Inside the cave behind the waterfall.
Unlike the stunned observers in the monitoring room, Zeth never doubted Arceus for a moment. The instant the shadowy creature stepped onto the pedestal-like rock, he dropped to his knees and bowed low, his voice reverent. "This lowly servant stands in humbled awe, for once more, I have been entrusted with Thy Divine Offspring. Truly, no honor could be greater, no blessing more sacred, than this."
Rosaria's eyelids twitched—she vividly recalled Zeth once swearing his allegiance to her, proclaiming that becoming her knight was the highest honor of his life. Now, that title had clearly been usurped by Arceus… or rather, by Arthur.
For a brief moment, her royal pride considered punishing him for tossing his loyalty around like a free meal. But in the end, she simply shook her head.
Many citizens of Krosia Kingdom placed their faith in the Goddess Astesia; if some chose to follow another path—as long as it wasn't some twisted cult—she supposed it wasn't much different.
At first, she had assumed "Arceus" was just a name Arthur had made up. But first came the Shiny Magikarp… and now, another unknown Pokémon had answered Zeth's call the moment he praised Arceus.
Seeing it with her own eyes, she almost believed the god might actually exist.
It can't just be a coincidence… right? A trace of doubt flickered in Rosaria's eyes.
Or… did Arthur somehow predict that Zeth would return to the place where he first received his Magikarp, and orchestrate the whole thing—perhaps planting one of these rare Pokémon ahead of time? she wondered. But then she shook her head. She had only just informed Arthur about Zeth's trip here to receive his second Pokémon. Arthur had been at her side the entire time—there was no chance for him to slip away and stage this elaborate charade.
Besides, what purpose would such a scheme serve? Unless he intended to challenge the Astesia Church directly… but even with her as his backer, that would be a foolish gamble.
The Astesia Church didn't forbid people from following other faiths, but the world ultimately revolved around power and self-interest. Aside from a few outlawed cults, no one had ever dared to openly challenge the Church's authority in matters of belief—so who could say what might happen if someone did?
Still, the Church's reputation had always been noble and just. Maybe she was simply overthinking things.
Even so, it's unwise to poke a hornet's nest—especially when your only defense is bare skin waiting to be stung.
In any case, as long as Zeth retained basic morals and didn't go performing blood rituals in Arceus's name like some deranged cultist, it was probably fine to leave him be.
Arthur, unlike Rosaria, wasn't thinking about the Astesia Church at all. His mind was elsewhere—fixed entirely on the Pokémon that had just answered Zeth's call.
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the monitor as the creature's form slowly came into view.
It was a Paras!
Paras—a small, insectoid Pokémon that resembled a cross between an orange crab and a bug. Its round body sported two claws and four stubby legs, with oversized, pupil-less eyes and sharp mandibles. Most notably, it carried a pair of large, red-and-yellow mushrooms growing from its back—spores of the fungus that slowly overtook the host's body.
At least, that was what a normal Paras looked like...
This one, however, was different.
"Is that another Shiny?!" Rosaria shot up from her chair, eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief as she stared at the pale-bodied Paras.
She had seen a Paras before—one of Arthur's mother Pokémon was a Paras, after all—but she clearly remembered it having a bright orange body, not this pale, washed-out coloration.
Its sharp front claws had turned a dull gray tinged with faint orange. Its large, once blank eyes now sparkled with surprising intelligence and animation, as if it were now a free spirit unburdened by something unseen.
But the most startling change was on its back.
The mushrooms were gone!
Arthur blinked, completely thrown off. His mind stalled as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
According to his observational records, no Shiny Paras had ever hatched from the Eggs he placed in the Safari Zone. A few Paras had gone missing over time, but he had simply assumed they were hiding or burrowed somewhere.
This one had just surfaced—literally digging its way up from underground. Maybe it had been hiding this whole time?
And yet… something about it felt familiar.
"Is this little guy an Alolan Paras?" Virelyra asked suddenly, curiosity lighting up her face as she studied the unusual Pokémon in front of Zeth.
Rosaria had been thinking the same thing. But she couldn't ask Arthur directly—she hadn't been present on the opening day, and mentioning Alolan variants would reveal that she somehow knew who captured the Alolan Vulpix.
All eyes slowly turned to Arthur, waiting for his explanation.
But he wasn't paying attention to them at all. He was too stunned to notice.
He had just realized why the Paras looked so familiar.
