Physiology

Skeleton System

The Lickitung has a skeletal system similar to a human, to some extent. See Diagram 1A for details. The skull is an ovaloid shape, with approximately three-fifths of it taken up but the cavernous mouth. With the exception of Ditto, Swalot, and Gulpin, the Lickitung has the highest mouth-to-skull ratio, and considering Ditto, Gulpin, and Swalot are gelatinous and have no skeleton, the Lickitung is the true mouth-to-skull ratio champion. The rib cage of the Lickitung is almost completely the same as a normal human's. The difference is that there is no sternum, or breastbone. Since the Lickitung rarely retracts its tongue except to bring food to its mouth, the tongue is expected to effective protect the heart and the Extraction stomach.

The tail is similar to a human arm, albeit a very thick, fatty, arm. At the base of the tail, there is a huge mass of bone that's a joint. At the end of the tail, there is a small, flexible joint similar to a human finger, or coccyx. The entire tail is very strongly lashed on to the base of the spine with several ligaments. The third bone from the spine is almost exactly the same as the human thighbone, except that it is slightly curved.

The esophagus is a very different thing in a Lickitung than in a human. For example, the spine actually is the esophagus in this case. The spine has to be very big in this case, about 6-10 inches wide. It depends on the Lickitung. There is a tradition dating several millennia back for tribe hierarchy, but more is explained in Culture - Tribal Life - Traditions. The spinal passage is where the spinal cord is housed. If the Obstruct-O-Bone test fails (See Diagram 1B, Item B), and the item is not ejected, then the spinal passage would be crushed, killing the Lickitung.

In the stage 2 forme of the Lickitung, there was actually a prehensile form of a hand. Now, since the tongue has evolved significantly in place of the hand, it is virtually useless. The tip of the arm, the "hand" itself, is a dome- shaped mass of small bones. The many small bones make the hand flexible, but firm. The hand can also slightly change shape.

Digestive System

The corresponding diagram for this section is 1B:

Diagram Key:

A: Mouth (Jaw can unhinge in the case that large items must be swallowed (See Culture - Tribal Life - Traditions).

B: Obstruct-O-Bone (A mass of bone with nerves inside. If item is too big to swallow completely, then the nerves cross, signaling the Lickitung's brain that the item must be ejected immediately. In stage 2 of the PEM, there was no Obstruct-O-Bone, and many stage 2 pseudo- Lickitungs died from the spinal passage expanding too much and crushing the spinal cord.

C: All selected is Esophagus/Spinal Passage.

D: Esophagus hole (Allows food/items to reach holding stomach).

E: Holding Stomach (Holds items/non-digested food).

F: Intestines: Extracts nutrients from edible food, non- edible debris gets transported as well. Leads to Extraction stomach.

G: Extraction stomach (Waste sludge has water sucked from it to cause it to solidify into dung. Solid, non- digestible items are transferred back to holding stomach by a short tube).

H. Excretory tube (Leads from Extraction stomach for ejection).

J. You don't want to know.

The holding stomach was something that evolved in the Lickitung over time, when the many pouches and items that the stage 2 Lickitungs couldn't digest got stuck in the stomach. Eventually, the stomach filled up, and the pseudo- Lickitung starved. Also, as the culture evolved, the Lickitungs needed a place to store ritual items. Now, items can be vomited up at will. Research completed by Doctor Jackson Red suggests that items can be held in the stomach for as long as needed. Another interesting aspect of Dr. Red's research is that Pokémon Eggs can be incubated in the holding stomach and eventually hatched with no ill effects to both the Egg and the Lickitung. This process is demonstrated in a non-impacting way to raise Pokémon to be eaten for a ritual meal (More on this in Culture - Recipes).

Nervous System

The corresponding diagram for this section is 1C:

Diagram Key:

A: Brain (Control center for nervous system. Not so different from the human brain.)

B: Main Tongue Nerve (MTN; A very important nerve. The hypersensitive tongue obviously needs a large nerve, and this nerve is it.)

C: Spinal Cord (A big thick bundle of nerves that links most of the Lickitung's body to its brain. If it is cut, the Lickitung dies.)

