First LEGO Pokémon sets sound closer to these customs than MEGA

The first wave of LEGO Pokémon sets is rumoured to include giant buildable characters, closer in scope to well-known custom models than MEGA’s assortment.

The LEGO Group captured the Pokémon licence from MEGA earlier this year, with the first results of its partnership with the Pokémon Company due on shelves in 2026. Fresh rumours suggest the initial wave of sets will include 72152 Pikachu and Pokéball, retailing for $199.99 for 2,050 pieces, and 72153 Bulbasaur, Squirtle & Charmander, which is said to cost $649.99 for 6,838 pieces.

Assuming those are indeed giant buildable versions of the first-gen starters (as the set names imply), the inaugural batch of LEGO Pokémon sets actually sounds pretty different to anything Mattel managed to put out under its MEGA brand. You can find a brief history of the company’s construction sets here, but the closest thing it has to large buildable characters is its Jumbo range, where Pikachu tops out at 825 pieces.

The piece count rumoured for 72152 Pikachu and Pokéball actually sits closer to the life-size Pikachu designed and sold by third-party custom model makers Bricker Builds. Their non-IP-specific ‘Electric Mouse’ is comprised of 2,569 pieces, sits atop a 48x48-stud baseplate and aims for the blocky aesthetic of the LEGO Group’s official life-size statues you see on display in shopping centres and at conventions.

It’s a style rarely seen in official LEGO sets, so it’s tricky to predict how the LEGO design team might approach buildable Pokémon – but given there are roughly 500 fewer pieces in the rumoured 72152 Pikachu and Pokéball, and not all of them will be used for Pikachu, it’s relatively safe to assume that the LEGO Group will need to adopt a different aesthetic if it’s aiming for a life-size build.

That’s also still up in the air at this point, but it’ll be interesting to see just how detailed these early LEGO Pokémon sets are given their hefty price tags. Bricker Builds also sells life-size versions of Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander, but those use somewhere between 4,000 and 4,600 bricks apiece, while 72153 Bulbasaur, Squirtle & Charmander tops out at just under 7,000 pieces between all three characters.

Adjust your expectations a little, then: we’re probably not looking at something quite on the level of Bricker Builds’ titanic creations, but at the same time the LEGO Group is seemingly coming out of the gate in 2026 with sets bigger and more expensive than anything from MEGA’s Pokémon range.

The good news for those of us with slightly shallower Poké-pockets is that these giant builds are apparently not the only LEGO Pokémon sets on the cards for 2026. A total of 20 retail sets, plus eight sets that are either promotional models or BrickHeadz, are rumoured for next year – including the smaller and more affordable 72151 Eevee, which is said to retail for $59.99 and include 587 pieces.

That model sounds closer in style and scope to MEGA’s Jumbo or Build & Show sets – Jumbo Eevee includes 830 pieces, for example – so we may yet see the LEGO Group follow in MEGA’s footsteps in some ways. We’ll have to wait for the official reveal of the first LEGO Pokémon sets to find out for sure. For now, take the details rumoured here and in the table below with a grain of salt.

Rumoured LEGO Pokémon 2026 sets

Head here for a complete rundown of LEGO sets confirmed and rumoured for 2026.

Featured image: Bricker Builds

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