Earlier this year,Pokémonofficially confirmed it would be getting LEGO sets in 2026. Not much information has been revealed about the upcoming collaboration, except that it will feature the popular monster-catching characters in LEGO form.
If the promotional teaser video is anything to go by, at least one of the setswill likely include a buildable Pikachu. This information is fantastic news since it means that fans will likely be able to build their favorite characters out of the iconic interlocking bricks.
However, it might also mean that Nintendo intends to repeat abig mistake that it made with the existing LEGOMariosets.
LEGO Mario Sets Have Been A Bit Disappointing
Buildable Characters Galore, But Not A Minifigure To Be Found
There have beenseveral LEGOMariosets, ranging from a massive fire-breathingBowser and a replica of Luigi’s Mansion, to iconicMario Kartvehicles and riders. The problem with all these sets is that, instead of including minifigures ofSuper Mario Bros.characters, they featured buildable figures.
These figures are made up of existing LEGO blocks and allow the characters to berendered in large format and in great detail.Other versions of the characters do include figures, but these are much larger and blockier than the traditional minifig.
Not all LEGO orMariofans like the way these larger builds look, though, and thelack of brand-themed minifigureshas been a point of frustration among many.
The only footage officially revealed so far for the upcomingPokémonLEGO set shows a Pikachu tail being built out of flat LEGO bricks,heavily implying that the character will be buildablein the same way as Mario and friends.
Minifigure-Scale LEGO Pokémon Is A Must
Nintendo Needs To Include Iconic Franchise Characters As LEGO Minifigures
Building large Pokémon out of LEGO might be fun, but fans will also want to see some classic minifigures in the sets. Nintendo should include Pokémon characters that canfit into the regular minifigure play scaleand featurebeloved characters like Ashand Professor Oak.
Nintendo has gone several different routes with each of its IPs that have already made the jump to LEGO. WhileMariofeatures large, blocky characters,The Legend of Zeldawent for the more realistic minifigure rendering, andAnimal Crossingstruck a cute middle groundwithcustom figures that resemble beloved franchise characters.
The decision about what kind of blocks to include might have a lot to do with theintended audience of each set, withMariotargeting younger fans than theZeldasets, for instance. Luckily, leaks have revealed that the coming collaboration will be rated 18+, so thePokémonLEGO sets may not follow the same path asMario.
This may mean that Nintendo won’t be repeating the same mistake it made with Mario for the upcomingPokémonLEGO sets. We might even get some tinyPokémonminifigures, an addition which would surely send the sets flying off shelves just for the collectible value and cuteness factor.
