Resident Pokémon fan Jarrett (wilderland.builds) here to offer some early thoughts on the long-awaited official LEGO Pokémon sets! This week marked the reveal of the first wave, and like everyone else, I’ve already begun dissecting the promotional images to get a feel for what to expect from this release. Pokémon has long been a well-represented theme in the MOC community (you can view some highlights in The Brothers Brick Pokémon archive), but for the first time, we have official collaboration sets from these two industry titans. While I’m looking forward to seeing each of them in person before making any final judgements (which is something I always recommend), I’ll take a closer look at each set below and offer my Poké-fan take.
LEGO Pokémon 72151 Eevee
Eevee is a personal favorite and a good way to kick off this wave. As the smallest and most affordable of the revealed sets, this is the only one that I feel actually appeals to the entire community – kids and adults alike. At $59.99, this set seems to live in the 71426 Piranha Plant tier and similarly offers a buildable figure at a lower price point. As someone with kids who love Pokémon, that’s something I really appreciate. I only wish it were true for the other sets as well.
As far as the build itself, I’m pretty pleased with it at this scale and price point. The Eevee likeness is good, and it seems to be finished and polished from all angles. It looks like there are some parts in new colors featured throughout this build, as well as potentially a new mold, which is cool to see. I especially appreciate the shaping on the tail, which is nicely done and looks very similar to its model in the games and anime.
My only real issue is with how smooth the entire build looks, given that this is supposed to be a furry and fluffy creature. I think some different parts or exposed studs could have been used sporadically to simulate texture throughout the build. It’s a bit odd that the recently released 75452 BB-8, a notoriously smooth droid, has more exposed studs and texture than Eevee. It’s a minor gripe though, and I do like this build quite a bit. It’s the only set from this wave that I plan on picking up anytime soon.
LEGO Pokémon 72150 Pikachu and Poké Ball
Going into this wave, Pikachu felt like the free square and an automatic home run. The most iconic and accessible character, the face of the brand, and one that has already been represented in several different building sets, MOCs, and nearly every form of media imaginable – what could go wrong?
Plenty, it seems.
Aside from the build itself, $199.99 is disappointing to see up front. This is the character that most young builders will want, and it’s at a prohibitively high price tier – almost the cost of a Nintendo Switch Lite. With the marketing and 18+ branding, LEGO is very much focusing on adult collectors, but I think there was a real opportunity to appeal to families in this set. If anything, I wish there were another Pikachu build priced similar to Eevee. Of course, there could be in the future – LEGO has no qualms with re-releasing popular characters at varying prices and sizes (paging Hulkbuster).
The actual build leaves quite a bit to be desired. The first thing that sticks out is some of the odd shaping throughout the build, both on Pikachu and on the Poké Ball. There are rounded elements and shapes that have very visible gaps and areas where things don’t line up neatly, which is a bit distracting. Most notably, the section holding Pikachu’s eyes forms almost a ‘band’ that appears to be sitting atop its face. The printed mouth looks like the source, but it feels like a copout for a prestige LEGO set to not attempt a brick-built shaping.
The display base features Pikachu’s number 25 in studs, but the slab of black and yellow isn’t very inspiring. The added heft is probably necessary to support Pikachu’s leaping pose, but it’s also inflating the the piece count and increasing the price. The Poké Ball release portion of the build looks cool, but it’s an odd choice given that the primary Pikachu that The Pokémon Company features in media and that we’re used to seeing is Ash’s Pikachu, who doesn’t use a Poké Ball.
Overall, I’m a bit disappointed with this build. It looks far too similar to other buildable Pikachu models we’ve seen, but at an unfair price point. The result is a set that looks like it’s filled with things it could have done without to be more expensive. If it needed to be at this price point, I think the quality of the build could be quite a bit better.
LEGO Pokémon 72153 Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise
The premier set of this wave is the evolved Kanto starter pack featuring Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. As an adult collector and a fan of the large buildable characters (The Mighty Bowser being a personal favorite), I’m right in the target audience for this one.
