diff --git a/tools/anki-deck-periodic.py b/tools/anki-deck-periodic.py
index 25ccdae..c4216e7 100644
--- a/tools/anki-deck-periodic.py
+++ b/tools/anki-deck-periodic.py
@@ -38,13 +38,22 @@ the planet, for one) — TITLE_OVERRIDES below is the fix-up list; if a
 generated card shows an obviously wrong photo for some element, that's
 almost certainly another one of these collisions — add it there.
 
-Caveat: this fetch logic was written and dry-run tested without live
-access to Wikipedia (sandboxed here with no route to en.wikipedia.org),
-so it's exercised structurally (see --dry-run-tts) but not against the
-real API response shape or real image content. Skips are per-element and
-non-fatal — one bad/missing photo won't abort the rest of the deck — and
-every fetch attempt prints what it did, so check that output the first
-time you actually run this deck for real.
+Batched and rate-limited on purpose: metadata lookups (which element has
+which photo) go out up to 50 titles per request, not one request per
+element, and every HTTP call retries with backoff on a 429 (honoring
+Wikipedia's own Retry-After header when it sends one). The first version
+of this fetched one element at a time with no delay between requests and
+got rate-limited by Wikimedia on a real run — this replaced it.
+
+Caveat: this was written and tested without live access to Wikipedia
+(sandboxed here with no route to en.wikipedia.org) — exercised
+structurally (see --dry-run-tts), the redirect/normalization-chain
+resolution logic and the 429-retry path both unit-tested against
+simulated responses, but never against the real API's actual response
+shape or real image content. Skips are per-element and non-fatal — one
+bad/missing photo won't abort the rest of the deck — and every fetch
+attempt prints what it did, so check that output the first time you
+actually run this deck for real.
 
 Element data: Bowserinator/Periodic-Table-JSON (a widely used, actively
 maintained public dataset), fetched and spot-checked against known facts
@@ -69,6 +78,7 @@ import json
 import os
 import random
 import subprocess
+import time
 import urllib.error
 import urllib.parse
 import urllib.request
@@ -97,49 +107,139 @@ NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS = set(range(100, 119))
 TITLE_OVERRIDES = {"Hg": "Mercury (element)"}
 
