Fan art of the Pokemon Lickitung, as if it was seen on a "trail camera," has some fans glad that Pokemon aren't real. Across film, anime, cards, and video games, Pokemon are largely presented as cute pet-like animals that are generally harmless outside of Pokemon battles. Taking Pokemon and putting them into more realistic situations and environments, however, can lead to unnerving results. That seems especially true for strange Pokemon like Lickitung.
Lickitung is one of the Pokemon franchise's most memorable Pokemon. While it's a first-generation Pokemon and has been prominently featured in the Pokemon anime as one of Team Rocket's crew, that's not necessarily why it's memorable. It's well-known because it has a giant tongue that constantly hangs out of its mouth. It's known as the "Licking Pokemon," for obvious reasons, and is Normal-type. A Lickitung evolution was introduced in Pokemon DiamondandPearl, Lickilicky, though it has proven less meme-able.
A ridiculous Pokemon with a massive tongue isn't quite so funny when placed in a strange situation, however. Artist AetherealVanguard recently shared a piece they made of a group of wild Lickitungs caught on a "trailer camera." Trail cameras are cameras left in the wilderness that are activated by movement. In other words, this passing swarm of Lickitungs triggered a photograph, with the noise of the shutter seemingly drawing all of their attention.
As is apparent, it's an unsettling photograph. All the Lickitungs are looking in the direction of the camera. The light of the camera's flash can be seen reflecting in each Pokemon's eyes, even revealing Lickitungs far in the background that are difficult to see. Outside of the eyes, there's nothing particularly different about the Lickitungs. The artist kept them relatively similar to their official Pokemon art. Nevertheless, they're quite a bit more frightening to see.
It's unclear if the artist intended the piece to be so spooky. It's possible they just wanted to experiment with a semi-realistic scenario for a Pokemon photograph. If someone was wandering through the wilderness at night in the Pokemon world, this could be a sight they stumble upon. It's unclear if they would find such a sight frightening, though. Wild Lickitungs aren't said to be hostile toward people. They mostly eat bugs.
That's part of what makes this Pokemon fan art from AetherealVangard so interesting. It makes fans think about Pokemon and the Pokemon universe in a way they may not have before. Game Freak isn't necessarily trying to scare Pokemon fans, but that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities for scary stories within the Pokemon universe. A pack of wild Lickitungs is just such an opportunity for a scary Pokemon story.