Lawrence III

Lawrence III
ジラルダン Gelardan
Lawrence III.png
Lawrence III at his control panel
Gender Male
Hometown Unknown
Region Unknown
Relatives Mother (deceased)
Trainer class Collector
Anime debut The Power of One
English voice actor Neil Stuart
Japanese voice actor Takeshi Kaga

Lawrence III (Japanese: ジラルダン Gelardan) is a self-styled collector, appearing as the main antagonist in The Power of One. Many refer to him as explicitly a Pokémon collector, though there is no evidence that he had any Pokémon himself prior to the movie.

He travels about in his airship, known as 飛行宮 Hikōkyū (literally, "Flying Palace"), which is about the size of a small city, and gathers artifacts from around the world. Despite the scope of his collection, however, he remains rather shortsighted about the world, with his entire plot to capture Lugia reflecting this; his not taking into account the disruption of the natural forces governed by the legendary birds that leads to his downfall.

Very little is known about his past, with the only concrete information given by him in the movie. The first object in his collection was an Ancient Mew card, and it remains the only thing remaining in his possession at the end of the movie, inspiring him to continue his collection on a more modest scale. His family is equally mysterious, with his only known relative, his mother, being stated as having died.

History

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Lawrence III begins the second movie by reading an ancient prophecy passed down by the residents of Shamouti Island: Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their powers combined tame the Beast of the Sea. Misinterpreting this prophecy to refer to himself as the Chosen One, and the three to the legendary birds residing near Shamouti, Lawrence III set out to capture all three so as to draw out Lugia, what he assumed to be the Beast of the Sea.

Using the various weaponry of the Hikōkyū, Lawrence III weakened Moltres on Fire Island, and captured it using strange electrical rings, rather than a Poké Ball. Making it out to be a large game of chess, he moved next to capture Zapdos, which moved to Fire Island soon after to claim the area that Moltres had seemingly abandoned. Inadvertently, he also captured Ash, Misty, Tracey, Pikachu, Melody, Jessie, James, and Meowth, whose boat was of similar size to the legendary birds, and brought them aboard his ship to witness his crowning glory.

He did not foresee, however, that the group, especially Ash, would not take kindly to his method of capture of the two legendary Pokémon, and as he attempted to add Articuno to his collection in the same manner, Ash, using Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu, freed Moltres from its device. Moltres made short work of the device still holding Zapdos, and quickly, the two birds began to squabble, destroying part of the ship, escaping, and bringing Articuno into the fight.

As the prophecy said, the fighting of the legendary birds brought Lugia out, and Lawrence III, still intent on adding it to his collection, attempted to capture it in the same manner as the other Pokémon. Though Lugia managed to escape and destroy the remains of the ship with Aeroblast, Lawrence III survived the destruction as the real Chosen One, Ash Ketchum himself, helped Lugia to tame the real Beast of the Sea, a great underwater current that runs near Shamouti Island. Finding his Ancient Mew card, Lawrence III vows to begin his collection again, but on a smaller scale, and the novelization of the movie reveals that he will not attempt to capture Lugia again.

Lawrence III has a small cameo appearance in Pokémon Heroes, appearing in a book that Annie and Oakley are reading while in prison.

Pokémon

Temporary

 
Moltres
Main article: Moltres (M02)

This Moltres was the first of the legendary birds that Lawrence III caught. He first fired freezing shots to the Fire Island, thus forcing Moltres to reveal itself. Then he had several shots on Moltres, weakening it. After this, he launches his electric rings, capturing Moltres. Moltres is later freed by Ash and his Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. Moltres then launches its Flamethrower at Zapdos, releasing it. After this, the two legendary birds start battling and also drop Lawrence's flying fortress.

Debut The Power of One
Voice actors
Japanese Rikako Aikawa
English Rikako Aikawa
 
Zapdos
Main article: Zapdos (M02)

This Zapdos was the second and also the last of the legendary birds that Lawrence III managed to capture. After Moltres was caught, Zapdos arrived to the Fire Island, where Lawrence used his fortress' power to absorb Zapdos's electricity. Then he launched his square-shaped capture rings, imprisoning Zapdos. Later Zapdos is released by Moltres. After this, the two legendary birds begin to battle with each other and also cause Lawrence's fortress to fall to the Lightning Island.

