So the Ionix Pokémon minifigures fell flat. Can they redeem themselves with one of their full playsets? Let's find out with their Pancham vs. Eevee brick set! ...The tension is killing me, I assure you...
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Name: Pancham vs. Eevee
Distributor: Ionix
Model: 30701
Pcs:66
In addition to their "wide" range of Pokémon figurines, there are also full building brick playsets released by Ionix. ...Which I assume were all they COULD release before the minds behind this line finally broke down and started wondering what they were doing with their lives. ...Either that, or The Pokémon Company took one look at what Ionix had produced and spent the next week weeping that they gave them permission to use their name and likenesses... ...Geez, I'm really going to have to review one of Ionix's other series to see if I can offset the bashing I've been giving them, don't I?
But yes, since 2014, only two sets have been produced: "Pancham vs. Eevee" and "Mega Venusaur." The latter is a little hard to find and prohibitively expensive for my show's budget, so we'll save that one for another time and instead focus on the "Pancham vs. Eevee" set.
The box is basically the same as the minifigures', just with pictures of the set and an "action" that it can do. Other than that, it has the same links, same claims, same overly simplistic, dubious "shapeshifting" mode, so we'll just skip the box overview and go straight into the set. Be right back!
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And here it is! ...You can all return from the edge of your seats... Or wake up from your mind numbing stupor, which is more likely...
Well, I can already say that it's... better than the other minifigures... But that's not saying a whole lot, as it's still a cheap disappointment and really underwhelming compared to the series it's based on.
I mean, say you were a Pokémon fan and you heard the announcement that they were FINALLY releasing building sets of your favorite series! What would you think they'd release to commemorate this event? A Poké Ball? The PokéCenter? A Gym complete with Giovanni and/or Gary? The Team Rocket Meowth balloon? Maybe a miniset featuring a battle against Team Rocket at the very least? Just something that represents the series and the fun and imagination it conveys!
Well, how about a small set featuring two random Pokémon in a bland, forest-ish environment where they put more effort into the still-only-basic tree and mountain than the minifigures? ...Can you see why this line didn't take off?
There is a complete and utter lack of imagination! Somebody just looked up "Pokémon" on Google, found the first still image from the show he could find, and told another guy "Make it look like that. ...No, I don't know what's going on either, but it's Pokémon, they'll buy it no matter what." And considering that a good number of people don't seem to know these even exist, I think we know just how shortsighted that was...
Alright, let's stop whining for a minute and look at the minifigures proper. Starting with Eevee... Well, if you wanted me to say one thing I liked about this set, here it is: Eevee is just fine.
The shape-shifting brick gimmick works much better with four-legged Pokémon, since you're focusing much more on the top portion than the out-of-place studs and untextured underside. So they actually did manage to make this look like an Eevee instead of a zombie or a robot... or a ninja or a pirate or a vampire or an alien or an *insert internet meme here.*
And it stands the best on its own as well. Again, having four legs means it can stand snugly over the studs without requiring those stupid "one-stud" pieces, so it's the easiest to pose and get to stay standing. ...Mind you, since the legs only have two sides to each, it's impossible to pose it on fewer than four legs, but it does stand the most solidly and it looks the most like a Pokémon.
It also has an actual molded plastic head, meaning it's fully painted and actually looks like a head instead of a growth like Ashtimus or a monster wearing a creepy mask like Zombie Pikachu.
It's even quite cute. I like the big black eyes, the cute little nose, and the fluffy tail. Eevee is considered the cutest Pokémon(and the cutest video game character, period, according to WatchMojo), and they managed to capture its cuteness factor even in this cheap cash-in.
Though one major problem I have is that, because of the polygon-esque style Ionix gave to their minifigures, it looks like it has a beak... I really don't understand what goes through the heads of some designers...
Still, it's more than I can say for the other character: Pancham. Since Pancham is from the Generation VI Pokémon games(aka Pokémon X & Y), I don't know much about this one... other than it's also quite cute. ...But I do know that it doesn't look like a gerbil controlling a mech suit!
Seriously, that's what it looks like! The molded head and back gel so poorly with the rest of the figure, it looks like it belongs in a superhero show. You know, one of those shows for prepubescent kids where pets turn into superheroes because their super-smart owner gave them super or technology-based powers and the hamster gets the overcompensating robot body? ...I can't name a show in particular that does that, but that's what I think of when I see this...
The head, by the way, is strangely not plastic like the other minifigures, but instead a hard rubber, which can be bent very slightly. I like it, since it gives it some weight and substance, but why change the process so late into the run(or was this one of the first produced and they realized they wouldn't be getting their money back?)
And since apparently "Chewing on a leaf" is its trademark, they gave it... something green sticking out of its face... I honestly thought it was bamboo before I found that it was supposed to be a leaf. Seriously guys, you couldn't make it flat and somewhat look like a leaf? ...Or line it up with Pancham's mouth? You drew his smile just above it, now it just looks like a huge, green boil begging to pop...
Also, it fits over a peg very similar in shape to another minifigure we've looked at this week. ...So I'm now obligated to see if they are compatible with each other...
And speaking of Ashtimus, this has nearly all of the same problems as that minifigure! It's as poseable as Ashtimus, but in this case, they didn't even try to hide the studs on the front of the figurine, so it actually looks even MORE unnatural and out of place! They gave him gray squares for the legs, couldn't they have done something for the arms?
