Lego makes Pokémon interactive with "Smart Play"
5/6/2026
Translation: machine translated
Pikachu should not just stand on the shelf, but react to food, training and battles. From August 2026, Lego will be launching twelve interactive Pokémon sets with Smart Play. The catch: Lego is only officially naming selected countries for the launch.
With Star Wars, Lego first had to explain why a building block should react to lightsaber duels, spaceships and Palpatine's throne. With Pokémon, the idea is easier to understand. This world has always been about catching, training, feeding, battling and bonding with little monsters that will eventually become more important to you than your real-life houseplant.
Source: Lego
This is why Lego's second big wave of smart play seems more coherent than the launch of Star Wars in March. Lego and Pokémon are launching twelve new Pokémon sets with Smart Play on 1 August 2026. To be more precise: in selected markets. Lego has officially named the USA, the UK, Germany, France, Poland and Australia. Switzerland is not yet on the list.
This does not mean that the sets will never come to Switzerland. However, according to the press release, Switzerland is not one of the launch markets for the announced launch. For Swiss Pokémon fans, this is a small tackle on the anticipation.
Two sets contain the Smart Brick
The new Pokémon wave includes two all-in-one sets and ten compatible expansion sets. This is important: not every set contains the actual technology brick. Only the two all-in-one sets include the Smart Brick, charger and Smart Tags. Although the expansion sets contain Smart Tags, they require a Smart Brick from a starter set for interactive functions.
Source: Lego
The cheaper starter set is called «Training House with Pikachu». It contains 400 pieces and costs €69.99 according to Lego. Children use it to build a small training house for Pikachu, including training items, a Pokéball and a sandwich. According to Lego, Pikachu can eat, train and fight via Smart Play, among other things.
The second all-in-one set is called «Ultimate Showdown between Glurak and Blitza». It contains 751 pieces, two Smart Bricks, four tags, Glurak and Blitza. The price is 119.99 euros. This set is more focussed on fighting and training. Lego mentions, among other things, a healing spray, training areas and Pokémon reactions to touch and play actions.
Source: Lego
The ten expansions range from Pummeluff to Mewtu
The other ten sets are cheaper or medium-sized. As mentioned, they do not contain their own Smart Brick. Instead, they expand the system with additional Pokémon, scenes and Smart Tags. If you only buy one of these sets, you will receive a normal Lego model with prepared interaction points. Only the technology building block from a starter set brings these points to life.
Source: Lego
The smallest set is the Pummeluff Concerto with 88 pieces for €14.99. At the other end of the Smart Play wave is «Tragossos and Gengar's scary duel» with 831 pieces for 89.99 euros. In between are sets with Bisasam and Bidiza, Schiggy in a buggy, Glumanda and Kleinstein in a cave, the three Paldea starters Felori, Krokel and Kwaks, Mew, Evoli and Lapras as well as Mewtu.
Source: Lego
Lego deliberately mixes up the selection. On the one hand, the wave taps into nostalgia for the first generation of Pokémon. On the other hand, Felori, Krokel and Kwaks bring in the starters from «Pokémon Crimson» and «Pokémon Purple». This is a broad Pokéball litter: parents recognise the old favourites, children get the newer characters.
Source: Lego
Screen-free, but not completely without an app
Lego describes Smart Play as screen-free play. The Smart Brick reacts to movement, sound, light and smart tags. It is inserted into the model and triggers sounds, light effects or other reactions depending on the situation. In the press release, Lego gives two examples: Children can feed Pikachu with a built sandwich or tickle Glurak.
Source: Lego
However, Smart Play does not manage without a digital layer. Smart Bricks from previous sets first need an app update. Only then will they work with the new Pokémon sets. New, unopened Pokémon All-in-One sets, on the other hand, should be ready to go straight away.
This is an important difference. Smart Play is not a simple app extension like many other networked toys. The screen is not at the centre. Nevertheless, Lego is building a technical ecosystem that needs updates and can grow. At best, this works like magic for children. For parents, at worst, there are regular moments when a toy demands an update.
Source: Lego
Why Pokémon is a better fit for Smart Play
In Star Wars, Smart Play mainly amplified familiar scenes with light and sound. Lightsabres buzzing, spaceships humming, the Emperor in a bad mood. That fits the brand, no question. Nevertheless, it quickly feels like a mere sound effect plus motion sensor.
Pokémon has one advantage: the game idea is interactive right from the start. Players care for, train and battle with their Pokémon. Lego is now trying to translate this cycle into bricks. When Pikachu reacts to food or Glurak to a touch, this is closer to the core of the brand than an A-wing that makes noises when flying around.
Source: Lego
This does not mean that Smart Play is automatically convincing. The decisive factors are how varied the reactions are, how reliably the Smart Brick works and whether the technology still works after the first 'wow' moment. Children quickly realise whether a toy really reacts or just pretends to.
Lego doesn't just sell sets, but a system
The structure of the theme world is also interesting. Two sets provide the technology, ten sets expand it. If you start with Pikachu or Glurak, you can later buy Bisasam, Mewtu, Gengar or Lapras and continue to use the same Smart Brick. This is very clever from a Lego perspective.
Source: Lego
Pokémon also fits this logic economically. The brand thrives on collecting. «Get them all» was never just a slogan, but a business model. With Lego, it's now called: Build them all, link them with Smart Tags and bring them together with a Smart Brick.
The one thing missing from this wave is classic minifigures. Lego is not focussing on trainers, arenas or a Pokémon world on a minifigure scale. The focus is on the Pokémon themselves. They are figure, play area and point of interaction at the same time.
Source: Lego
Less for adults, more for children
For adult Lego fans, this wave is likely to be less exciting than the large display models from the spring. The new sets are clearly aimed at children aged six and over. They are more colourful, more playful and less intended for the display case. Nevertheless, the wave is important for the entire theme world. It shows where Lego wants to go with Pokémon: away from pure collector's models and towards an interactive play system.
Perhaps that's the real message. Lego Pokémon will not just be a new licence series with pretty figures. It will be Lego's next big test: can classic clamp bricks, well-known brands and digital technology work together without ending up with just an expensive sound brick?
The chances are better with Pokémon than with Star Wars. Not because Pikachu is cuter than Darth Vader. Although, yes, that too. But because Pokémon has always been a game about relationships, training and reaction. That's where Smart Play has to prove that it can do more than just blink and make noises.
What do you think: Is Smart Play a good fit for Pokémon or should Lego just build the little monsters out of bricks? Let us know in the comments.
Header image: Lego
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