Pokemon GO Spotlight Hour Paras Guide: March 29, 2022

We've put together a comprehensive guide including everything trainers need to know for Paras' Spotlight Hour in Pokemon GO this March 29.

The Pokemon of every Pokemon Legends: Arceus' trainers' nightmates has been chosen as this week's featured Pokemon. That's right: Paras is the headliner for Spotlight Hour this Tuesday, March 29.

Paras is also known a the "Mushroom" Pokemon due to the mushrooms that have sprouted on its back. When this species is born, they are often covered in mushroom spores that eventually grow into "parasitic mushrooms...called tochukaso." These drive it to seek nutrients from the roots of nearby trees in order to replenish the nutrients the mushrooms drain from this Pokemon. Regardless, the tochukaso are known for their medicinal properties prompting longevity. Its PokeDex number is #046.

Both Paras and its evolved form, Parasect, are bug and grass-types.

From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Paras will be appearing more frequently in the wild and trainers will earn twice the candy for catching them.

Can Paras be Shiny in Pokemon GO?

Yes, Paras can be shiny in Pokemon GO. While its normal color palette was released with the base game in July 2016, its shiny form didn't debut until the Pokemon GO Tour: Kanto event in Feburary 2021.

Shiny Paras may be a bit difficult to tell apart from its typical counterpart as they are simply a deeper, more saturated version. To this end, trainers can use the contrast on their mushrooms. Shiny Paras will have deep red mushrooms will bright yellow spots⁠—creating a high contrast design.

Shiny Parasect, however, is much easier to notice as it takes on an olive-green hue all over its body.

Best Stats/IV for Paras in Pokemon GO

Paras has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 1150
• Maximum HP: 105
• Attack: 121
• Defense: 99
• Stamina: 111

Trainers can track Paras' IV by its CP total at various levels. Below, we've listed the optimal values for Paras in 10-level increments:

• Level 1: 14
• Level 10: 290
• Level 20: 581
• Level 30: 872
• Level 40: 1018
• Level 50: 1150

Trainers can evolve their Paras into a Parasect using 50 candies.

Best Moveset for Parasect in Pokemon GO

Parasect's best moveset includes the quick move Bug Bite and charged move Solar Beam. If Bug Bite is unavailable, Struggle Bug is a decent substitute. All three moves benefit from the 20% damage buff provided by the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) condition.

Bug Bite is ultimately the superior of Parasect's three available quick moves. It does 12 damage per second (DPS) while generating 12 energy per second (EPS). However, as an Elite TM, it may be difficult to acquire. Therefore, we suggest using Struggle Bug as the better alternative due to its similar DPS and EPS values⁠—12 and 10, respectively.

Between the two STAB moves Parasect has in its charged move pool, X-Scissor and Solar Beam, it's easy to pick the better of the two. Ultimately, it comes down to DPS, with both using near-identical amounts of energy per cast⁠—around 20. For that value, however, Solar Beam has a DPS output of 44 while X-Scissor has an output of 39.

It's worth noting that, as a bug and grass-type, Parasect is especially weak against fire and flying-type moves with double the resistance to ground and other grass-type moves. Take this into account when building a team for a Gym Conquest, Raid, or GO Battle League contest.

Is Parasect Good in Pokemon GO?

Parasect has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 2102
• Maximum HP: 142
• Attack: 165
• Defense: 146
• Stamina: 155

Unfortunately, this makes it a pretty weak contender in most categories. It ultimately falls short of several other grass and/or bug-type choices in the GO Battle League with no concrete niche in any league. It would technically be best suited for the Great League, but is exceptionally useless in the Ultra and Master Leagues.

It doesn't perform well on the PvE front, either, making it an all-around difficult choice to justify. Regardless, we certainly won't begrudge you keeping it around. This scrappy little mushroom bug does have its own unique charm, after all.