I’m glad the LEGO Pokemon sets just got revealed, because now I know my wallet is safe

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Today is an exciting day for fans of both LEGO and Pokémon! LEGO has just unveiled some of the Pokémon sets coming out later this year, featuring popular characters like Pikachu, Eevee, Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. This is a huge collaboration for LEGO and a fantastic opportunity for Pokémon fans to expand their collections. As a lifelong enthusiast of both LEGO and Pokémon, I’m thrilled with what I’ve seen and relieved that these sets won’t break the bank!

I’m genuinely disappointed to say that, despite being a lifelong fan of both LEGO and Pokémon, I don’t plan to buy the new LEGO Pokémon sets. Both LEGO and Pokémon were incredibly important to me as a child, and continue to be comforting hobbies as an adult – I’ve been playing Pokémon Legends: Z-A constantly and my home is filled with LEGO creations. But something about these new sets just doesn’t feel right, and that’s enough for me to know I’ll have to pass on them.

LEGO Pokemon Sets Went From Hero to Zero Real Fast After Today’s Reveal

Why LEGO Pokemon’s Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise Set Drops the Ball

Okay, so as a huge Pokémon and LEGO fan, I have to say this Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set… it’s just not working for me, and here’s why. I’m going to break down all the issues I have with it.

  • I have owned and still own some massive LEGO sets, and there is no way the Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set feels right to handle if it’s intended to hold the weight of that Charizard on a plastic pole while also making each Pokemon and their respective biomes detachable to play frequently.
  • The faces of each Pokemon of the trio are only partly right. Be it that they are too blocky, be it that the expressions seem off, the faces are not on par with other quality LEGO products. In my opinion, this holds true for Blastoise above all others, as the natural roundness of its face is missing, replaced by a squared feel. Venusaur has a similar problem, but also a different one, as its ears are rounder than they should.
  • Charizard’s tail ends abruptly, which makes the fire unnatural. Venusaur’s body size seems to have shrunk. Blastoise’s cannons are too long and narrow.
  • The set costs $650, which is a lot and prices out a huge chunk of the audience. On top of that, the Kanto Region Badge Collection set is probably the coolest set revealed today, but it’s exclusively given out as a gift (unless stocks run out) when purchasing the Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set.
  • No LEGO Smart Minifigures or even regular Minifigs are included for any of the three Pokemon.

I think the Kanto starter Pokemon set isn’t worth the cost, and honestly, I don’t think it’s that great overall. While other fans might not feel the same way, these issues are a big problem for me and ruin the experience.

LEGO Gets Eevee Right, for the Most Part

The Eevee collection is likely the best of the bunch, though it isn’t perfect. Here are a few problems with it:

  • Eevee’s ears seem a bit smaller than they should be compared to the head, and the inner part missed the opportunity to have a darker layer on top of the brown one to better represent the Pokemon’s colors.
  • Eevee’s head is rounder and more accurate than that of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, but it still suffers from too much “blockyness,” especially near the eyes and its cheeks.

Here are my biggest issues with this set, but overall, I think it’s one of the best available, right up there with the very rare Kanto Badges. This is particularly true given the $59.99 price – anything more would have felt expensive. Since Eevee is such a popular Pokémon, most fans will be happy to see this.

LEGO Pokemon’s Pikachu Set is $200 Nightmare Fuel

The LEGO Pikachu set with its Poke Ball is probably the most disappointing one to me, and there are a few reasons why. The biggest problems are:

  • Pikachu’s face is honestly nightmare fuel. There have been many designs for the series’ mascot, from the beloved so-called “fat Pikachu” to modern takes in the anime, and none of them is half as bad as the face of LEGO Pikachu.
    • Proportions are wrong, the mouth is more pronounced than anything else, the eyes have an unnatural feel, and they have weird gaps above them that seem like small eyebrows. The ears are just glorified sticks, the front paws are unnecessarily long, and the Poke Ball lacks that round feel that the Eevee set has, or even the LEGO Mario Kart set.
  • Pikachu’s face and neck are locked in a specific position, so if you decide to remove it from its display, it wouldn’t have a natural look while standing on its feet.
  • The Pikachu set costs $199.99, which is a bit much for what is arguably the most renowned Pokemon of all time and one of the most popular ever.
  • For this price, the set should have come with a Pikachu Minifig.

I found the Pikachu and Poké Ball set the most disappointing overall, with the Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set being a close second. While the Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise set has some issues, they don’t seem as significant because it includes three models compared to just one for Pikachu. Plus, the Pikachu set feels particularly poorly executed compared to the others in this collection.

Good news for LEGO and Pokémon fans: more sets are planned for release in 2026! Recent leaks suggest we might see Pokémon like Croagunk, Larvitar, and Cubone in LEGO form. However, based on the sets released so far, I’m not very excited, though I hope to be surprised.

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2026-01-13 00:44