Although Snorlax are the pokemon which is willing to eat the largest variety of foods, Lickitung are not far behind. Furthermore, Lickitung can be trusted to remain awake for a long time, instead of only for battle and a large post-battle meal, and their long tongues allow them to reach into their own stomachs to regurgitate poisoned food. This has made them an indispensable aid to royalty, the yakuza, and anyone else who fears poisoning by their enemies, even those who are simply paranoid.

The difficult part about using Lickitung as poison testers is their enormous appetite. Often, when both the Lickitung and their master are inexperienced, the master is left with but a taste of crumbs while the pokemon eats the whole meal. Some kings have used this as a means of taxing troublesome nobility by requiring them to spend their wealth on vast meals which were mostly fed to their prized pokemon. The typical process is far more careful, however, and consists taking samples of the food, putting it on an edible plate, sending out the Lickitung right in front of it and returning it to its pokeball before it can eat any more.

It should not be considered surprising that many trainers, even in mortal danger, prefer to avoid the hassle and use other unfortunate humans or pokemon instead.