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Lego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they could
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 […]
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GadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsLego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they couldWhy, oh why, can’t Pikachu say ‘pika pika’?by Dominic PrestonCloseDominic PrestonNews EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Dominic PrestonJun 2, 2026, 1:28 PM UTCLinkShareGiftIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Some of the sets’ props are drawn directly from the games, others are more… unexpected.GadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsLego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they couldWhy, oh why, can’t Pikachu say ‘pika pika’?by Dominic PrestonCloseDominic PrestonNews EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Dominic PrestonJun 2, 2026, 1:28 PM UTCLinkShareGiftIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Part OfLego isn’t just for kids: the latest news for nostalgic adults and adult budgetssee all updates Dominic PrestonCloseDominic PrestonPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Dominic Preston is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor.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 Smart Brick is getting smarter, but Lego is taking the slow road to delivering on the potential promised in January — and is still struggling to implement…
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GadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsLego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they couldWhy, oh why, can’t Pikachu say ‘pika pika’?by Dominic PrestonCloseDominic PrestonNews EditorPosts…
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