When you snap together two of the most iconic brands on the planet, the results are bound to be electrifying.
With the launch of the new LEGO® SMART Play Pokemon collection, builders no longer have to rely purely on imagination; they can nurture, train, and battle with their favourite creatures in real time.
The LEGO Group and The Pokemon Company International have officially caught each other to unveil the Pokemon range, bringing favourite creatures to life in brick form like never before. But these aren’t just display models; thanks to eight years of top-secret technology, these Pokemon actually play back.
In a physical world increasingly dominated by digital distractions, the new range relies on the LEGO SMART Brick: a screen-free piece of tech equipped with light, sound, motion, and sensing capabilities designed to turn every builder into a real-life Pokemon Trainer.
Alex Millington, Global Marketing Director of LEGO SMART Play, spoke exclusively with news.com.au about how this dream collaboration came together, what it’s like to work at LEGO HQ, and why the “magic moment” of screen-free brick play is catching on for a whole new generation.
“I know we get tired of using that word, but it’s a proper little magical moment,” Millington told news.com.au. “You take any Pokemon, drop in that SMART Brick, and you hear them express themselves. The look on kids’ faces and on fans of any age in the room is super fun to see. It’s that real thing you’ve dreamt a little bit about, now right there in your hands.”
An Eight-Year Mission to Beat Screen Fatigue
Building the technology inside the LEGO SMART Brick wasn’t an overnight evolution. It took eight years of engineering to create a piece of hardware that adds reactivity without forcing kids to stare at yet another mobile screen.
“Kids have got more and more stuff that they can spend their time on,” Millington explained. “We started with a bit of a mission looking at what makes LEGO great, that open-ended creativity, the fact you can jump in anytime, and asked, ‘How can we extend that system and bring in some of the reactivity kids love from digital experiences, but put them into physical LEGO bricks without barriers?’”
Rather than inventing a gadget that demands a smartphone app, the team engineered a completely screen-free sandbox experience.
“We didn’t start by going, ‘we should or shouldn’t have screens,’” Millington noted. “We started by asking how we could bring kids into the world of play even more. Kids are just as creative as they’ve always been, but they have less open, free time to get bored. SMART Play gives them a sandbox where they can tell stories, build big worlds, or compete.”
Wild Battles in the Living Room
And this isn’t quiet, reserved play; it’s high-energy action. Millington revealed that during early play-testing, children were literally wrestling the interactive models out of his hands to start a match.
“This is big play! Running around the house, battling, your Pokemon jumping over the sofa to try and get the upper hand,” he laughed.
And if a battle gets a little too wild?
“They’re LEGO bricks. If you battle a bit too hard, they’re designed so you can put them right back together!”
Gotta Build ‘Em All
Bringing 20 Pokemon into the launch assortment required serious design muscle. The team crafted over 25 bespoke new LEGO elements to ensure every creature felt authentic to hold and build with.
Even without the SMART Brick inserted, the 10 Compatible sets are packed with mechanical analog play features, making sure every young Trainer gets a critical hit of fun, regardless of how they choose to build.
Living the Dream at LEGO HQ
Working at LEGO HQ sounds like every kid’s dream job, and Millington is the first to admit he feels like a big kid every single day.
“They don’t encourage us to grow up too much, which is fantastic from my point of view! We get to play all the time, and we have kids in the office very often. It keeps you feeling young for sure.”
When asked about his personal favourites in the new collection, he admitted it’s hard to beat the classics: “I think everyone’s favourite has got to be Pikachu in some way, right? Pikachu is an icon.”
As for his very first LEGO memory? He fondly recalled the RES-Q line from his childhood: “I had this big rescue helicopter. I remember staring for hours at the picture on the back of the instruction booklet showing the hovercraft and all the other sets, just longing to expand my collection.”
What’s Next for the SMART Brick?
Following the success of LEGO Star Wars SMART Play earlier this year and now the launch of Pokemon, where will the SMART Brick land next?
While Millington remains tight-lipped to avoid getting into “big trouble” with HQ, he dropped a tempting hint about the expandable nature of the hardware.
“The SMART Brick is designed to jump across many different experiences,” he said. “We’ve launched Star Wars and now Pokemon, two completely different ways to play using the exact same SMART Brick. Trust me, there is some really exciting stuff coming down the pipeline!”
Whether you’re a lifelong Pokemon Trainer or a seasoned LEGO builder, one thing is clear: the foundation for interactive, screen-free play has officially been laid, brick by brick.