Debut The Power of One
Voice actors
Japanese Katsuyuki Konishi
English Katsuyuki Konishi

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 鹿賀丈史 Takeshi Kaga
English Neil Stuart
Brazilian Portuguese Luiz Feier Motta
European Spanish Mario Arenas


Trivia

  • Lawrence III holds the honor of being the first of many movie antagonists that are human.

Name origin

The origin of his peculiar Japanese name is most likely from French philosopher and Stanford University professor René Girard, whose theories link problems in the modern world to legends and religious stories in the ancient world. Those who follow Girard's theories are known as "Girardins".

His English name is up for debate. While the closed captioning of the movie refers to him as "Gelardan", the official novelization refers to him as Lawrence III, and calls him "Stealthius" twice. Also, the official movie summary refers to him as Lawrence III.

Many English-speaking fans also refer to him as Jirarudan, a strict romanization of the katakana that make up his Japanese name. This name is more popular in some circles, much as is referring to Pokémon species by a direct romanization of their Japanese names rather than the official Japanese ones copyrighted by Nintendo.

In other languages

Language Name Origin
Korean 라단 Ladan Probably a shortening of Gelardan.
Chinese (Mandarin) 吉爾露太 Jíěrlùtài Transliteration of his Japanese name.


Movie characters
Human protagonists
AliceAsh Ketchum (M20)AudreyBarazBiancaCallahanCarlitaCoreyDamosDianaDianeEricFergusHarrietJack WalkerJuanita
KarlKathrynKidd SummersKimiaKokoLisaLizabethLorenzoMannesMarenMargoMelodyMerayNeeshaNewton Graceland
Professor LundRafeRaleighRebeccaRisaRowenaSamSheenaSidSir AaronSorrelTonioTorenTory LundTowaVerityYuko
Human antagonists
AlvaAnnieArgus SteelButlerCherieCrossDamonDoctor ZedGalenGooneGrings KodaiIron-Masked MarauderLawrence IIILeviMarcus
MerilynMillis SteelMolly HaleOakleyPokémon huntersPokémon poacherRiotThe PhantomZero
Pokémon
ArceusArticunoCarbinkCelebi (M04)Celebi (M13)CobalionDadaDarkraiDeoxysDialgaDiancieEntei (M03)Entei (M13)GenesectGiratina
Ho-OhHoopaJirachiKeldeoKyuremLatiasLatiosLucarioLugiaMagearnaManaphyMarshadowMew (M01)Mew (M08)Mewtwo (M01)
Mewtwo (M16)MoltresPalkiaPikachu (M20)PikachutwoRaikouRayquazaRegiceRegirockRegisteelReshiramShayminSlowking
Spiky-eared PichuSuicune (M04)Suicune (M13)TerrakionUnownVictiniVirizionVolcanionXerneasYveltalZapdosZekrom
ZeraoraZoroarkZorua
Others
AliciaAllegraAstridBanksBaron AlbertoBlock BotBogieBonjiCarolChrom MolybdenumCTV news crewDabuDavidDionaDonuke
Dr. FujiDundeeFlamelFreddyGabuGhrisGlacineGodeyGurūHeroes of Truth and IdealsHoytInfiJasonJennyJoeJudy
KaiKakoKanataKatoKellieKevinKikoKing of the People of the ValeKyleLaylaLeekuLucianneLuisLuisaMakoMalin
ManukeMarcus's soldiersMauryMayor OliverMeredithMeta GroudonMewtwo's creatorsMiaMilesMimiMirandaMisakiMoose
Mother and daughterMr. WhiteNevaNikolaOld Man DomŌyamaPegPeople of the WaterPhossa MolybdenumPokémon Baccer teams
Queen IleneQueen RinRavineRaymondRickRossSchuylerSharonShepShunSpencer HaleSylvanTakaTammyTanner
TappTatsukiThe Marina GroupTobiasTownesUschiZabu


  This movie article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.