Because it looked like a fusion of Paras… and Nincada!
He had never made the connection before, but now it was striking—Paras and Nincada had more in common than he'd ever noticed. The body shape, the claws, the bug-like posture—it was all there, hidden in plain sight.
According to the Pokédex, as Paras grows, a mushroom called Tochukaso begins to sprout on its back—forming a parasitic bond that eventually creates a Pokémon with two minds: the insect host, and the fungus riding it.
Only once the mushroom takes root does Paras emerge from underground to live its life above, the two entities now inseparable.
Arthur had studied his mother's Paras before. He'd confirmed that the Tochukaso growing on its back had indeed developed into an independent organism. It constantly drained nutrients from Paras, feeding off its host slowly.
When Paras became Parasect, it wasn't just a physical change—the consciousness of the host was consumed entirely. The mushroom took over, guiding the body like a puppet master with a hollow shell.
It was like watching a zombie virus claim its host.
If the officials ever decided to create an evolution for Parasect, maybe it would become a Grass/Ghost type—discarding its Bug type entirely, because at that point, all that remained was a completely dead insect husk and a sentient mushroom.
He had no answers.
Still, it raised a question: What would happen if the mushroom were removed while Paras was still young—before it emerged from the underground and before the parasitic fully took hold?
Arthur lifted his head, his gaze falling on the creature perched atop the pedestal-like rock.
Is this the result? he wondered. If the mushroom is removed early, does the host evolve in a different direction? Is this what becomes of a Paras freed from its parasite?
The Pokémon resembled a Nincada, yes, but certain traits still echoed its Paras origins. It wasn't quite one or the other—a hybrid suspended between two identities.
Not fully Paras. Not fully Nincada.
Arthur could hardly believe it—one of his fake Pokémon had turned out like this.
Then what about real Pokémon? If a genuine Paras had its mushroom removed early, would it also turn into something like this?
The idea thrilled him. He could barely contain his excitement at the discovery. He wanted nothing more than to bring this unusual "Paras" back to the research lab and study it in detail.
But that thought quickly faded. It was clear the creature had already chosen Zeth as its Trainer.
Arthur sighed. Don't tell me this guy really is blessed by Arceus…
He glanced upward, his gaze piercing the ceiling as though he could look straight into the sky. He imagined Arceus lounging on some celestial throne, a thousand hands cradling bowls of popcorn, silently mocking him—a mere mortal who dared to imitate Pokémon.
After staring at the strange Paras for a while longer, Arthur shook his head. It did resemble Nincada, yes—but it wasn't one. Aside from the missing mushroom, its overall appearance was still unmistakably that of a Paras.
Unless its legs reduced to two, and it sprouted translucent green wings... then maybe he could see it as a Nincada. Until then, it was still Paras—just an unusual one.
"I'm not sure either," Arthur finally said, breaking the silence. "But from now on, let's call it Ocasia Paras."
The others were stunned.
Our own variant? Rosaria thought, her eyes flicking between the Paras on-screen and the thought forming in her mind—Alolan Vulpix.
That one had come from a place called Alolan. So if this one had emerged here… Was Ocasia Paras their first exclusive variant?
As the group tried to wrap their heads around it, watching the screen with growing fascination, Arthur was already brimming with excitement. He wished he could greet Zeth personally once he returned from the Safari Zone and ask to study his Paras up close.
But knowing how devoutly Zeth worshipped Arceus, Arthur was certain he'd be denied. There was no way someone like Zeth would allow a mere mortal to lay eyes on what he might believe to be a divine child.
Well... unless Arthur claimed himself to be "Arceus".
But would Zeth believe him?
No.
More likely, he'd be met with a blade to the throat.
Anyway, divine children of Arceus or not, they were still Pokémon—and Zeth would surely be visiting often once Rastor became a gathering hub for Pokémon Trainers.
There would be plenty of time to observe this Ocasia Paras eventually.
Now that he thought about it, why had no Paras ever tried to remove the mushroom on its back before, in the Pokémon world?
Perhaps some had tried—but none survived.
Though the Tochukaso mushroom behaved like a parasite, it was still physically connected to the Paras's body. Cutting it off was essentially injuring a vital part of itself. No amount of Pokémon World potions could heal such damage.
Yet this world, saturated with mana and elemental energies, might have caused strange interactions—preserving life in unexpected ways. Maybe this explained how Paras could survive after the mushroom's removal, resulting in the strange Pokémon he now saw.
