is destined to have a grim outcome.

What Makes Paras’ Dialogue So Horrifying

The lore surrounding Paras and the process through which it evolves into Parasect shows the horrifying reality of biology within the Pokemon world. The mushrooms on Paras’s back are not simply growing there like Bulbasaur’s bulb, but are actually slowly taking over Paras’s brain. Paras and Parasect’s mushrooms are based on the real-world Cordyceps fungus, notable for their portrayal as the source of the zombie infection in The Last of Us. The real version of the Cordyceps fungus is a parasite that attaches itself to ants and slowly takes control of their bodies, eventually killing the host ant and releasing its spores from the remaining husk.

Image via The Pokemon Company

In Pokemon Pokopia, these mushrooms are slowly taking over Paras’ brain, and by the time they evolve into Parasect, they are simply a shell being controlled by the fungus. Therefore, as Paras grows up and evolves, it will never get to show its new evolution to Bulbasaur, because at that point, it will be completely under the control of the fungus on its back. This also explains the clip of Paras complaining about its increasing hunger and the weight on its back. The fungus is essentially siphoning nutrients from Paras in order to grow, causing the Pokemon to desire more and more food to feed its parasite. For a game that depicts a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has disappeared from the Pokemon world, it’s this seemingly innocent conversation that has the darkest background for players aware of Paras’s underlying lore.

Systems

Released

March 5, 2026

ESRB

Everyone / Users Interact, In-Game Purchases

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