According to rumors that have emerged from the long grass like a wild Pikachu, there's going to be a $650 Lego Pokemon set. Seeing as this is more expensive than a Switch 2 and a couple of games, some fans are understandably... well, let's say perturbed. Everyone's wracking their brains trying to work out what it could be as well, because apparently it'll come with over 6,000 pieces.
Here's the thing, though; I'm not even sure we need to worry that much. To be precise, I have my doubts it's actually going to happen. I appreciate that I may end up looking very silly in a few months if this rumored Lego Pokemon set ends up being real, and that's OK. I'm not saying the rumor definitely isn't true. There's a good chance it could be. However, something about this doesn't sit right with me.
At the time of writing, there aren't many Lego kits that sit north of $600. Indeed, the only models costing $600 and up still in official circulation are the UCS Millennium Falcon, Titanic, and Eiffel tower. The Falcon is currently $844.99 at Amazon, for example, while the Eiffel tower is $629.99 direct from Lego.
For context, user CarterBricks04 posted a roundup of supposed prices and piece counts for the first Lego Pokemon wave (which was announced back in March) on the r/Legoleak Reddit thread. This claims that there will be three 18+ kits launching early next year: February 27 for Lego Insiders, or March 1 for general shoppers. One weighs in at $59.99, another is $199.99, and a third – complete with over 6,838 bricks – is meant to be a whopping $649.99. Understandably, the comments (and everyone else online, it seems) are freaking out about the latter. What on earth could this behemoth of a Lego set be? And it'll cost how much?
I appreciate the sentiment. Even the best Lego sets rarely reach that kind of cost, and you can count those that do on the fingers of one hand (as I mentioned earlier, some of the only ones still in production are the Ultimate Collector Series Millennium Falcon and the Titanic). In other words? Models priced in that bracket are rare.
This, along with the fact that the info is sourced from the oddly vague "Reddit Submission," is enough to give me pause. Don't get me wrong, CarterBricks04 seems like a reliable leaker and frequently posts teases that are on the money. However, a few things feel off here regarding the information itself.
To start with, I'm not sure Lego would launch a batch of Pokemon kits that are all 18+ anyway. (I know that there could be family-focused alternatives releasing at the same time, but that's not the impression this rumor gives.) Every gaming-focused range the company has produced so far, from Fortnite to Mario, revolves around kid-friendly playsets with the occasional for-adults display piece. And you just know this range is going to print money if it makes sets for children as well as grown-up fans. So why would Lego ignore that absurdly lucrative market out of hand? That'd be madness.
Pokemon: 72153 Piece Count & Price (Source: Reddit Submission) from r/Legoleak
Secondly, I have no idea what Pokemon kit would justify such a high price and 6,838 pieces. A few commenters suggest a Pokemon stadium based on the now-retired Rome Coliseum set, and that makes sense. Yet that's a ballsy opening hand for a brand-new range, especially one that's going to be compared from the get-go to existing Mega Pokemon models. The only explanation I can think of would be that this is Lego's differentiator.
The dates provided strike me as weird too, though this is less of a factor. User RotomAmiti pointed out in the Reddit thread that February 27 is the 30th anniversary for Pokemon, so I wouldn't be surprised if Lego plumped for that as a result, but releasing across two months like that is very uncommon for the company. Typically, it'll allow Insiders to purchase the kit from the 1st of the month before opening things up to the general public a few days later. If this leak suggested they'd be up for early purchase from March 1 before becoming more widely available as of March 4, I wouldn't bat an eyelid as a result. It's hardly a smoking gun, yet it adds to the unease I'm feeling around all this.
Still, everything else mentioned feels like a fairly good bet. Age ranges aside, a cheaper model at 500-odd pieces seems to be a shoe-in, as does a larger $199.99 model (probably of Pikachu, if we're making predictions). It's just the purported $650 model making me scratch my chin and go "hmm."
No matter what, I suspect we'll find out sooner than later. I'd be surprised if we didn't hear about Lego Pokemon by December or early January at the very latest, so we should have answers before long. And hey, maybe I'll be proven wrong and shall be forced to eat my words. As evidenced by the supposed $1,000 Death Star, Stranger things have happened.
Today's best Lego price cuts
- See all Lego discounts at Amazon
- Lego Hogwarts Castle and Grounds:
$169.99$136.99 at Amazon - Lego Rivendell |
£429.99£365 at Amazon
Want to build up your collection for less? Check out the latest Lego deals. As for more toy goodness, why not drop in on our guide to the best Nerf blasters or the best water guns.
