There’s a specific kind of Pokémon fan who chose Eevee. Not because it was the strongest, or the fastest — but because it was yours. Small, scrappy, with more potential than anyone gave it credit for. I was that kid. So when LEGO announced its first-ever Pokémon sets and Eevee was on the list, something in me that hadn’t moved in twenty years quietly lost its mind.
A year ago, LEGO announced its partnership with The Pokémon Company International to bring fans new sets in 2026. These first-ever LEGO Pokémon sets were all the hype, and at the time of announcement, a year felt like an eon for many fans, who only got their first look at the range when it was unveiled in January with the release date set between March and April, depending on your territory. As part of its launch campaign, we received the LEGO Pokémon Eevee (72151) for review. An exciting build lies ahead.
Eevee is one of the most beloved characters from the franchise, with its adorable aesthetic and diminutive stature adds to its level of cuteness. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, which has been a staple for many childhoods through two or three generations. With this celebration, official news also dropped with Generation 10 of its main character series. Eevee, included in this generation, also had its latest evolution announced at Pokémon Day. The news also unveiled Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, two new games set for release in 2027 by Nintendo for the Switch 2.
Although there wasn’t much news in the way of the latest evolution for generation 10, we did get some teasers over on Twitter, which includes Gaia’s potential Grass starter, potentially taking the form of a goat, with “poison-type Eevee” also reportedly being workshopped. That said, nothing further has been revealed, so we wait to see more news over the next few months. Be that as it may, kicking off with the LEGO collection, 2026 and 2027 will be massive years for Pokémon fans, with plenty of new releases, updates and more on the cards. An exciting time for all fans. But we start off with the LEGO Eevee build.
The Eevee set comes with 587 pieces. It has a rating of 18+ for the build, an indicator of the technicalities of the build. Unpacking the contents reveals six bags of various sizes with their respective LEGO bricks for the three main parts of the build. This is divided into the torso, the tail and finishing off with the head.
Already having a few of the Pokémon sets in my collection, two from the previous partner, all of which had somewhat tricky builds, I was expecting similar. This is what makes these builds fun, adding moving parts for extra flair. The LEGO Eevee set was no different.
Despite a decent brick count just shy of 600 pieces, the build took longer than the sub-two-hour timeframe on more conventional sets. In the end, it provided a nice challenge over roughly three hours. That said, I did encounter a missing piece, which was a bit of a pain, needing to undo a few steps to see if I had used an incorrect brick or not. As a result, I had to dig into the bag of spare bricks from previously built sets to make up for the single missing brick, which, thankfully, was on the inside of the build out of view on the finished product.
From a design perspective, the LEGO Eevee is great. It’s the perfect size for my collection – not too big and not small either. The brown “fur” forms the base of the design, with lighter shades on the tip of the tail and the mane around the chest. The long protruding ears also have the signature darker insides. Eevee also has its iconic large eyes and cute smile, which is printed directly onto the respective pieces. I’m glad there wasn’t any stickers required for this build, which could’ve made alignment a bit tricky if three separate stickers were required for the eyes and mouth.
The base design is cute and very indicative of the character itself. However, what really stands out on the build, which added to the technicality when constructing it, is that almost all of the parts connected to the torso have articulation. All four legs move back and forth, while the feet also adds another level of articulation. The tail moves from side to side, with the tip also being able to move up and down. The head is able to move sideways in a complete 360° with the ears also being able to move up and down.
That’s a lot of moving parts on a LEGO set of this size with only 587 pieces. And what’s great about all these points of articulation, is that you can pose Eevee in so many different ways. You can even stand it on its hind legs and shifting the weight of the build onto its tail for balance, which adds more characteristics of its personality.
Comparatively, the LEGO Pokémon Eevee (72151) is very well priced. At R1,200, there’s a lot of fun to be had with the extended build and the articulation points with the end result. Although it is a bit more of a technical build, I don’t see it limited to the 18+ the box suggests but would be quite a challenge to someone under the age of 13. Great design, decent build duration, excellent quality and plenty of poses – the LEGO Eevee would be a great addition to any Pokémon and LEGO collections.
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