Thoroughly Licked- Licki TF

Authoress' notes: This takes place in the Pokémon World, which has consumed my attention for the last few days now. For many a reason, I have decided to set it in Kanto- the original region of the Pokémon games. Why? I had to mull it a little, but it just didn't make sense any other way.

~

Not many people, even within Team Rocket, knew about what went on in the lab. That was a place left to the scientists- a top-secret Pandora's box that, if ever opened, would unleash a swarm of all-encompassing evils upon the world. Rumors had swirled about the team working on the strongest Pokémon in existence; the idea kept most of the lower grunts happy, even if they had never so much as seen the mysterious creature.

It -the workers were unsure if their new specimen even had sex- had been cloned from what the scientists thought was a genuine hair of Mew, a Pokémon so rare that no one had ever seen it. The catlike creature was theorized to be the most powerful, versatile Pokémon in existence.

This was, supposedly, because it was the first Pokémon on the planet. The Mew hair used had been found in an ancient drawing of some sort; the scientists were amazed that it hadn't decayed further.

The workers knew that much. They knew that even a "regular" clone of Mew (for who could call any clone of such a species "regular?") could be a valuable weapon, but a genetically-spliced clone? The mere mention of the name "Team Rocket" would make the world tremble in fear!

What many of the grunts remained unaware of, however, were the other genetic experiments going on. They were experiments that would change the whole Pokémon world as they knew it.

~

Ginger, a female trainer in her early teens, had long since departed from Pallet Town with her first Pokémon, a Squirtle that she had named "Ridley." True to her name, Ginger had a head of pigtailed, fiery red hair. Her shiny, new Earth Badge glinted with an emerald hue in the afternoon sun. This was what she had trained for; she was finally going to go to the Pokémon League and prove that she was a worthy trainer.

The road itself, a path with water, grass, and guards, started from Viridian City and ended at the Indigo Plateau, home of the Pokémon League.

Ginger shivered a little when she first saw the cave carved into the mountainside. Its jagged, stalactite-lined entrance loomed ahead like the jaws of a great beast. The flickering torches within only made its rocky teeth look hungry and moist.

Nobody had ever warned her about the road. The League and its top trainers, the Elite Four, were all that anyone ever talked about. They were her motivation, her goal- what she had earned all 8 Kanto badges (she was only vaguely aware of the ones in other regions!) to gain access to. No one had said anything about going through a cave; all of this time, she thought that "victory road" was only a metaphorical place.

Nonetheless, she would conquer this! She had come this far; now was not the time to turn back!

Boldly, she entered what appeared to be fathomless darkness.

~

"Scyther, use Slash attack!" the trainer in a snazzy red blazer ordered. With a cry of "Scyyyytther!" the reptilian mantid buzzed over to Ginger's Vileplume, a sort of walking raffelsia flower. Shreds of red, floral matter decorated the rocky ground after the buglike vertebrate had cut the petals with its bladed forelimbs.

Then it shuddered. Its body had previously been covered in mauve dust -a Poisonpowder attack- and the decay the specialized pollen caused was slowly infecting the mantid's body. The purple stain had increased with every passing turn, and had been, slowly but surely, whittling away at the mantid's health. It finally collapsed with an exhausted "Scyy...ther."

Ginger's Full Restore may have cost her Vileplume's attack, but it had been worth it. She cheered mentally as her opponent recalled his Scyther and, reluctantly, handed over 4500 PokéDollars.

"You're really awesome," he praised. "No doubt you can make it all the way to the Pokémon League!"

"Thanks!" Ginger responded. Her Vileplume swiftly returned to its capsule in a ray of scarlet light. The female trainer had no idea that it would almost have been better to keep her Pokémon out of its ball.

That Vileplume was the only reason she had been able to stay in the cave to begin with. The foreboding appearance of the tunnel hadn't lied; the place was a nightmare for all but the strongest of trainers. Part of her thought of quitting, thought of using an Escape Rope and getting out of that cave, but she was determined.

Still, both Ginger and her Pokémon were exhausted. She was about to reach for her Escape Rope when an intoxicating smell wafted through the dank, organic air of the cave. It smelled of herbs, broth, spices, and perhaps a hint of meat.

Whatever that is, it smells yummy! Ginger thought, dashing towards its source with a vigor unexpected of her exhausted state. A cauldron of soup was steaming on a simple, wooden table. In the kiosk behind the table, hooded figures guarded the precious stew.

"Excuse me," the redheaded trainer asked, "how much for a cup of that soup?"

"First ladel full is free," the shadowed figure -a man, Ginger guessed- told her. "After that, it's 100 PokéBucks per scoop."

A pause. Then:

"Is it safe for Pokémon to eat, too? Mine are exhausted," Ginger wondered.

