For months, I’ve been speculating over what LEGO’s take on the popular Pokémon series might look like, after all previous Nintendo sets have come in many forms. We’ve seen the Mario series, for instance, get the interactive treatment, a cute electronic Mario bouncing around between custom-built stages and even hopping inside LEGO-sized karts. Not only that, but there have been larger sets too, more catered to the adult audience, giant Question Mark blocks folding out into mini-versions of Super Mario 64 courses, a towering Bowser and an NES console. The Legend of Zelda, meanwhile, saw a stunning recreation of the Great Deku Tree, with another set promised in the next few months. Then, Animal Crossing would let you essentially create your very own village, complete with a town hall and a museum. So, where does this leave Pokémon then?
Looking over photos of the five sets announced yesterday, I have to say, I never quite expected LEGO’s take to move in this direction (at least initially). Instead of smaller Animal Crossing-sized sets designed with customisation in mind, what we’re actually getting feels like a real home run, not only for fans but also those wanting something a little meatier to build.
First off, let’s look at the two promotional sets, appetisers if you will, to the main courses later on. The first, a mini representation of a Pokémon center is simple but effective in its design, a nice little bonus for those that have 2,600 LEGO points spare. The second promotional piece, meanwhile, brought a smile to the face of this Kanto-obsessed fan: it’s the Kanto Region Badge Collection. Featuring LEGO renditions of all eight badges from the original video games (Red, Blue and Yellow) and displayed in a nice-looking LEGO-built case, I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting the sets to go in this direction. I simply thought we’d see the Pokémon themselves, and that’s it. As a big fan who still remembers earning his first Boulder Badge all those years ago, this hit the nostalgia part of my brain hard. Only available with purchases of the biggest Pokémon set, though, this does come with a high asking price.
Moving on to the actual purchasable pieces, though.
While the Eevee set is certainly cute and caters to those on tighter budgets, it’s the next two sets that really blew me away, one of which may well be the nicest and most impressive-looking build I’ve ever seen. And I know how hyperbolic that sounds, but let me explain my reason in a moment.
First off, the Pikachu set an already awesome-looking representation of Pokémon’s main mascot, made all the better thanks to its stand. While it would have been easy to simply have just Pikachu alone, the effect of seeing him popping out of his Pokéball just gives it a more dynamic look. One of action. Better still, this is a pretty sizable piece at around 35cm high and 39 deep.
I saved the best for last, though. A true monster at just under 7,000 pieces (!). Again, turning to the Kanto region once more for inspiration, picking this set up, you’ll get to build not one, not two, but all three of the evolved versions of the Kanto region’s starting Pokémon – Venusaur, Blastoise and Charizard. Just like the Pikachu set, rather than simply being focused on the Pokémon themselves, what truly brings this set together is its presentation, a large base with sections that demonstrate the elemental-based powers of each Pokémon. On the base, you have the flower blooming side where Venusaur dwells, the crashing wave of water beneath Blastoise and a towering cliff dripping lava above the pair where Charizard resides. My description simply does not do the set justice, so I advise you take a look for yourself. As I said, it may well be one of the most impressive-looking LEGO sets I’ve seen.
So, where does this leave me? Well, with a huge crater-like dent in my wallet, that’s for sure. But as someone whose love for Pokémon started and peaked with the original Kanto region games, these sets delivered everything I could want from a LEGO take on Nintendo’s series and then some. Let’s just hope LEGO don’t opt to release all the Pokémon as LEGO. My poor wallet!
