Gotta Remix ’Em All: Building Beyond LEGO Pokémon Smart Play
/LEGO was kind enough to send BrickNerd the entire initial wave of LEGO Pokémon Smart Play sets, including all the sets and polybags. I had volunteered to take a look at them, but as a guy who doesn’t buy LEGO sets often, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. There was also one small problem: I don’t know much about Pokémon.
Sure, I’ve heard of Pikachu. I’ve seen some of the other characters, and recently I was a tiny part of a HUGE Pokémon collaboration where builders from all over the world created amazing characters based on hundreds of Pokémon. (You can check out those builds on Instagram here.)
So instead of approaching this wave as a Pokémon expert, I decided to explore it the way I know best: as a LEGO builder, seeing what I could build, change, and create with all those new characters and parts.
Choosing My First Pokémon
Without much Pokémon knowledge to guide me, I simply browsed the sets, picked out a few characters I liked and decided to build those first. That led me to the biggest set in the wave, 72167 Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle. I was also intrigued by the Smart Play system and wanted to test it for myself.
Charizard, or “the dragon,” as I call him, is a pretty cool display piece even if you know nothing about Pokémon. Once you add the Smart Brick, though, you can fly him around with an awesome swooshing sound. Believe me, I did a lot of that. :D
Swooshing around with Charizard is fun!
In the process of playing, I noticed that the Smart Brick died after only 15–20 minutes or so. I charged both bricks again, but they also seemed to lose their charge quickly when left out between play sessions. Perhaps they simply needed the full charge of just over two hours recommended in the instructions rather than playing right out of the box.
The other model in the set is Jolteon, a pretty sweet cat-like character, though its legs can be a bit wobbly. Because of the color, I somehow saw it as a larger version of Pikachu. So I decided to build my own Pikachu using the parts meant for Jolteon. I went through four different versions of the little rascal before settling on this final design.
The little Poké Balls are something else!
I used only seven parts from outside the set: three 1x2 yellow jumpers, two 1x1 round tiles in red and two 1x1 black tiles with printed white eyes. I tried to make him chubbier, but this body worked for me, so I left it as is.
Remixing the Pokémon
Rebuilding Jolteon into Pikachu was only the beginning. To be honest, when I first saw the official set images, I wasn’t sure whether I liked the character designs. But after building some of them (not all of them yet), I can say that almost all are fantastic and much cuter in person.
Several of the characters share similar designs and building techniques, including Charmander and Squirtle (Ditto is a copy of Squirtle), Bulbasaur and Bidoof, Eevee and Sprigatito, and Umbreon and Jolteon. Once I noticed those similarities, I began imagining what else they could become.
I took the cute Charmander from 72157 Charmander and Geodude’s Cavern Clash and turned him into Puss in Boots because… why not? Both are orange, at least in LEGO form, and the new Shrek minifigures are arriving soon, too!
Charmander as Puss in Boots
I used the orange 1x1 slopes printed with claws for the whiskers, while Charmander’s eyes also work surprisingly well for Puss.
Using some of the parts left over from Jolteon and 72158 Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly Battle, I also made Iron Man in the same style and placed him inside 72163 Mewtwo’s Lab Break.
One fun side observation: the chamber from Mewtwo’s lab also works as a bottle or cup holder, which is pretty funny to use in practice.
Cool bottle holder
A Few New Favorites
Making my own characters was fun, but I should give the official designs some credit, too. A few became favorites before I had the chance to take them apart for pieces.
These are the cute ones. 72158 Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly Battle includes Sprigatito, while Eevee comes in 72162 Eevee and Lapras’s Treasure Hunt. Put them next to each other, and they might be the two cutest characters in the entire wave. With their compact bodies, huge ears and printed eyes, they look like they know exactly how adorable they are.
This little guy is named Cubone from 72166 Cubone and Gengar’s Spooky Showdown. With a skull for a helmet and a bone for a club, he should look intimidating. Instead, he has the energy of a kid who found a costume and is taking the role very seriously.
Now for what I think should be the hard ones. Geodude appears in 72157 Charmander and Geodude’s Cavern Clash, while Bulbasaur comes in 72155 Berry Bash with Bulbasaur and Bidoof. Geodude is essentially a floating rock with muscular arms and a seemingly permanent bad attitude. Bulbasaur is a four-legged creature with a plant bulb on its back and a much calmer expression. Together, they look like bouncers at an exclusive Pokémon party.
Still, one character in the wave inspired an idea so strange that I had to see if it would work…
Enter Dr. Laproom
That character was Lapras from 72162 Eevee and Lapras’s Treasure Hunt, which is one of the best sets in the wave, in my opinion. Both creatures are amazing, with great colors and shapes that look even better in person.
While looking at Lapras for alternate-build inspiration, I kept coming back to one thought: What if the shell on its back became Doctor Doom’s mask? There was only one way to find out.
Allow me to introduce Dr. Laproom, half Pokémon, half supervillain and entirely unnecessary. :D
The eyes use two Smart Bricks. To keep them glowing continuously, I used the energy-boosting Smart Tag from 72167 Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle. I may not know exactly what that tag is supposed to do in Pokémon, but it worked perfectly for a supervillain. Here’s a short video showing Dr. Laproom in action:
As silly as he is, Dr. Laproom also shows how much building potential is hiding in this wave’s new parts.