D: Leg-Spine Junction (LSJ; Where the nerves for the legs | and the end of the spinal cord meet.)

E: Various nerves.

F: Brain stem (Controls the most basic of the functions that the Lickitung needs to live, z.b. breathing, or heartbeat.)

The brain of the Lickitung is smaller than a human's, weighing about 2.5 pounds (About 1 kilogram). The official classification for the Pokémon Lickitung is "G" in the Pokémon Intelligence Grade, or PIG, but most people do not know about the complex culture that is established by Lickitungs. A more accurate Grade would be "B" or "B+".

Circulatory System

The corresponding diagram to this section is 1D:

Diagram Key:

A: Heart (Pumps blood to the entire body of the Lickitung.)

B: Vein (Transmits oxygenated blood to various parts of the body.)

C: Artery (Receives deoxygenated blood.)

D: Main Tongue Vein (Transmits lots of blood to the tongue.)

E: Brain Cavity (Lots of blood goes here, too.)

F: Various Capillaries.

Tongue

The Main Tongue Vein transmits a huge amount of blood to the complex tongue. In the more barbaric stage 2 forme, enemy pseudo-Lickitungs were often tortured by cutting off the blood supply to the tongue. The Main Tongue Nerve is a very important nerve, the second most important after the spinal cord. The tongue has obviously evolved past the level of its puny hands. One of the worst diseases that a Lickitung can get is Tongue Nerve degeneration, or TND. It starts as a bacterium in the Lickitung's mouth, and it eats away at the flesh of the tongue, until it hits the Main Tongue Nerve. The nerve is eventually worn away. The bacterium sometimes reaches the spinal cord, and then travels to the brain. Because of this, if there is any sign of TND (paralysation of the tongue, no saliva being generated), the affected part of the tongue must be amputated. In Lickitung culture, before science, the Lickitungs believed that the dreaded ghosts caused this disease. The Berry that protects the consumer from ghosts is a staple in Lickitung culture, and it is called "tungoo", better known as Kasib. In the Lickitung culture, this disease is called "ro-tungoo", or roughly translated as "no Kasib". Basically, lack of Kasib ultimately causes Tongue Nerve Degeneration. Interestingly enough, the Kasib Berry actually kills most of the bacterium, so this myth is not entirely inaccurate from a scientific viewpoint.

Many have speculated that the tongue of the Lickitung is connected to the tail. This is true. In stage 2 pseudo- Lickitungs, the tail was not the fatty nutrient-vessel it is today; so it was approximately 1/6 of the current weight the tail is today. The ligament running from tail to tongue was pulled on when the tongue was extended, signaling the tail to extend, as so the Lickitung could keep its balance. Now, the ligament is not used as much, thanks to the fatty tail, but it still quivers on, a reminder of the ugly creature it once was.

Tail

The tail, despite being an almost superficial body part of almost any Pokémon, is a very important part of the Lickitung. One, the tail is actually a counter-weight for its enormous tongue. It has been observed for several millennia that the tail of the Lickitung quivers when the tongue is extended. In the "Permanent Evolution (Mew)", or PEM, the second stage had, in fact, a very light tail. As a result, the pseudo-Lickitung kept falling over on its face when it extended it's long, slimy, tongue. Later, it evolved accordingly. The tail serves a double purpose. It is a fatty sac, similar to a camel's hump that can dispense nutrients and energy when food and water is unavailable. When all supplies in the tail are used up, for instance, in the time of the Hoenn Extremely Great Gale storms (AKA HEGGS, or when Kyogre and Groudon were battling), many Lickitung's tails became very light, as this was a time of famine. Then, the Lickitung had to extend its tail when it licked or it would have lost its balance. Now, with the abundance of both naturally occurring Berries and human-made Pokémon can be theoretically raised inside a Lickitung (Examples include raising the Miltank for "schlurpbero-oo", and researcher Dr. Jackson Red has also witnessed a Torchic being carried round in the Lickitung's stomach until it hatched). When the Egg starts to hatch, the wriggling signals the parent Lickitung to vomit out the Egg specifically. Swallowed electronics that vibrate, such as cell phones, may also cause this response.