Review: 72154 Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball from LEGO® Pokémon™

Pokémon™fans have been asking for Pokémon minifigures for some time and finally their dreams have come true, well, as long as you also love LEGO® Technic. LEGO® Pokémon™ 72154 Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball was released on 1 October 2026 with the hefty price tag of US$299.99/ £229.99/ 259.99€/ AU$429.99. Let's see if the new elements within the set help justify this price tag with iconic moments inside.

We were given this product by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

72154  Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball

• Release date: 1 October 2026
• Pieces: 2386
• Ages: 18+

Price: 

• US$ 299.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 419.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 229.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 429.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 479.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 259,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 259,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 259,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 1129.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 3499,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 2099.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

New moulds

There are six new moulds in total:

• Poké Ball (116128)
• Pikachu in Yellow (6614819 | 116127)
• Eeve in Medium Nougat Tan (6614818 | 117811)
• ¼ Cone 6 x 6 x ⅔ (8279)
• Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slope (8179)
• Red Cap with Reddish Brown hair (6632086 | 117771) – covered in the Minifigures section later.

Poké Ball (116128)

• 3x Poké Ball in White (6590706 | 116128)

The Poké ball is a small but detailed new mould; there's a red and white half sphere with a cutout for the 'trigger' button and then the recessed central black band.

The new Poké ball fits in between the LEGO Technic ball (32474) and Dome 1 x 1 x 2/3 (6908) in terms of size. The Poké ball has an anti-stud on the underside, as opposed to the LEGO Technic ball which has an axle connection too.

The anti-stud can be connected to a minifigure's hand. The Poké ball looks to be a pretty good scale for a minifigure. I love the effort that has gone into this detailed mould as it is such an important Pokémon icon.

Minifigure-scale Pokémon

• 1x Pikachu in Yellow (6614819 | 116127)
• 1x Eevee in Medium Nougat Tan (6614818 | 117811)

Pikachu is arguably the most famous Pokémon, an electric mouse no less.

Eevee is a Pokémon whose features blend fox, dog and cat resulting in a very cute fictional animal. LEGO Eevee has a medium nougat body with tan ruff and tip of the tail, but the cutest aspect of this new mould are the little pink prints on the hind legs.

Here are Pikachu and Eevee in a lineup with some other LEGO animals so you can get a feel for their size, which I'd describe as slightly larger than a squirrel and taller than a dachshund. 

Brick Round, Sloped 18° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner (8279)

Next is a lovely new piece that fits into a couple of element families.

• 2x Brick Round, Sloped 18° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner in Red (6613722 | 8279)
• 2x Brick Round, Sloped 18° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner in White (6633916 | 8279)

Four of these 6x6 corners create a 12-module diameter circle – well, as the name indicates it is a truncated cone, a very shallow one! Thanks to being two modules thick, there is an 8x8 circle left in the centre.

The diagonal of the ends of the curved corners match two other slopes: Brick Sloped 18° 2 x 1 x ⅔ with 4 Slots (61409, 67119, 18863) shown above right, and 2 x 1 x ⅔ 18° Slope (5404) on the left. It's been over 2 years since this smooth version arrived, and Tom took a first look at the new mould in his article LEGO® part 5404: Grateless Cheese Grater.

The official LEGO name for the new mould (which Brickset also use) is ¼ Cone 6 x 6 x ⅔, No.1, which is exactly the same name they gave to a similar element introduced earlier this year: part 8034, shown above in light bluish grey. As if TLG names weren't confusing enough already.

Although they called them both the same thing, the difference lies in the thickness of the rings. The red  ring made of 8279 is two modules thick, while the light bluish grey one made from 8034 is one module. Rebrickable distinguishes them by including the angle of the slope in the name: Brick Round, Sloped 18° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner and Brick Round, Sloped 30° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner, and BrickLink has done a similar thing.

The ends of 8034 match a studless slope too: elements like the 1 x 1 x ⅔ 'cheese slope' (54200). Eero took a closer look at it in his review of LEGO® Botanicals set 11512 Hanging Golden Pothos.

Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slope (8179)

You'd be forgiven for overlooking this next new mould. 

• 12x Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slope in Red (6633915 | 8179)
• 12x Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slope in White (6633914 | 8179)

The new 8 x 8 corner fits in between its two siblings: the larger Brick Round Corner 10 x 10 with Slope 33° Edge, Axle Hole, Facet Cutout (58846) and the smaller Brick Round Corner 6 x 6 with 33° Slope and Facet Cutout (95188). Note the smaller 6 x 6 corner also appears in this set, but the larger 10 x 10 is only in the above image for size comparison.

Both the new 8 x 8 corner and the existing 10 x 10 have an axle through hole placed centrally, and the same cutout pattern of three "steps". The smaller one has four steps.

Nicely, all three stack together to form a large, stepped-corner curve.

