Apparently, Pokemon Originally Gave Lickitung a Split Tongue
When it comes to weird Pokemon facts, there are a lot - and we mean a lot - to go through. For [...]
When it comes to weird Pokemon facts, there are a lot - and we mean a lot - to go through. For such a wholesome series, the franchise has been through a lot over the years. The video games and anime have had their fair share of bumps, but some of the changes made to Pokemon have been rather unnoticeable. And as one fan just reminded the world, it turns out Pokemon did make a rather important change to Lickitung a long time ago.
And how did the Pokemon get changed? Well, the answer might surprise you. As you might guess, the character was always meant to have a rather large tongue, but it was apparently forked at one point in time.
As noted on Twitter by Dr. Lava, the Pokemon historian shared photos of how Lickitung was made to look in the very first games. In the Japan-only release of Pokemon Red and Green, Lickitung appeared as said, but he had a split tongue.
Lickitung's Tongue Split:
During Gen 1's development, Lickitung's tongue had a split. The split was still barely visible in Japanese Red & Green versions -- but after R&G, it was never seen again.
1. Beta sprite restoration by @HiResPokemon
— Dr. Lava's Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) October 18, 2019
2. Gen 1 beta sprite
3. R&G sprite pic.twitter.com/PLvdeFIjh4
You can see the beta sprite for Lickitung above as well as an artist's rendition of the character. It may be hard to see, but there is a clear split at the end of Lickitung's huge tongue, but the division was removed pretty fast. The release of Pokemon Red and Green as Red and Blue joined the tongue back together. For most markets, they were never given a chance to meet this forked-tongue Pokemon, and debate rages on as to why the split was taken out in the first place. Some fans have speculated the split was erased due to animation difficulty, but others wonder if it was removed because of its potentially NSFW appearance. But no matter the reason, Lickitung was ultimately robbed of his original design with very few fans ever realizing the theft ever occurred.
Which version of Lickitung do you prefer the most? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!