"Oh, we can heal your Pokémon," another hooded male assured.

Ginger was skeptical; there didn't seem to be a machine in that little kiosk. Besides, something seemed oddly familiar about these guys...

"Have we met?" she wondered. She saw an expression of surprise beneath the first man's hood.

"I can assure you that we haven't," he said. "Now, really...You and your Pokémon must be tired. Relax and have some soup.

Ginger had to admit that he had a point as she handed over her Pokémon. After ladling out some of the brew, she felt like her taste buds were in heaven. The first sip had been excellent, almost like homemade chicken broth; the second, broth with some savory bits of meat slipping down her throat; the third made everything even better with a just-right arrangement of seasonings.

It was more than good. It was blissful. If heaven could be made into soup, this would have been called "heaven soup."

She hastily smacked down a good 10,000 PokéDollars before dashing over to the pot and filling another ladle to the top with that soup. She didn't notice, visually, that her tongue was swelling and elongating, becoming so fat in her mouth that she had a very hard time keeping it in. What she did notice was the effect such a change had; every lick made her more enamoured with the concoction. Her tongue, now a foot long, was eagerly slurping up more before she dipped the ladle in again.

"Shooo good," Ginger muttered before taking another lick. After what would have been the 30th cup of so, her functional, somewhat tacky trainer garb was starting to constrict her swelling body. Her skin had gone from peachy to a salmon-like shade of pink. On her bloated belly and knees were rings of butter-yellow amidst the rosy coloration, and, above her slipping shorts, a six-inch tail had started to grow.

The trainer found that she had trouble holding the ladle while her digit arrangement began to shift. Two of her fingers were lost entirely as the other two thickened into a fused, pink paddle designed for keeping a firm hold on tree branches. Her thumbs had devolved into pearly clawed spurs on her stubby limbs. Similar changes were occurring to her feet; when the half-Pokémon trainer had finally decided to give up on using a utensil, her running shoes split, revealing paddle-like, stubby feet.

Her tongue, now a good six feet in length, was soaking up the remnants of the soup like a sponge. She had shrunk to less than a yard in height with a tail just as long. That tail, rubbery and thick as it was, still provided her balance as her external ears vanished and her eyes became black and beady. She had developed only a slight muzzle, and could now retract her long tongue with ease.

"Licki?!" the new Lickitung exclaimed. What the crap had just happened?! What kind of Pokémon was she?!

"Heh. Looks like it worked," one of the hooded men said. With a massive fluttering of cloth, all of the hooded members revealed the sleek, black uniforms beneath their cloaks. On each of their chests was a gigantic, bright red "R."

Team Rocket! the former trainer thought. She knew they'd seemed fishy, but hadn't they disbanded?!

"What'd she have, guys?" the leader of the grunts asked. "Oooh, good ones. I knew we'd find 'em on Victory Road!" He gave an evil cackle while the Lickitung went from mildly irked to enraged.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten about you, Lickitung," the leader sneered. "Rocket Ball, go!"

Ginger wasn't fully aware of what she could do with her new body, but, in the spur of the moment, she knew one thing that would keep her from being caught.

With a wet SNAP!, her six foot-long tongue lashed at the floating sphere. A split second later, the mechanical ball was in her new iron stomach. She didn't know that her new bowels could handle just about anything Arceus threw at them, but even if they weren't, she figured that an upset stomach beat serving the scum of the Pokémon world.

Lickitung-Ginger tried to puff herself up to look as big and intimidating as a pink, chubby, scaleless lizard could be. Each hiss forced her slick, vemon tongue out a little. The Rocket men cringed when she snapped that tongue in their direction; quite unintentionally, she numbed one man's wrist with just a brushing.

"The boss didn't tell us that Lickitung were this strong," one of the men complained. "Maybe we better weaken her first. Go, Raticate!"

The Team Rocket agent threw his red and black PokéBall into the air. In a burst of white light, a tan-furred, gigantic rodent with its massive, slightly yellowed incisors bared appeared with a loud "RaaatiCATE!"

Somehow, Ginger noted, a Raticate was much more intimidating when it was baring those inch and a half long teeth at you. Not at your Pokémon, but at you. She herself continued with her aggressive, puffed position, making loud hisses of "Li-li" while three inches of her lengthy tongue poked out of her saurian snout.

One of them would have to attack eventually, and, given the brutal nature of the Rockets, the rodent would probably be primed for speed and aggression.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang attack!" the soldier ordered. With a loud "Raa!" the nutria Pokémon charged at the pink, scaleless reptilian creature before it, jaws wide open. Ginger could only curl into a ball before the rat's teeth sunk into her bulky back.

The rat dashed back to its master as one of Ginger's beady black eyes peeked out from her self-made ball. There had to be something she could do with her new body...The Raticate, as a Normal-type like herself, would be immune to her venomous tongue. There had to be something else...something she could do besides lick...