But if killing the mushroom usually meant killing the Paras, then perhaps the Tochukaso wasn't purely parasitic after all—maybe their relationship was more symbiotic. Arthur hadn't delved deeply into Paras's lore, so he wasn't certain.
Arthur jotted the thought down in his notebook, planning to study other Paras more closely, to see if any attempted to remove their mushrooms.
Speaking of which, his mother's Paras had reached level 20—it would soon evolve into Parasect.
He couldn't remember the exact level—somewhere between 24 and 26—but it was only a matter of time.
At that point, the mushroom would undoubtedly try to fully assert its control—completely overtaking Paras's body to trigger its evolution into Parasect, whose eyes turned ghostly white, as if lifeless.
Just imagining it made Arthur uneasy. His mood soured.
If not for Zeth's Paras, he might never have questioned the relationship at all. He would've accepted it as a normal part of the evolutionary process—nothing more.
But now... before his mother's Paras evolved, he'd need to observe it carefully.
Arthur shifted his gaze back to the monitor. Zeth had already reached the exit booth, where Roland was chilling beside his Farfetch'd.
There hadn't been much drama during the capture itself. Zeth had simply pulled out a Poké Ball, thanked Lord Arceus, and tapped it against the dazed Ocasia Paras.
Captured!
No resistance. No struggle. The ball wobbled once, then clicked shut.
First a shiny Magikarp, and now the world's first Ocasia Variant Paras.
Arthur let out a dry chuckle. Is this guy the protagonist of the world or something?
Still smiling faintly, he kept his eyes on the screen.
---
"Is that a Variant Paras?" Roland's eyes narrowed, his expression shifting to one of disbelief.
As far as he remembered, the only unique Pokémon in the Safari Zone right now was the now-gone Alolan Vulpix. There weren't supposed to be any other special species wandering around.
But the facts proved him wrong—the Paras standing in front of him was clearly a variant. Its back was completely bare, no mushroom in sight.
"Praise Lord Arceus!" Zeth declared reverently, clasping his hands in a prayer.
Roland ignored him. He'd already seen Zeth do the exact same thing when he first walked into the Safari Zone, and had written him off as a guy with a few screws loose.
Still… he couldn't help feeling a pang of envy.
He liked his partner, Farfetch'd. But catching a special Pokémon like this Paras? That would've been something worth bragging about.
Curious, Roland pulled out his Pokédex and scanned Zeth's Paras.
"Huh?" His eyes widened.
What appeared on the screen completely shocked him.
---
[-Error-]
[Types: Bug/Normal]
[Ability: Guts]
[Level: 7]
[-Error-]
[Base stats:
HP: 35
Attack: 65
Defense: 60
Sp.Attack: 35
Sp.Def: 30
Speed: 60
(Total: 285)]
[Moves: Flail, Scratch, String Shot, Quick Attack, Fury Cutter, -empty-, -empty-, -empty-, -empty-]
---
However, before Roland could even begin to question what he'd just seen, Arthur's voice came through the comms, instructing him to let Zeth leave with the Pokémon—and not to ask anything.
As for what Zeth would do once he saw the odd data about his Paras?
Arthur could already imagine it.
Rather than freaking out, he'd probably double down and praise Ocasia Paras as an even greater Divine Child—a being so sacred that a mere tool like the Pokédex couldn't hope to comprehend it.
Roland swallowed the dozen questions that had risen in his throat and forced a polite smile. He handed the Pokédex to Zeth.
"Congratulations on your capture. This Pokédex is now yours."
"Thank you." Zeth nodded solemnly as he took it.
He already had one, of course—but that one was now dedicated solely to his Magikarp.
It would be disrespectful to Lord Arceus to use the same Pokédex for two Divine Children!
Watching Zeth cradle the device like it was a sacred relic, Roland could only stare in silence.
Arthur was right—it was better to say as little as possible when dealing with a madman.
As Zeth left the Safari Zone, smiling as if he'd just been chosen by fate itself, Roland hesitated for a moment… but eventually crossed out one Paras from the records.
It wasn't exactly a Paras, but… it was definitely a Paras.
After a while, Roland shrugged and returned to chilling beside his Farfetch'd.
He'd be a proper Pokémon Ranger soon. Arthur would no doubt share the full details about that weird Paras eventually. His curiosity would just have to wait.