How does The Pokémon Company celebrate the 20th anniversary of its extremely lucrative, multimedia franchise, a powerful brand that encompasses video games, trading cards, movies, television shows, toys, and more? There’s really only one thing to do under such circumstances: Create the ultimate Pokémon card, a massive mosaic constructed from nearly 13,000 normal-sized cards, all of which join together to form a portrait of Pikachu, the chubby yellow rodent who serves as the ambassador and mascot of the Pokémon brand. The Brobdingnagian card, currently on display in Paris, is the creation of U.K. artist Quentin Devine, apparently as some sort of strange attempt to claim a world’s record in an extremely obscure category.
Mashable has a series of photographs showing the card, both from a distance and up close, so fans can see for themselves what such a thing looks like. For good reason, nothing of this scale has ever been done before in the world of trading cards. Now that Devine has done it, such a stunt need never be repeated. One can only wonder what the future holds for this giant Pokémon auto-tribute. Perhaps it will survive long after the company that commissioned it fades away into obscurity and nothingness. Under those circumstances, the smiling image of Pikachu could well be the last remnant of a once-powerful gaming empire. “I am Pikachu,” the card seems to say. “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.”