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Effect Spore
- Induces paralysis, poison, or sleep when struck.
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Dry Skin
- User absorbs Water and has a weakness to Fire. Heals in rain and is damaged by sun.
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Statistics
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
| Def |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| SpA |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpD |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Spe |
30
|
86 |
96 |
159 |
174 |
The first two attacks, Spore and X-Scissor, you will be seeing on every single Parasect moveset here. The importance of these two moves on Parasect cannot be over-emphasized, particularly Spore. X-Scissor gives Parasect an effective Bug-type move, something it has wanted badly ever since the original games.
This set can be frightening for Psychics, particularly Grass/Psychics who will find themselves with an opponent immune to their standard Leech Seed antics. Any Pokémon though runs the risk of being either hit by a powerful X-Scissor, getting themselves or an ally Pokémon put to sleep, or getting run down by Pursuit on the switch, which somewhat neutralizes Parasect's extremely low Speed. Parasect rarely gets the chance to set up, but it can be good to have something for back up. Substitute allows Parasect to scout the opponent and take a bit of the risk out of prediction. Swords Dance is generally considered to be more "reliable" in Pokémon, but with a Pokémon that switches out as much as Parasect does, you may find yourself wanting to drop the opponent's defense via Screech instead.
Leftovers is the standard item of choice, though with Parasect's multiple weaknesses, combined with its low Speed and ability to use Spore, opponents may opt to just try to kill it outright making Focus Sash a possibility to get in one last shot. It gets ruined by any sort of gradual damage such as Spikes or Sandstorm, though Parasect's Dry Skin allows it to switch into Water attacks to bring itself back to full health.
Parasect is terribly slow and its moves have too much overlap in terms of type coverage, making it not quite an ideal user of Choice Band. That said, even if the opponent is aware of the presence of Choice Band, it is difficult to switch in an effective counter due to Spore. Aerial Ace lets it hit other Bugs while the fourth move lets you hone in more specifically on a few threats. If you find yourself facing many high-defense Water-types, particularly Swampert or Quagsire, then Grass Knot or Energy Ball with a Brave nature is the way to go.
Statusect can give Status and heal it off, though it will find itself having a difficult time switching into many attacks. The main ones in which Parasect can come into play are Choice-item ground attacks (Earthquake and Earth Power), and Water-type attacks if you choose to use Dry Skin. Once you get it in though, the threat of Spore can cause switches to Sleep Talkers or bring out Substitutes or any number of preventive measures, giving you an opportunity to either Aromatherapy away any problems your team may have or to keep them guessing with a secondary support move. X-Scissor is not a perfect solution to Taunt, which pretty much shuts this Parasect down, but it's the best attack move Parasect gets. As for which trait to choose, the advantage of Dry Skin has already been pointed out, but something can be said for a Status-based Pokémon who can inflict Status changes without actually doing anything.
Other Options
The best additional option for Parasect is Quick Claw. While Quick Claw is more often than not unreliable, when a Pokémon is as slow as Parasect even the occasional burst in speed is extremely useful, especially when combined with Spore. Bug Bite is an alternative move to use in place of X-Scissor, and can shut down sweeping strategies that utilize those berries. Parasect learns Counter, and while it is weak to many, many, many attacks, it can survive some attacks enough to bounce them back. Rock Smash can be used in place of Swords Dance or Screech if you want a move that can increase the damage of your attacks without being Taunt-bait.
EVs
An offensive Parasect wants 252 EVs in Attack. As for its defenses, they are exactly the same in terms of base stats, and EVing is simply a matter of preference of what you want to defend against more, though Hit Points are your first priority. Parasect is one of the slowest Pokémon in the game, but you may want to invest a few EVs into speed to outrun the other lead-footed Pokémon.
Opinion
Parasect finally has a nice Bug-type move to throw around in the form of X-Scissor, and its physical Pursuit lets it get the jump on Psychics, but the most important thing about it is, and always has been the following: "Parasect used Spore!" While others may have received this invaluable move over the years, it is still the main reason to even consider using Parasect. Parasect possesses the double detriment of being both slow and frail; it can be easily overcome by attackers, and it is extremely difficult to switch into attacks due to these problems. Parasect will mainly find itself switching into Choice-item Ground attacks and Water attacks (if it has Dry Skin). Oddly enough, the negative side of Dry Skin in which Parasect takes even more damage from Fire attacks becomes less of a problem as the overall strength of the opponents it faces increases. In standard play, a Flamethrower will take down Parasect regardless of Dry Skin, and the ability acts essentially like Water Absorb. However, in lower levels of play where attacks are less powerful, the added fire damage Dry Skin produces can be the difference between a one and two-hit KO. If you want to use Parasect, you will have to study its weaknesses and resistances very carefully and remember that rarely are there Pokémon who don't possess at least one move that puts the hurt on Parasect.
Counters
Parasect takes 4x damage from Flying attacks and (at least) 4x damage from Fire attacks. As previously noted, Parasect is frail and weak to many things, though Spore to some extent can neutralize any would-be Counter. Substitute and Taunt are major problems for Parasect, as Parasect simply has no truly effective ways of getting around them. Noctowl, strangely enough, makes for a highly effective Parasect counter, due to its Insomnia trait, the type bonus it receives on Flying attacks, resistance to Bug, and the ability to Psycho Shift away any other status moves.