 
-def fetch_element_image(symbol, name):
-    """Downloads (once, cached under periodic_images/) the real sample
-    photo Wikipedia itself shows for this element — its page's
-    'pageimage', the same image used in the infobox — via the standard
-    MediaWiki query API. Returns the cached local path, or None if no
-    image exists on the page (normal for some elements, not a bug)."""
-    cache_path = os.path.join(IMAGE_CACHE, f"{symbol}.jpg")
-    if os.path.isfile(cache_path):
-        return cache_path
+USER_AGENT = "anki-deck-periodic.py/1.0 (personal Anki deck generator, run locally by its owner)"
+
+
+def http_get_with_retry(url, max_retries=5):
+    """GET with retry-on-429: honors a numeric Retry-After header if
+    Wikipedia sends one, otherwise backs off 5s * attempt. Returns the raw
+    response bytes, or None if every attempt failed — never raises, since
+    one element's fetch failing must not abort the whole deck build."""
+    headers = {"User-Agent": USER_AGENT}
+    for attempt in range(1, max_retries + 1):
+        try:
+            req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers=headers)
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=20) as resp:
+                return resp.read()
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+            if e.code == 429 and attempt < max_retries:
+                wait = 5 * attempt
+                retry_after = e.headers.get("Retry-After") if e.headers else None
+                if retry_after and retry_after.isdigit():
+                    wait = int(retry_after)
+                print(f"  (rate limited, waiting {wait}s before retry {attempt}/{max_retries})")
+                time.sleep(wait)
+                continue
+            print(f"  (request failed: {e})")
+            return None
+        except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, ValueError) as e:
+            print(f"  (request failed: {e})")
+            return None
+    return None
+
+
+def resolve_pageimage_urls(pairs):
+    """pairs: list of (symbol, wikipedia_title). Batches lookups — up to
+    50 titles per MediaWiki query, the documented anonymous-access limit —
+    instead of one API call per element; a tight one-request-per-element
+    loop is exactly what triggered Wikipedia's rate limiting on a real
+    run. Requests thumbnails (piprop=thumbnail), not full-resolution
+    originals, per Wikimedia's own guidance on their 429 response. Returns
+    {symbol: thumbnail_url} for whichever elements actually have one."""
+    result = {}
+    CHUNK = 50
+    for i in range(0, len(pairs), CHUNK):
+        chunk = pairs[i:i + CHUNK]
+        symbol_by_title = {title: symbol for symbol, title in chunk}
+        titles_param = "|".join(title for _, title in chunk)
+        api_url = ("https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&format=json"
+                   "&prop=pageimages&piprop=thumbnail&pithumbsize=300&redirects=1&titles="
+                   + urllib.parse.quote(titles_param))
+        raw = http_get_with_retry(api_url)
+        if raw is None:
+            continue
+        data = json.loads(raw)
+        query = data.get("query", {})
+
+        # "pages" below is keyed by pageid with only the *final* resolved
+        # title on it, so build a title-at-this-point -> original-input-
+        # title map and walk it forward through each normalized/redirect
+        # step, re-keying as the title changes, to reach the same result.
+        input_of_title = {title: title for _, title in chunk}
+        for step in query.get("normalized", []) + query.get("redirects", []):
+            frm, to = step["from"], step["to"]
+            if frm in input_of_title:
+                input_of_title[to] = input_of_title.pop(frm)
+
+        for page in query.get("pages", {}).values():
+            final_title = page.get("title")
+            input_title = input_of_title.get(final_title, final_title)
+            symbol = symbol_by_title.get(input_title)
+            if symbol is None:
+                continue
+            thumb_url = page.get("thumbnail", {}).get("source")
+            if thumb_url:
+                result[symbol] = thumb_url
+        if i + CHUNK < len(pairs):
+            time.sleep(1)  # be polite between batches
+    return result
+
+
+def download_element_photos(url_map):
+    """url_map: {symbol: thumbnail_url}. Downloads each into
+    periodic_images/, one request at a time with a short gap between —
+    the metadata lookups above are batched, but the actual image bytes
+    still need one HTTP request per element, and Wikimedia's upload
+    servers rate-limit that too if hit back-to-back with no gap."""
+    for symbol, url in url_map.items():
+        cache_path = os.path.join(IMAGE_CACHE, f"{symbol}.jpg")
+        if os.path.isfile(cache_path):
+            continue
+        raw = http_get_with_retry(url)
+        if raw is None:
+            print(f"  (photo download failed for {symbol})")
+            continue
+        try:
+            img = Image.open(io.BytesIO(raw)).convert("RGB")
+            img.thumbnail((300, 300))
+            img.save(cache_path, "JPEG", quality=85)
+            print(f"  fetched photo for {symbol}")
+        except OSError as e:
+            print(f"  (photo decode failed for {symbol}: {e})")
+        time.sleep(0.5)
+
+
+def ensure_element_photos(elements):
+    """Call once per deck, before building any notes: makes sure every
+    eligible element (not --no-images, not NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS, not already
+    cached) has its photo downloaded into periodic_images/ up front —
+    batched and rate-limited, rather than the old one-request-per-card
+    approach that got 429'd on a real run. element_image_html() below then
+    only ever reads the cache; it makes no network calls itself."""
+    if args.no_images:
+        return
+    needed = [(symbol, name) for number, symbol, name, _cat in elements
+              if number not in NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS
+              and not os.path.isfile(os.path.join(IMAGE_CACHE, f"{symbol}.jpg"))]
+    if not needed:
+        return
 
     if args.dry_run_tts:
         # No real network call in dry-run mode — a flat placeholder lets the
         # rest of the pipeline (HTML wiring, media_files list, .apkg
         # packaging) still be exercised end-to-end without it.
-        Image.new("RGB", (100, 100), (190, 190, 190)).save(cache_path, "JPEG")
-        return cache_path
+        for symbol, _name in needed:
+            cache_path = os.path.join(IMAGE_CACHE, f"{symbol}.jpg")
+            Image.new("RGB", (100, 100), (190, 190, 190)).save(cache_path, "JPEG")
+        return
 
