Lego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they could

June 2, 2026 Dominic Preston

Photo of Lego Smart Play Pikachu with a Pikachu treehouse
Some of the sets’ props are drawn directly from the games, others are more… unexpected.

When Lego announced its tech-packed Smart Bricks at CES, we were impressed by the potential - enough to give it our Best in Show award. But when the first Star Wars sets actually launched in March, we were less enamored. All that promise of clever interaction and creative play ultimately boiled down to a few voice barks and flashing lights, with the smartest features we'd seen at CES nowhere to be found.

Today, Lego announced the second generation, with 12 new sets launching this summer, promising Pokémon play and some of the smarts we'd been missing. After a few hours training and battling with the new sets this morning, it's clear the Sm …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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