Working our way up when it comes to piece count (check out my review of the smaller LEGO Pokémon Eevee set right here), LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poké Ball is next up on the list, a surprisingly sizable build coming in at a little over the 2,000 mark and around 35cm tall, including the stand.
The set essentially consists of three major components, each detachable and treated as its own individual piece – Pikachu himself (or herself), the base and a Poké Ball.
Starting off with the main event itself, Pikachu is surprisingly large, maybe just a tad shorter than he would be in the video games. Building him proved to be a rather varied experience, courtesy of the diversity in brightly coloured pieces used inside the actual body and head. With Pikachu mostly a bright yellow, I was worried I’d be messing around with a bundle of similarly looking yellow pieces, and thankfully, that wasn’t the case here, and bizarrely, it went a long way in keeping me engaged. It also made constructing much easier as I didn’t just need to rely on the instructions’ pictures to align pieces, but could also use the varying colours.
As far as posing goes, Pikachu is a little more limited; his head is aimed more upward, and his arms are movable up and down. Thankfully, his tail can be swept left and right, while his ears are fully manoeuvrable thanks to their ball joints. Placing Pikachu on his own (sans base) is an option if you’d prefer, as he sits neatly on his rear. However, his head cannot really be adjusted, and while locked onto the base, his alignment facing a more upward position works well. When sitting, it means he’s always looking up, making it less ideal to be displayed in higher places. Just like Eevee, there are no stickers with all details printed directly onto the LEGO pieces (an instant win in my book). Overall, I like the LEGO version of Pikachu. The set has nailed the scaling of his body, and his tail even has the option to switch between male and female tips (a very cute touch). The one area I will say that I’m not quite settled on is the face region. While I can certainly get along with what we have, I wonder if there may have been better alternatives to constructing Pikachu’s mouth and eye area to look a little less goofy.
While it’s probably best not to start tossing around the Poké Ball, LEGO’s interpretation of the now iconic sphere is pretty cool. Using curved pieces to give the illusion of an actual ball shape, as well as a printed piece for the middle button, all this is rounded off (get it?) by posing the ball slightly opened (for reasons I’ll explain later).
As for the stand, what could have easily been just a straightforward black base is given a little more impact thanks to its lightning bolt shape and yellow strip going around its outer edge. Another cool element Pokémon fans are sure to pick up on, too, is the number ‘25’ outlined on the base using studs, a reference to Pikachu’s Pokédex number. A longer rod-like structure leans out at an angle, where Pikachu is slid onto with blue see-through plastic lightning bolt pieces attached to highlight his electric capabilities. The Poké Ball, meanwhile, clips in just behind Pikachu on a small arm.
When all three pieces are put together, the overall effect is very impressive, the set conveying a strong sense of action and energy as Pikachu appears to be leaping out of his Poké Ball, electric charges shooting out as he does. Compared with Eevee, Pikachu may feel a little more restricted when it comes to posing, but it definitely makes up for it in its overall presentation.
The leap up from LEGO Pokémon Eevee’s pricing is nothing to scoff at, I will admit, but Pikachu feels like much more of a showy construct, one that stands out on your shelf (amongst what is likely to be plenty more LEGO builds) largely thanks to its ‘in-motion’ pose. Slight awkwardness in the face aside, I feel LEGO have done Pokémon’s headlining mascot justice, and if fans are looking for a set with a little more meat on the bones than the smaller Eevee, then Pikachu may be the way to go.
Review Copy Provided by The LEGO Group
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