-    title = TITLE_OVERRIDES.get(symbol, name)
-    api_url = ("https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&format=json"
-               "&prop=pageimages&piprop=original&redirects=1&titles="
-               + urllib.parse.quote(title))
-    headers = {"User-Agent": "anki-deck-periodic.py (personal Anki deck generator)"}
-    try:
-        req = urllib.request.Request(api_url, headers=headers)
-        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=15) as resp:
-            data = json.load(resp)
-        pages = data.get("query", {}).get("pages", {})
-        page = next(iter(pages.values()), {})
-        image_url = page.get("original", {}).get("source")
-        if not image_url:
-            print(f"  (no photo found for {name})")
-            return None
-        img_req = urllib.request.Request(image_url, headers=headers)
-        with urllib.request.urlopen(img_req, timeout=15) as resp:
-            raw = resp.read()
-        img = Image.open(io.BytesIO(raw)).convert("RGB")
-        img.thumbnail((300, 300))
-        img.save(cache_path, "JPEG", quality=85)
-        print(f"  fetched photo for {name} ({title})")
-        return cache_path
-    except (urllib.error.URLError, urllib.error.HTTPError, OSError, ValueError) as e:
-        print(f"  (photo fetch failed for {name}: {e})")
-        return None
+    pairs = [(symbol, TITLE_OVERRIDES.get(symbol, name)) for symbol, name in needed]
+    print(f"Fetching {len(pairs)} element photo(s) from Wikipedia (batched, rate-limited)...")
+    url_map = resolve_pageimage_urls(pairs)
+    for symbol, _title in pairs:
+        if symbol not in url_map:
+            print(f"  (no photo found for {symbol})")
+    download_element_photos(url_map)
 
 _CANDIDATES = [
     args.model_path,
@@ -365,18 +465,20 @@ def build_deck(deck_key, deck_title):
     return genanki.Deck(deck_id, deck_title)
 
 
-def element_image_html(number, symbol, name, media_files):
-    """Returns an <img> tag for this element's cached/fetched photo, or ""
-    if --no-images was passed, the element is in NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS, or no
-    photo could be found/downloaded for it."""
+def element_image_html(number, symbol, media_files):
+    """Returns an <img> tag for this element's cached photo, or "" if
+    --no-images was passed, the element is in NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS, or no
+    photo was found/downloaded for it. Reads the cache only — every
+    network call happens up front in ensure_element_photos(), once per
+    deck, not per card."""
     if args.no_images or number in NO_PHOTO_NUMBERS:
         return ""
-    local_path = fetch_element_image(symbol, name)
-    if local_path is None:
+    cache_path = os.path.join(IMAGE_CACHE, f"{symbol}.jpg")
+    if not os.path.isfile(cache_path):
         return ""
-    if local_path not in media_files:
-        media_files.append(local_path)
-    return f'<img class="elem-img" src="{os.path.basename(local_path)}">'
+    if cache_path not in media_files:
+        media_files.append(cache_path)
+    return f'<img class="elem-img" src="{os.path.basename(cache_path)}">'
 
 
 def add_note(deck, model, prompt, answer, qtext, atext, media_files, tag):
@@ -399,6 +501,7 @@ def gen_prehs():
     deck = build_deck(deck_key, "Periodic Table: Symbols & Names (1-36)")
     media_files = []
     subset = [e for e in ELEMENTS if e[0] <= 36]
+    ensure_element_photos(subset)
     cards = []
     for number, symbol, name, category in subset:
         cards.append(("symbol_to_name", number, symbol, name))
@@ -406,7 +509,7 @@ def gen_prehs():
     random.seed(50)
     random.shuffle(cards)
     for kind, number, symbol, name in cards:
-        img = element_image_html(number, symbol, name, media_files)
+        img = element_image_html(number, symbol, media_files)
         if kind == "symbol_to_name":
             add_note(deck, model, img + symbol, name,
                       f"What element has the symbol {symbol}?", name,
@@ -423,6 +526,7 @@ def gen_hs():
     model_id, model = build_model(deck_key)
     deck = build_deck(deck_key, "Periodic Table: Symbols, Names & Numbers (1-118)")
     media_files = []
+    ensure_element_photos(ELEMENTS)
     cards = []
     for number, symbol, name, category in ELEMENTS:
         cards.append(("symbol_to_name", number, symbol, name))
@@ -431,7 +535,7 @@ def gen_hs():
     random.seed(51)
     random.shuffle(cards)
     for kind, number, symbol, name in cards:
-        img = element_image_html(number, symbol, name, media_files)
+        img = element_image_html(number, symbol, media_files)
         if kind == "symbol_to_name":
             add_note(deck, model, img + symbol, name,
                       f"What element has the symbol {symbol}?", name,