The top studs form a 6x6 quarter circle, but aside from the aforementioned Brick Round Corner 6 x 6 with 33° Slope and Facet Cutout (95188), there are not too many other quarter circle elements to connect with this same 33° angle curve. Above from left to right we have: Brick Round, Sloped 30° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner (8034), Brick Round Corner 6 x 6 x 2 (87559) and Brick Round, Sloped 18° 6 x 6 x 2/3 Corner (8279).

Recolours

• 10 x Plant, Leaf 6 x 8 x 1⅔ in Green (6584500 | 7571)
• 4x Plate Special 1 x 1 x ⅔ Half Round with Side Stud in Yellow (6594174 | 3386)
• 6x Technic Beam 3 x 5 Thick [90° Offset Centre Beam Holes] in White (6634563 | 14720)
• 2x Brick Sloped 18° 2 x 1 x ⅔ in Bright Green (6632695 | 5404)
• 4x Brick Curved 2 x 2 with 1 x 2 Cutouts in Red ( 6632696 | 5854) - also in 21371 Wallace & Gromit, released on the same day.
• 2x Plate Special Round 2 x 2 with Center Stud (Jumper Plate) in Green (6628404 | 18674) - also in 21371 Wallace & Gromit.

Just to note that the green leaf found in this set is the first recolour for Plant, Leaf 6 x 8 x 1⅔ (7571), as it has only appeared in one previous set, in dark green. My review of LEGO® Icons 41843 Family Christmas Tree revealed it boasts 96 of these dark green beauties (6560449).

426 White

We noticed that many white elements in this set had been given a new Element ID, but were not new moulds or recolours. It seems the white elements with new EID use the reformulated 426 White colour. You can read more about this in my article from last year, Updated LEGO colours: 427 Cool Yellow & 426 White.

New print

There is only one new printed element (other than the minifigures). 

• 2x Tile 1 x 2 with Pokédex print in Red (6613536) 

The new printed 1x2 red tile represents a Pokédex, a handheld device that trainers use to record and track the various Pokémon they encounter.

Minifigures

There are three minifigures included in the set: Red, Professor Oak and Picnicker. All new elements used for the minifigures are detailed individually below.

Red

• Red cap with Reddish Brown hair (6632086 | 117771) is a new mould
• 1x Minifig Head with print in Light Nougat (6613533)
• 1x Torso with print in Red (6632552)
• 1x Legs with print in Blue (6631952)

Red is the original player from Pokémon Red game which was released in Japan in 1996, and then worldwide from 1998. 

Red seems like a nicely designed minifigure overall but his printed yellow backpack looks a bit more like body armour to me. I wonder why the Minifig Backpack Skydiver (12897), which is still in production, was not just recoloured in yellow?

Picnicker/Camper

• 1x Bright Green cap with black hair (6632398 | 53980) is a recolour
• 1x Minifig Head with print in Light Nougat (6613533)
• 1x Torso with print in Bright Green (6632797)
• 1x Legs with print in Bright Green (6644044)

The LEGO description calls this character Picnicker which refers to the junior trainers who usually  appeared as girls in uniforms, with the male equivalent being a Camper. This character is more of a generic trainer, first introduced in Generation I who can usually be found near woods of some sort. It's an interesting choice in some ways as the character itself is perhaps not as iconic in the grand scheme of Pokémon, but as a Generation I trainer I imagine the significance is the ties to the early origins of the game.

Professor Oak

• 1x Minifig Head with print in Light Nougat (6613530)
• 1x Legs with print in White (6649085) 
• 1x Torso with print in White (6632092)

Professor Oak is also a Generation I character from the original Pokémon games in 1998.  Professor Oak welcomes the player to the world of Pokémon, establishes names (including the name of his own grandson which he has forgotten!) and then leading the player to his lab to introduce their First Starter Pokémon. 

I note that Professor Oak's strong eyebrows have been depicted in his LEGO minifigure and his tan loafers of course.

Rare elements

In one other set:

• 6x Plate 4 x 6 in Bright Green (6547058 | 3032)
• 3x Brick 2 x 6 in Dark Brown (6490208 | 44237)
• 2x Plate Round Half 2 x 4 with 1 x 2 Cutout in Black (6630796 | 7531)
• 4x Brick Round, Quarter 1 x 1 in Red (6628401 | 7532)
• 3x Plate 2 x 3 in Bright Green (6614177 | 3021)

In two other sets:

• 2x Technic Beam Frame 5 x 7 with 3 x 5 Opening Thick in Red (6016155 | 64179)
• 10x Brick Curved 3 x 1 x ⅔ in Green (6617701 | 7302)

The build

We start of with the base and quickly move from LEGO® System elements into LEGO® Technic System supports.

With the exception of the wedge corners, the rest of the Poké Ball construction uses LEGO Technic elements at this stage. I had not appreciated just how LEGO Technic-based this set was until I started to build it.

