Lysandre Labs

1. Regular "Lysandre"

This is literally just his original art in front of a wall. Absolutely no shade to that, his original art is good and I never get tired of looking at it. I like that it looks like he's just casually standing in a corner, waiting for you like a mob in a JRPG. Which I guess he is in a way.

Rating: 5/10. It does what it's supposed to. Were I able to tire of his original art I would rate this 4/10 for lack of originality, but alas.

2. Full Art "Lysandre"

This is it. The blueprint. The standard. This is the card all Lysandre cards need to be compared to. I own this card three times and I carry one of them in my wallet. This is not a Pokémon card, this is my official ID, delivered to me by the government of France. Everything about this illustration is perfect. There is nothing bad you could possibly say about it. His jaw. His nose. His big lips. The weird pointy shape of his ears. Delightful.

Rating: 11/10. Truly no other card can compare. But we will try anyway.

3. Regular "Lysandre's Trump Card"

This has nothing to do with the illustration, but to this day I still don't understand why this card isn't named "Lysandre’s Last Resort." It is absolutely his last resort and not his trump card. Fuck you.

This illustration is good. If I had to trust someone to draw Lysandre, and Ken Sugimori was unavailable, I would ask Hitoshi Ariga. The pose and framing are good. He's ready to fight alongside his army of robobees. I like the one that's pointed at him and seems to be asking "Is it time for us to feed, Father?" I also appreciate that both of his fists are clenched.

Rating: 8/10. Hitoshi Ariga gets it.

4. Full Art "Lysandre's Trump Card"

I love this card for a reason which is not related to the card itself, and it's that it very obviously inspired Guladari from Pokéka, and I’m very grateful for that. The concept of Lysandre with yellow highlights in his hair is genius. Anyway.

The pose is extremely good. The mood conveyed is on point. He is once again clenching his fist, as he should. I love his expression a lot, kind of a shame we can't see his eyes, but I know my man Hitoshi Ariga would have pulled it off. Big fan of the highlights everywhere, but especially on the hair and suit. And the burning background like the original full art. Chef's kiss.

Rating: 9/10. Maybe even 9,5 if I want to give half a point in honor of Guladari's impeccable design.

5. Pikachu Lysandre

He is literally just a little guy. He's just a little creacher. Nothing he can do about it. This is obviously just promo art, but I like it. The shapes are good, very slick. I love that they went with making the Pikachu mimic the original art's poses, it’s such a fun idea. His little frowny face is adorable. Also, this has nothing to do with the illustration, but I like the first attack's name.

Rating: 5/10. He is just a little guy.

6. Prism Lysandre

This is my second favorite TCG illustration of Lysandre. What did I say about my man Hitoshi Ariga? I can trust him. He will pull it off. He knows what he's doing. This is an extremely good Lysandre. First of all, he is smiling evilly, but not in an ugly way, which is commendable. The highlights are once again on point. He is doing an evil villain pose with his hand that shows off his ring. If you cannot see how this is the only Lysandre illustration that can compare to the original full art, I don’t even know what to say. I'm so delighted that Hitoshi Ariga has drawn him three times. I hope that it's because he likes him.

Rating: 10/10. I would like to meet Hitoshi Ariga in real life and shake his hand.

7. Pyroar

"Samifer, this isn’t a Lysandre card?" He’s on it so it counts.

I really love this card. I love how Lysandre is drawn on it. Yes, he is seen from afar, but there is something very special about the choices that have been made in how to draw him. I like that his hair is a darker, redder color. I like the more angular shapes. The pose is also extremely good. He needs to stand with his legs spread this far because [REDACTED]

The background is also extremely nice. And of course Pyroar is gorgeous, even if we’re not rating Pyroar cards, I will still say this. Mitsuhiro Arita, thank you for your service.

Rating: 8/10. This is my Windows profile pic. This has nothing to do with the rating, I just wanted to say it.

8. Regular "Boss's Orders"

What the fuck is this.

Okay, I'm being too mean, it's not that bad now that I'm looking at it again. Honestly, it's kind of growing on me, seeing it again for this ranking. Why is his head so small though. Also I hate when his beard is drawn like that.

Good things about it: it displays how large he is very adequately. The pose is very nice, I like the hands, although they are a bit small but it goes well with his small head I suppose. I like the big hair even if it only enhances the small head.

Rating: 3/10. He kind of looks like an alien. Sorry Ryuta Fuse.

9. Full Art "Boss's Orders"

I had a visceral negative reaction to this card when I first saw it, but actually it’s largely fine. Its biggest crime is making Lysandre's mouth like that. What does he need such a big wide mouth for??? Don’t answer that.

The pose is good! He is once again doing evil things with his left hand, as he deserves. I like the texture of the fur collar, and I like how the hair and beard are drawn. Honestly if it weren’t for the mouth this would probably be one of my favorite illustrations of him. :(

Rating: 6/10, maybe 6,5 if I want to be generous. Ruined by the mouth.