New Parts: Gotta Catch ‘Em All
The Pokémon themselves may be the focus of the wave, but the sets also introduce an impressive selection of new molds and colors. The parts shown here are just a few examples, and I think only the 1x1 curved slope is not new.
Some of the cool new parts found throughout the sets.
There are far too many new elements to cover individually here. New Elementary has already put together a wonderfully complete overview, so I recommend checking out their article if you want a closer look at every new mold.
The small Poké Balls were an unexpected highlight for me. When I first saw them in images of the sets, I tried to figure out which existing pieces LEGO had used to make them. I never would have guessed correctly because nearly the entire little ball is made from new elements.
The Poké Balls are the stars of the show for me!
Those new elements include the 1x3 triple-curved brick, a 3x3 rounded plate with a stud on one side and the beautiful 3x3 inverted curved brick, which is my favorite piece in the entire wave. Together, they create a compact Poké Ball that looks simple but introduces several useful new shapes.
Different versions appear throughout the sets, including the classic red-and-white Poké Ball, the purple Master Ball, the blue-and-red Great Ball and the black-and-yellow Ultra Ball. I initially guessed that the colors depended on what was hiding inside. Apparently, they are different types of Poké Balls, which shows how much I know. :D
I wanted to build something that used my favorite new 3x3 inverted curved brick more than once. That challenge eventually led to my version of Roz from The Wild Robot, the animated movie about a robot who raises an orphaned gosling.
The new pieces gave me plenty to experiment with, but the most unusual element in the wave was still the one that could light up and make noise.
Building Around the Smart Brick
At the center of the Smart Play system is the Smart Brick. For now, the only LEGO Pokémon sets that include one are 72164 Training House with Pikachu and 72167 Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle. The Pikachu set includes one Smart Brick, while the Charizard and Jolteon set includes two.
All the other sets except the polybags contain Smart Tags but require a Smart Brick borrowed from one of these All-in-One sets to unlock their interactive features. I would have loved to see a Smart Brick included in at least one cheaper set, but for now, it is what it is.
The Smart Brick has a standard 2x4-stud footprint and stands five plates high. That makes it easy to integrate into almost any build and even easier to add to most of the Pokémon characters.
I was also happy to discover that the wireless Smart Charger fits within the LEGO system. It measures 8x14 studs and is also five plates tall, with room to charge two Smart Bricks at once. Because of those dimensions, you can even personalize it, disguise it or integrate it into a larger build.
I made something small to show how that could work: SpongeBob! From the top, the two Smart Bricks looked too much like a pair of eyes for me to build anything else. :D
Even the charging cable gave me ideas because its width is almost identical to a LEGO bar. I’ll definitely build a MOC around that eventually. Fun, right?
The hardware was easy to build around, but the real question was what it could do once we started playing.
Calling in a Pokémon Expert
I did some testing on my own first, but to my untrained ear, most of the creatures made similar noises. They don’t say their names or reproduce the familiar sounds from the games and animated series. Instead, the Smart Brick creates a collection of chirps, growls and other synthesized noises, which is probably how they talk “in real life.”
Clearly, I needed help from a professional, so I reached out to my godson Niko. He is 8 years old and a bit of an expert when it comes to Pokémon. He helped me build 72164 Training House with Pikachu and then explained how everything worked, from training with the punching bag to eating sandwiches and finally going to sleep.
Seeing the set and its play functions through his eyes made me realize how much fun Smart Play can be, especially for kids. The experience itself is screen-free, with the Smart Brick recognizing movement and nearby Smart Tags before responding with lights and sounds. That allows the Pokémon to react differently when they are eating, training, sleeping or preparing for battle.
The most fun begins when you place Smart Bricks inside two Pokémon and bring them together. If you leave them alone, they make noises and seem to talk to each other. Start moving them around to fight, and battle music begins as they exchange attacks. The system can even account for training and basic type advantages, so there is more happening than a random collection of lights and sounds. I still lost every single fight with my Pokémon. :D
My main complaint remains the battery. If I left a Smart Brick off the charger overnight, I usually had to recharge it before playing again or at least give it a quick boost. Even with that limitation, watching Niko play made it clear that the system makes much more sense in the hands of its intended audience.
Caught by Surprise
If you are still wondering whether these sets are worth it, the answer depends on what you want from them. For kids who will train, feed and battle with the Pokémon, totally! Just keep in mind that the Smart Brick is included in only two of the higher-priced All-in-One sets.
For display, the characters are fantastic and surprisingly cute. Their chunky designs make them sturdy enough for play, but they still have plenty of personality sitting on a shelf. I would argue that Charizard, in particular, looks better than the much larger version in 72153 Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise.
For builders, the new pieces and colors may be the strongest reason to explore the wave—the sky is the limit! Even without a deep connection to Pokémon, I found plenty of parts that immediately sparked ideas for other characters and creations.
Arranged by Miss Christy, my better half, so I had to include it. :D
I’ve barely scratched the surface of the new parts included in this wave, so I’ll be making at least one more article about them (or why not two!). My growing list of ideas already includes Tony Tony Chopper using Bidoof’s face, a frog or two for #frogust and even a small futuristic car that uses the Smart Brick for its headlights and taillights.
That’s not bad for a wave I initially felt unqualified to open, so stay tuned for the next one!
What should we build with the LEGO Pokémon Smart Play sets next? Let us know in the comments below!
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