"Raticate, Tackle attack!" the Rocket ordered. The rodent went into a full-speed charge at the Lickitung; the resulting force was enough to send her flying, quite unintentionally making her roll across the rocky cave floor upon landing. She tried to stand, dizzied and bruised, before the rat began to return to its master.

Injured as she was, she wasn't done yet. Even without the venom, her tongue was still strong. With lightning speed, it lashed out of her mouth, wrapping around the rodent (which tasted like crap, noted Ginger). The Raticate chattered a bit while in midair, but Ginger swiftly slammed it into a cave wall with all the muscle that her tongue could muster. Although Pokémon never died as a result of battle, Raticate definitely wasn't looking too hot after that Slam attack.

The bleeding rat was heaving as it hobbled back to its commander. He wasn't looking too well, either.

Ginger had to do something before she was attacked again. High as her health was, little attacks added up. She had to finish this fast.

"Raticate, use Super Fang!" the black-suited soldier ordered. Hindered as it was by the wounds, however, the Lickitung made the first move: Raticate was once again wrapped in Ginger's sticky tongue, and thrashed into submission at its trainer's feet.

"Ah naw, Raticate!" the Rocket cried. He gritted his teeth; as the strongest one there, he had to press on. The Lickitung seemed to have taken very little damage. The Rocket leader couldn't fathom how she had started out so strong, but there was more than strength to her style. She was learning how to use her new body at an alarmingly fast rate.

"Go, Golbat!" he announced, throwing another ball. In a flash, the blue bat - which was really more like a flying mouth with wings, pointed ears, and legs- materialized with a chirp.

Ginger had her tongue ready. The Rocket could do what he liked; this Golbat was perfectly lickable. Despite being a Poison Type, it would be affected by her venom if she licked it.

"Golbat, Poison Fang!" the Rocket ordered. The blue, batlike face clicked in affirmation as it dove towards the Lickitung, teeth bared. All Ginger could do was curl up again as its fangs sank into her fleshy body. As soon as she felt them off of her flesh, however, she wrapped the bat in her sticky tongue. Like an expert fisher, she reeled the flapping chiropteran closer to her, slamming it on the ground when it got near enough. The Rocket's Golbat flapped its snapped wings wildly before it, like the Raticate, fell limp.

"Grrr...Golbat, return!" the leader called. The unconscious bat vanished in a stream of red light as it returned to its capsule. The leader gave her a tough "I'll get you yet!" look before running off to the nearest Pokémon Center. His subordinates could only stare blankly at the air in which their boss had once stood.

"Uh...What now?" one of the lower members asked.

"Dunno," another responded,"but that Licki-thing is looking pretty mad. Maybe we should run for it."

Indeed, the wounded, saurian Pokémon was huffing and flicking her deadly tongue at regular intervals. Wounded, she approached the men. They were going to get their asses licked...and not in any way that could be considered good.

No sooner had she lashed her tongue in their direction when they scattered. She tried to keep up, but didn't know which one to chase until she saw one with extra PokéBalls - her PokéBalls - fleeing to her left. She ran after him first on two legs, then on all fours-

Then, with a trip, she was rolling after him.

"Gaaah! Boss, help me!" the grunt called in vain. The rolling ball of pink hit him in the right ankle, sending him stumbling to the ground. She couldn't see very well when curled into a sphere, but somehow, intuitively, she knew where her target was.

No sooner had he ambled to his feet when, again, the spherical Lickitung nailed him in the ankle, this time with at least twice the velocity of the last hit. Ginger hadn't even stopped when she hit the Rocket smack in the ribs, sending his stolen PokéBalls flying with an additional flick of her powerful tongue.

Ginger was giddy, even though she had finally stopped rolling. The man who had stolen her Pokémon was clutching his ribs in agony; her justice had been dealt. She was about to walk away when she started feeling odd...slow...bloated...

Glowy.

Yes, her new, saurian body had started to luminesce. Ginger could feel the changes happening to her better than she could see them: Her already plump body was becoming ever more rotund, so much so that she had a hard time seeing her single-nailed, stumpy feet. A twisted knob - something like a curly, pinkish, fleshy crest- erupted from her skull. When the light cleared, Ginger immediately noticed that even her markings had changed- a white patch on her chest resided above her more familiar, yellow bands.

She didn't even know what she was called, now, but she moved away from the thief as quickly as she could. The cave was her home now; she would have to make due with her new form. Evolution usually made Pokémon stronger, and she had been a real terror as a Lickitung.

Legend has it that, every now and then, there will be sightings of a non-aggressive wild Lickylicky around the Indigo Plateau. Despite its placid nature, it refuses to be caught to this day.