Overview
- The LEGO Group and The Pokémon Company opened pre‑orders Tuesday for a 12‑set Pokémon SMART Play line that will reach stores and LEGO.com on August 1, 2026.
- Only two all‑in‑one starter sets include the required Smart Bricks and charger (the Pikachu Training House and the Charizard vs. Jolteon battle set); the other ten sets ship with Smart Tags and need a Smart Brick to unlock full interactivity.
- Smart Play uses embedded Smart Bricks and Smart Tags to trigger lights, motion and synthesized sounds so built Pokémon can be fed, tickled, trained and put into two‑figure battles that are started by motion gestures and simple attack, charge and dodge mechanics.
- Training effects are temporary and reset when a Smart Brick is removed or its battery dies, and the bricks generate generic synthesized sounds rather than official Pokémon names or localized voice clips because of memory and localization limits.
- Prices range roughly from $14.99 to $119.99 and piece counts vary from under 100 to about 850; coverage notes interest from kids and collectors but flags extra cost to access full features, possible wear from physical battles, and one outlet’s disputed count of 13 sets versus the official 12.