The Lego Pokémon Line Shows Toys Are Only for Rich Adults Now

From the moment a pixelated Gengar and Nidorino faced disconnected successful the opening animation of the archetypal Pokémon games connected the archetypal Game Boy backmost successful 1996, the Pokémon franchise has been a perennial favourite of kids and adults alike. With 2026 marking Pokémon's 30th anniversary, Lego’s first-ever collaboration with the enduringly fashionable monster-catching megahit is perfectly timed—a crossover of popular civilization titans with conscionable 1 problem: Anyone who isn’t an ultra-fan with cavernously heavy pockets isn’t invited.

The caller announcement of a enactment of Lego Pokémon wasn’t a surprise—the Danish ceramic marque archetypal revealed it had entered into a “multi-year partnership” with The Pokémon Company backmost successful March 2025—but the constitution of the scope itself was. Despite the wide appeal, Lego is launching with conscionable 3 sets, and each azygous 1 is age-rated 18+. In short, it’s exclusively aimed astatine and priced for the “Adult Fan of Lego” (AFOL) market.

The astir affordable acceptable is Eevee, a 587-piece exemplary for $60. Franchise mascot Pikachu takes up the mid-tier, price-wise, with the 2,050-piece Pikachu with Pokéball set, astatine an MSRP of $200. Lastly, the signature connection portion is simply a colossal three-in-one acceptable of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise—the last evolutions of the archetypal game’s starter Pokémon—which clocks successful astatine a monolithic 6,838 pieces for $650.

Beyond the steep prices, each 3 sets people nostalgic adults by drafting exclusively from the first-generation Pokémon games, and are designed for presumption implicit play—the assembled models effect successful show pieces with minimal articulation oregon posability. It each begs the question—are kids inactive invited erstwhile it comes to Lego?

No Kids Allowed?

Lego being costly oregon targeting big collectors is thing new—2025’s $1,000 Star Wars Death Star deed a lofty caller terms threshold, portion the $400 USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation—a 38-year-old show—now looks a bargain compared to Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Nor is it antithetic for Lego’s collector sets to beryllium shown disconnected erstwhile built, alternatively than played with—look, but don’t touch.

However, Lego’s different collaborations with cross-generational charm typically connection thing for everyone. The Super Mario scope makes for a pertinent examination here, based connected different Nintendo property, with plentifulness of kid-friendly Mario Kart racers and larger playsets to opposition the collector-grade Mario and Kart oregon the replica Lego Game Boy. Yet Lego Pokémon has thing astatine each for younger builders astatine launch, nor, astatine the clip of writing, thing announced to scope that audience. Given Pokémon has specified wide entreaty crossed property ranges, Lego’s determination to exclusively pursuit the lucrative collector’s marketplace is each the much striking—and immoderate experts deliberation it risks undermining the brand’s lasting arsenic being for everyone.

“Pokémon and Lego person multi-generational fanbases, yet there’s nary explicit communicative astir multigenerational play, which runs antagonistic to Lego's ethos,” says Katriina Heljakka, a elder researcher of artifact and play cultures astatine the University of Turku successful Finland. “The caller sets stress novelty, collectability, and fandom, which aligns with AFOL preferences, but supply small substantive commentary connected however radical really play together.”

Playing unneurotic is thing Lego has been pushing for a while, with a enactment of sets that are designed to beryllium built collaboratively utilizing the Lego Builder app’s “Build Together” feature. The family-targeted mode splits instructions into smaller parts, truthful aggregate radical tin physique their ain sections, past harvester for the last build. Yet of the announced Pokémon sets, it’s lone the smallest, Eevee, that—per the announcement—“presents fans with the quality to physique unneurotic with friends and family.” Another departure from Lego’s cosmopolitan appeal.

The result, says Heljakka, is that “licensed collectibles hazard being perceived arsenic show pieces for solitary play alternatively than arsenic tools for shared play,” adding that the upcoming sets are “closed-object products that behave much similar 3D jigsaw puzzles than platforms for co-play by gathering together.”

Priced Out

Further cementing the Lego Pokémon scope arsenic being for adults lone is simply a brace of collectibles that wealth virtually can’t buy. A 233-piece Mini Pokémon Center is lone disposable done the Lego Insiders Club rank scheme, redeemable for 2,500 points accrued done different purchases made connected Lego’s website oregon successful its stores, portion the Kanto Region Badge Collection, a 312-piece “Gift With Purchase” acceptable recreating the 8 gym badges players earned successful Pokémon Red/Blue, was only disposable to those who preordered the priciest trio evolutions acceptable straight from Lego.

The scarcity of that badge acceptable successful peculiar has worked successful Lego’s favor—a desirable acceptable produced successful constricted quantities, tied exclusively to the astir costly acceptable successful the line, propelled the $650 evolutions trio to merchantability retired astir instantly successful astir territories. Professional Lego YouTuber Bamidele “JANGBRiCKS” calculated that it made Lego $30 cardinal successful conscionable 24 hours.