Let’s address the Donphan in the room: the price point. $649.99 is a hefty price tag, and more than I’ve ever paid (or felt inclined to pay) for a LEGO set. For that price, you could buy a Nintendo Switch 2 and the 3 newest Pokémon games at MSRP and still have some money left over. I’d like to judge the set independent of the price, but it’s really difficult to not view every aspect of this build through the filter of this MSRP. (Not that the price is keeping collectors and scalpers from selling out!)
When looking at the actual build, it definitely makes for a nice and sizable display piece. I appreciate how the base highlights the characters and gives the full model presence without making it impossible to display on a shelf. Still, I can’t help but wonder how much of that staggering price is sunk in a stand that is largely obscured by the main attraction. There are some sections of the base that look pretty good (like the cascading water beneath Blastoise), but in other sections it looks very plain (like the rows of plain exposed studs beneath Venusaur). In the past, building immersive display solutions for sets has been a rich vein of creativity for builders, but with 18+ sets focused so heavily on display, I suppose it makes business sense, even though I’d rather see the characters for less and build my own stand.
The Kanto starters themselves look pretty solid. I’m thankful to see what appears to be printed parts and no stickers throughout this build, which helps make it feel like more of a premium product in this day and age. The individual builds all have a good likeness to their characters, though I think some are better than others. Charizard is the clear winner of this group, especially considering that he requires a more possibility and movement than the other two. As a founding member of Team Charmander Starter, I’ll admit to being biased here.
Blastoise also bears a good resemblance to the character, though the build is lacking in a few different areas. While there are some areas that look great (like the shell frame that LEGO has recently mastered – thanks Koopas!), other areas, like the hands, are comparatively lacking in detail and likeness.
The Venusaur build is hefty and colorful, but there are a few things that throw me off. First, one of the more iconic visual cues of Venusaur is the pointed leaf coming down over its forehead. Here, it’s split in two and raised upward, which really changes the framing of its face. Additionally, there are some very exposed gray parts throughout the build – most notably in its feet at the very forefront of the entire display. This makes it feel like less of a premium product, as I have a difficult time wanting to see internal ‘hidden’ frame colors at the forefront of a costly build.
Overall, I think this is a nice build and the characters are captured well. It’s nearly impossible to judge this set without considering the MSRP, which is why I’m personally disappointed with it. If this set were half the price, or if the models could be collected independently, I’d find a lot more to enjoy and a lot less to nitpick. As it is, I’ll be waiting for a sale (and not getting my hopes up, as again, it’s selling out!).
LEGO Pokémon 40892 Kanto Region Badge Collection (GWP) and 40911 Mini Pokémon Center (Insiders Reward)
There are two other sets that won’t be directly for sale. The LEGO Pokémon Kanto Region Badge Collection (40892) is a GWP (exclusive to the Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set), and the Mini Pokémon Center will be available as an Insiders reward. The Mini Pokémon Center is a cute little set and one I’ll probably pick up with my spare points. The Badge Collection is actually very cool, and it’s a bummer that it’s not available individually. While it might look cool on someone’s shelf, this is also a set with a ton of play value and something my kids would go crazy over having. The decision to lock it behind a high paywall with the premium set and not even something like a $200 Pokémon threshold if you wanted to pick up the Pikachu set is a bit disappointing. If it’s going to be an exclusive GWP for a $650 set, it should probably have printed parts for the badges and not stickers.
In summary, as the debut of a collaboration between the biggest toy and collectible brands in the world, this wave leaves a lot to be desired. On the surface, we don’t see anything different from what was offered in buildable Pokémon sets from other toy companies, beyond a much higher price point. Waiting for a sale might not even be a feasible option here given the popularity of the Pokémon theme, especially considering that the Kanto starter set preorders have already sold out on LEGO.com (and eBay flooded with GWP listings). I’m still excited to see Pokémon represented in official LEGO sets, but I’m hoping that aside from lower-price options, we’ll see more of that LEGO play magic that’s found in themes like Ninjago. For now, collecting ’em all is only an option for the most affluent Pokémon fans.