Character Profile: Lawrence III

In a world that is as bright and shiny and Pokemon is, it's hard to find a true villain outside of the bumbling Team Rockets, James and Jessie. But Lawrence III, better known as the collector, proved to be one of the most bizarre, enigmatic, and brilliant villains ever to cross Ash's path. Lawrence is a genius billionaire who was known as a recluse and a lover of rare, exotic, and legendary Pokemon.

Though very little is said about his past or his life, Lawrence is a refined, polite, and softly spoken man who is a master planner. When Ash was in the Orange Islands, he learned the legend of Lugia that would be called forth by the collection of the three mystical stones of the three mystical birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Lawrence operated a gigantic flying battle ship, armed with weapons, electro nets, and a super intelligent computer.

Lawrence planned to force Lugia out of hiding by capturing all three of the mystical birds, so that he could claim Lugia as the "real prize". He captured Moltres and Zapdos and accidentally caught Ash, Misty, and a few others. Ignoring them, Lawrence's battleship was demolished once Ash freed Zapdos and Moltres from their cages. The ship crashed and he was believed to be dead. But Lawrence returned with a final super sized net to take down the mighty Lugia.

Lugia used his aeroblast to finish off Lawrence's battle ship, and Ash was eventually able to save the day. In the end, Lawrence is standing amongst the ruins of his ship with his ancient Mew card, the rare card that started his whole collection. And though he had lost everything, he stated quite boldly "It started with this, and I shall do the same all over again".