From the second a pixelated Gengar and Nidorino confronted off within the opening animation of the primary Pokémon video games on the unique Recreation Boy again in 1996, the Pokémon franchise has been a perennial favourite of youngsters and adults alike. With 2026 marking Pokémon’s thirtieth anniversary, Lego’s first-ever collaboration with the enduringly fashionable monster-catching megahit is completely timed—a crossover of popular culture titans with only one downside: Anybody who isn’t an ultra-fan with cavernously deep pockets isn’t invited.
The latest announcement of a line of Lego Pokémon wasn’t a shock—the Danish brick model first revealed it had entered right into a “multi-year partnership” with The Pokémon Firm again in March 2025—however the make-up of the vary itself was. Regardless of the mass enchantment, Lego is launching with simply three units, and each single one is age-rated 18+. In brief, it’s solely aimed toward and priced for the “Grownup Fan of Lego” (AFOL) market.
Essentially the most reasonably priced set is Eevee, a 587-piece mannequin for $60. Franchise mascot Pikachu takes up the mid-tier, price-wise, with the two,050-piece Pikachu with Pokéball set, at an MSRP of $200. Lastly, the signature assertion piece is a colossal three-in-one set of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise—the ultimate evolutions of the primary recreation’s starter Pokémon—which clocks in at a large 6,838 items for $650.
Past the steep costs, all three units goal nostalgic adults by drawing solely from the first-generation Pokémon video games, and are designed for presentation over play—the assembled fashions end in show items with minimal articulation or posability. All of it begs the query—are youngsters nonetheless welcome relating to Lego?
No Children Allowed?
Lego being costly or focusing on grownup collectors is nothing new—2025’s $1,000 Star Wars Death Star hit a lofty new value threshold, whereas the $400 USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology—a 38-year-old present—now seems a cut price in comparison with Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Neither is it uncommon for Lego’s collector units to be proven off as soon as constructed, reasonably than performed with—look, however don’t contact.
Nevertheless, Lego’s different collaborations with cross-generational attraction usually provide one thing for everybody. The Tremendous Mario vary makes for a pertinent comparability right here, based mostly on one other Nintendo property, with loads of kid-friendly Mario Kart racers and larger playsets to distinction the collector-grade Mario and Kart or the reproduction Lego Game Boy. But Lego Pokémon has nothing in any respect for youthful builders at launch, nor, on the time of writing, something introduced to succeed in that viewers. Given Pokémon has such broad enchantment throughout age ranges, Lego’s resolution to solely chase the profitable collector’s market is all of the extra putting—and a few consultants suppose it dangers undermining the model’s standing as being for everybody.
“Pokémon and Lego have multi-generational fanbases, but there’s no specific narrative about multigenerational play, which runs counter to Lego’s ethos,” says Katriina Heljakka, a senior researcher of toy and play cultures on the College of Turku in Finland. “The brand new units emphasize novelty, collectability, and fandom, which aligns with AFOL preferences, however present little substantive commentary on how folks truly play collectively.”
Taking part in collectively is one thing Lego has been pushing for some time, with a number of units which might be designed to be constructed collaboratively utilizing the Lego Builder app’s “Construct Collectively” characteristic. The family-targeted mode splits directions into smaller components, so a number of folks can construct their very own sections, then mix for the ultimate construct. But of the introduced Pokémon units, it’s solely the smallest, Eevee, that—per the announcement—“presents followers with the power to construct along with family and friends.” One other departure from Lego’s common enchantment.
The end result, says Heljakka, is that “licensed collectibles threat being perceived as show items for solitary play reasonably than as instruments for shared play,” including that the upcoming units are “closed-object merchandise that behave extra like 3D jigsaw puzzles than platforms for co-play by constructing collectively.”
Priced Out
Additional cementing the Lego Pokémon vary as being for adults solely is a pair of collectibles that cash actually can’t purchase. A 233-piece Mini Pokémon Middle is simply obtainable via the Lego Insiders Club membership scheme, redeemable for two,500 factors accrued via different purchases made on Lego’s web site or in its shops, whereas the Kanto Region Badge Collection, a 312-piece “Present With Buy” set recreating the eight gymnasium badges gamers earned in Pokémon Purple/Blue, was solely obtainable to those that preordered the priciest trio evolutions set straight from Lego.
The shortage of that badge set specifically has labored in Lego’s favor—a fascinating set produced in restricted portions, tied solely to the most costly set within the line, propelled the $650 evolutions trio to promote out virtually instantly in most territories. Skilled Lego YouTuber Bamidele “JANGBRiCKS” calculated that it made Lego $30 million in simply 24 hours.
