Review: LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poké Ball (72152)

LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poke Ball 72152 New Release Review Brick Banter

Pikachu – the Icon or the hard pass?

Yes! LEGO Pokémon is here and we have our hands on the new sets releasing this on Pokémon Day 2026! With this review, we are taking a look at LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poké Ball, Pokémon’s Iconic Mascot. There’s a lot of talk and discussion around this model, so what’s our thoughts? Read on!

Pikachu

The LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poké Ball set is a model that is split essentially into three builds. Pikachu, the Poké Ball and the stand. As an overall dynamic model, it’s not actually a bad way to display the set. It conveys motion, it has action and it isn’t just sitting down on a shelf.

But the other part of such a model is that the elements are designed to come apart from each other. This means that parts of this model are designed to be displayed separately. And I think that’s where a lot of the online talk is focused right now.

Focusing for now on the build, the LEGO Pikachu is a surprisingly large LEGO model. He’s twice the size of LEGO Eevee and sports quite a number of new recolours in yellow. Like Eevee, there are no sticker elements in the set, and all face details are printed elements.

The set gives us plenty of techniques used across the body design, from subtle leg rotations for a wider sitting pose to the iconic zig-zag tail. It should also be said that Pikachu has a few extra elements included. This means you are able to change the tail from a straight edge to a love-heart tail (male to female). I like these inclusions in the set, as it is a subtle and little effort addition that goes a long way for the overall model.

Pikachu’s ears also have some great techniques in their make, and even giving us yellow ball joints to not break up the unified colour across the ear.

Possible problems

There are very little seams that appear across the model. But at the same time, these closed gaps make the model quite…stuck. Pikachu unfortunately lacks the ability to add dynamic posing to his resume. As the leaping position of the greater display makes them unable to change their neck pose. When taking Pikachu off the stand in a… odd way… and placing them down, Pikachu can only look up. Its something that I think is a little unfortunate, as it stops Pikachu from being desktop-display worthy.

Lastly, I need to talk about the face. There is a lot of conversation between brand X and Y doing it better than LEGO here. And I think I’ve found where my issue stems from this. Pikachu’s face isn’t a great representation of the character. Heck, most of this set is great up until these last details. My problem comes from the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ style bandana that runs across his face. Because of how the eyes are attached on the forehead of the model uses corner dome elements to best try and emulate the curves of Pikachu’s head. These parts unfortunately don’t follow this same curve, and we get a pronounced eye shape. It isn’t just the forehead here, but also the curves underneath the eye as well.

I think there is a possibility of substituting and small remodelling around the face from fans that could be done to tweak this. It is just unfortunate that it has happened to the brand’s icon. Mind you, when I review sets critically, I often try to put myself in the headspace of designers and how they tackle certain obstacles. This may be a greater symptom of either time budgets or not having the opportunity to vet feedback before production.

Poké Ball

For a sharp small build, this little Poké Ball is the only instance of a Poké Ball we get so far in the 2026 lineup. Using a mix of relatively common parts (bar the printed button), this model actually contains no new elements. I was surprised that LEGO didn’t opt for a new mould for something like this, considering how well utilised it could be across the theme. Jokes on me I guess.

As far as a build goes, this is not a bad little model. I do wish that there was more of a defined centre line in the ball, possibly making both round tile rings black. This unfortunately doesn’t work alongside the 3×3 dish and weights slightly upward. Hmm.

Display Stand

For such a large set we are given quite a large display base. Stemming a greater length than Pikachu, the base is designed to be striking and to be a display piece. There is a lot of parts that have been funnelled into this base, but it ultimately feels out-of-place with the final model.

Yes, the base gives us a way to display Pikachu with the Poké Ball as if it were coming out, but is it needed? There are no other sets in the initial release that fit this format, and I can’t think of sets that could come out that would be best suited to follow this trend.

I like the idea, don’t get me wrong. But if I was provided a way to get the set cheaper without a base or this, I would opt for the more accessible option. The main things the base does is also hide away the extra elements that are used to display Pikachu off the base. That doesn’t change the fact you still have a giant base to find a home for.

Verdict

I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. There is no denying that as part of the LEGO Ambassador network we are given these sets for free.

But this is a set that I genuinely can’t recommend unless you have the express intent of either modifying it or you genuinely like the way it is now. It’s a big model with a lot for display, but I can’t see past its flaws on a personal level. I do wish that I could know what the design process behind such a model was like, as I’m sure there would have been debates for and against the base.

The large price value has already been flagged as an issue for a lot of people (as they aren’t able to access the brand’s mascot at this price point), but I can’t help but wonder could that money be put elsewhere? You can get three LEGO Eevees for the price of 1 LEGO Pikachu, and I know where I stand on that one.

Release Details

The LEGO Pokémon Pikachu and Poké Ball releases on the 27th of February at LEGO.com.

TAKE NOTE: We do recommend being online at midnight to get your order in (or pre-order now), as we think the LEGO Pokémon sets will sell out on day one.