I played with the Lego Pokémon Smart Play sets and they deserve all the awards

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I recently got to spend a couple hours of my workday playing with the new Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets, and my inner 8-year-old is still screaming. So, I’ll put this the way a child might: I love the new Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets so much I want to marry them.

Seriously, though: These sets totally rule.

I’ll admit that I was underwhelmed by the Lego Smart Play Star Wars sets released earlier this year. So I was a bit skeptical when Mashable got the chance to demo the new Lego Pokémon sets ahead of their Aug. 1 launch. However, my Pokémon-loving colleagues and I had an absolute blast playing and geeking out over these sets.

Lego Charizard and Mewtwo in Battle Mode.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

I’m excited to break down how they work, which sets are coming, and whether they’re worth adding to your Lego collection.

What are the Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets?

Charizard in all its glory.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

Mashable has been following the Lego Smart Play rollout closely. We were there for the Smart Brick’s big debut at CES 2026 and on hand for the London launch event for the Pokémon Smart Play Sets this summer.

The Smart Brick enables interacitivity with the Mewtwo’s Lab Break set.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

The Smart Play system is built around a new Smart Brick, a modified 2×4 Lego piece. Lego crammed a lot of hardware into this brick, which features an accelerometer, microphones and speakers, LED lights, magnetic field sensors, a gyroscope, and a color sensor. The Smart Brick responds to Smart Tags included with the Smart Play sets, as well as various Smart Minifigures. An included wireless charger provides extra juice when the battery runs out.

Recharge your Smart Bricks with the included charging pad.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

The end result is a Lego set that responds to your play. Now, your Lego Mini Figures can talk to each other. They also light up or make noises based on your movements.

Here’s the Lego Jolteon with a Smart Brick.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

The Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets take this even further: Your favorite Pokémon not only make adorable little noises, but also enter into a battle mode. You can charge up special powers, level up your Pokémon, and pit them against each other.

The Smart Brick sits right in Charizard’s tummy.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

The Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets make incredibly cute noises

The real secret sauce behind the new smart Lego Pokémon sets? Pikachu, Squirtle, Bidoof, Geodude, Charmander, and Eevee make adorable little noises. They squeak and chatter back and forth when you place them near each other. When you push Squirtle’s buggy around, it makes little choo-choo engine noises.

Lego Smart Play Training House with Pikachu Set.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

And the pièce de résistance? The Pikachu Treehouse Set contains a hidden Murphy Bed. Place Pikachu or one of its smart friends on the bed, and they fall asleep and snore.

Lego Smart Play Pikachu takes a nap in the Training House.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

It’s enough to make you squeal at the cuteness overload, which is exactly what we did as we played with these little monsters at the Mashable office.

The aforementioned battle mode is also really cool. Some of the sets come with training stations, where you can level up Pokémon for a better chance at winning a match-up. You can power up your Pokémon’s special power (shake too hard, and the move fizzles out), dodge attacks, and generally just have fun.

These are just some of the primary interactive elements, and a lot of the fun here will be trying out new things. You can add the Smart Tags and Smart Bricks to different creatures to explore new ways to play.

Squirtle comes with a buggy and barbecue set, obviously.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

Again, I’ve never been a huge Pokémon guy (I’m an OG Harry Potter nerd), and even I had a blast playing with these cute little dudes.

The Lego Pokémon sets arrive Aug. 1

There is one thing I don’t love about the Lego Smart Play sets: they don’t all come with a smart brick. That’s not as big of a deal here as it was with the pricey Star Wars sets, but check the product details carefully. You’ll need to buy at least one set with a smart brick and charger. From there, you can build your own collection. I appreciate that the add-on sets start at $19.99, and you can get all-in-one sets for $69.99. Lego’s prices aren’t always so friendly.

The Lego Pokémon Smart Play: Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle set.
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

The adorable Training House with Pikachu and the Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle sets are all-in-one kits that include Smart Bricks.

Geodude rocks!
Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable

You can also buy interactive “Smart Play Compatible” sets, which include:

• Mewtwo’s Lab Break

• Eevee and Lapras’s Treasure Hunt

• Berry Bash with Bulbasaur and Bidoof

• Trainer’s Buggy Adventure with Squirtle

• Charmander and Geodude’s Cavern Clash

• Cubone and Gengar’s Spooky Showdown

Three of the sets are available on Amazon, and the rest are available for preorder at the Lego online store. Presumably, more smart Pokémon sets will be coming in the future.

Are the Lego Pokémon Smart Play Sets worth it?

Absolutely! We had a blast playing with these sets, and we appreciate that there are a lot of sets available for under $75. If you love Lego and Pokémon, we think this one will be fun for all ages.