A central moving platform is built that will form the base of one of the set's titular iconic moments.

There are a lot of moving parts involved, essentially to lift the central display and allow the two side platforms to fall into open positions. At this stage the mechanism is incomplete as further steps will add suspension and a mechanical trigger. It does work very smoothly and effectively although the LEGO Technic beams give the impression of a construction site to me.

The four curved faces of the Poké Ball use the new Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slope in White (6633914). Three sides have the smaller Brick Round Corner 6 x 6 with 33° Slope and Facet Cutout attached, while the front uses the other new mould ¼ Cone 6 x 6 x ⅔, No.1 to allow space for the ball's circular trigger.

With the bulky mechanism in position, our attention moves to the top half of the Poké Ball. The construction is very similar overall and identical in terms of the front and side faces of the Poké Ball.

Four more corner wedges are built in red, this time for the red upper half of the ball. The wedges click into place to give the curvaceous shape, but this is not a sphere.

There are two half and one full circular face left to complete the red half of the Poké Ball. To be accurate, the faces are not exactly half circle nor full circle, as an extra module is added in between the two Brick Round Corner 8 x 8 with 33° Slopes.  

Final Model

The final set has the large Poké Ball nestled amongst some large leaves which roughly represent the grassy vegetation found in the game. The use of the large leaves does give me the impression of a football landing on top of the neighbour's prized dahlias. There is an option for the minifigures and Pokémon to be displayed separately on a small stand or within the Poké Ball in the two small play scenes. 

The rear view is clean, but the visible support to ensure a stable opening mechanism means this is a set best displayed with the front on view.

When opened, there are two "iconic moments" within the Poké Ball, surrounded by LEGO Technic elements that somewhat overwhelm the small scenes, especially on the red side. 

The green, grassy area represents a Pokemon battle scene. I love the new grass with 3 blades (8089) element so it's nice to get eight in this set. For those who maybe do not have this 'tuft' element yet,  Tim took a closer look at it in his review of the LEGO Ideas set 21368 Peanuts – Snoopy's Doghouse.

https://videogamerapbattle.fandom.com/

The upper scene represents Professor Oak's lab, a location from the Generation I Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games. The LEGO set does a decent job of depicting the lab complete with computer screen, research equipment, books, two Pokédexes and a table with the three starter Poké Balls. Professor Oak's lab was the first lab and at the start Professor Oak brings the Red to his lab to choose his First partner Pokémon – I would agree that is an iconic Trainer moment!  

There is a sticker sheet used to decorate this lab but I either accidentally recycled it or it was missing from my set, so my photos are minus stickers. This LEGO official product image of the set shows the stickers.

The play feature is the opening of the Poké Ball to reveal the two iconic moment scenes inside. The mechanism was smooth and pretty cool to operate. Just make sure you click all the LEGO Technic pins fully into place during the building stages!

Conclusion

This is a large, expensive set with most of the elements forming an impressively large Poké Ball. The Poké Ball looks okay, I mean for a LEGO ball that opens it is great – but there are some gaps; it's not really spherical; it looks like it has landed directly on a plant; and it's one for the fans of LEGO Technic System sets rather than LEGO System. 

Most significantly, Pokémon fans who have been waiting a long time for minifigures and minifigure-scale Pokémon are going to have to spend a lot to get these coveted parts from this larger 18+ set. 72154 Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball has 2,386 pieces, a price tag of £229.99 / $299.99 / €259.99 gives a price per piece of  9.6p, 12.6c, 10.9c. I imagine The LEGO Group are not going to be popular using this method of selling sought-after minifigures within an oversized LEGO Technic Poké Ball, but perhaps Pokémon fans are used to this. Gotta catch 'em all, after all.

The choice of characters is interesting. In both the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games, the main player character is Red, so it makes sense that he is here along with Professor Oak. The rival in the games is Professor Oak's grandson, known as Blue or Gary, but he is not in the set. The other character chosen is more of a generic trainer, as encountered in the original games, the Picnicker/Camper. I hope this doesn't mean Blue will appear separately in another expensive set as I can imagine many fans wanting both Red and Blue as minifigures. 

The other choice of Eevee and Pikachu is understandable, as these are very popular Pokémon, but the three starter Pokémon actually found in Professor Oak's lab are Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle so in some ways these three would have made more sense in the set.

In terms of new elements, the minifigures, minifigure-scale Pokémon and the new little Poké Ball are clear winners here. The two new quarter-circle moulds are great additions that will have wider use in creating larger curvaceous sets and mocs, I have no doubt. While getting the first recolour for the large  6 x 8 x 1⅔ leaf is nice, I personally find this element to be a bit oversized, so it is not one of my favourite leafy choices.

READ MORE: The latest 10.2mm ball connector, part 8057 explored

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