Oh, and they gave him boobs. ...Classy...
Still, the feet at least LOOK like feet and not like a cheap method of getting these figures to stand...
Also unlike Ashtimus, where only his arms could come off, EVERY part of this minifigure can come off! Arms, legs, hands, and even the connecting pegs! "WARNING: Choking hazard" indeed...
Still, compared to Ashtimus and Zombie Pikachu, these minifigures are FAR better designed and look much more like their animated counterparts. ...Then again, John Goodman wearing a cowboy hat and a T-shirt that says "It's Not Fat, It's Muscle" looks more like Ash and Pikachu than they did...
There's really not much to say about the set itself. It's a mountain and a tree. It didn't even take too many pieces to build, since the box says "66 pcs" and I'm pretty sure at least a tenth of those went into the minifigures, so it barely misses "miniset" status. And I'm not going to go on another rant about the lack of creativity on display. I'll save that for the ratings section.
But this set DOES commit the cardinal sin of instructions. On Step 6, it depicts a small brick pillar being placed two studs away from the edge.
But as the front of the box shows, and as I've briefly shown in the video, the pillar needs to be ONE stud away from the edge for the design to work! I actually struggled with this for several minutes before realizing they put it on wrong! I know I whined to excess about the "Addendum" in the Mega Bloks Nuketown set, but this company didn't even TRY to fix their mistake. A building brick company that's trying to compete with the big boys couldn't take 30 minutes and CHECK if the instructions were correct? ...I'm really not trying to nitpick these sets just to find something to complain about; they're handing them to me on a silver platter!
The one gimmick the set has is this tumbling rock that rolls down the mountain when a hinged platform is pushed. ...If they had used the rock to simulate Pancham using Rock Throw or Rock Smash or some move like that, that would have been clever. As is, it's just a generic feature that would have fit in any set...
Though I will give them credit that they molded an original design for the rock and they didn't just copy the standard Lego bolder. ...A little disappointing that this one doesn't open though...
The tree's also pretty generic, just some green wing pieces stacked on top of two pillar halves. But they did mold some original fruit for the tree. ...What it is, I have no idea. I want to say they're apples, but since this is the Pokémon universe, they're much more likely to be berries. ...But seeing the slapdash, uncaring method they used to put this set together, they could be pomegranates for all they cared...
And that's the set. Basically the building brick equivalent of finding a script too generic to be marketed and slapping the name of a well-known franchise on it so people will be fooled into going to see it.
Hey, it worked for Davis Entertainment!
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Quality: The plastic quality is the same as the previous minifigures, if not a little better since they made one of them with a hard rubber head. The paint job's not that bad either, since they did bother to give these Pokémon actual heads and paint the eyes, tails, and other details in the right colors. Everything fits together and nothing was too loose or too stiff to connect, so I guess they put more focus into the quality of their sets as opposed to stand alone minifigures. It's not anything spectacular, but they do click together nicely.
Design: I really don't understand Ionix's fascination with polygonal shapes, since everything has to look like something out of an early PS1(or even Super FX SNES) game. The set and minifigures have edges that just jut out at odd angles and make the place look awkward when it's supposed to look smooth and charming... When it comes to the shape-shifting element they're so proud of, it works better with Eevee since you're not forced to look at untextured sides or studs that stick out in odd places. Unlike Pancham, where the stud placement is even more awkward and inexcusable than Ashtimus! Again, probably looks good on their main series, but when attached to creatures that are supposed to look lifelike and natural, it's just painful to look at...
Creativity: Besides the shape-shifting aspect I brought up in the last part, there's really no creativity to this. I guess it's nice that they bothered to actually mold heads for the Pokémon to make them look like what they're supposed to be, but that should be a given rather than a feature. And the set is BORING! It's a tree and a mountain. You could have used any minifigure with these and come up with a reason for them to be there. It doesn't remind us of Pokémon, just that Ionix had a high profile franchise license that they totally blew on some of the most generic, boring, ugly sets I've ever seen.
Readability: The instructions are clear and it points out what goes where without too much confusion. And since this is a set with dozens of pieces, I'm not going to freak out like I did with the minifigures. What I AM going to complain about is the step they printed wrong and threw me off! People get lost often enough and have to backtrack as far as possible with normal instructions, so when there's an error left in by the company, it only serves to confuse us even more, since how could a building brick company trying to keep a high profile actually be stupid enough to leave an error like that in a book THEY printed? Especially since they never tried to rectify the mistake or even acknowledge it? I could excuse the minifigure instructions since, though pointless, they were clear and accurate, but when an error is present in a larger set, that makes this category lose major points.
Packaging: It's the same confusing design as the last time. Nothing else to bring up.
Compatibility: For the most part, it's as compatible as the minifigures. However, Eevee's design brings it down a little. I know this sounds strange since I said Eevee's design was the best part of this set, but since the legs are missing two sides, they don't hook onto the studs, so I can't pose Eevee on two legs. Besides that, they'll work with Lego just fine.
Overall:
It scores slightly higher than Ashtimus and Zombie Pikachu since these minifigures are better designed and there's something to the set that breaks up the monotony slightly, but besides that, they're the same pointless cash-in designs we saw last time. They cared nothing for their license or the fans and just used it as an excuse to make some cheap sets and a quick buck. If these were budget sets you'd get at Dollar Tree or Big Lots, I might not have been so hard on them, but the minifigures are usually $10 apiece and I paid $25 for the set! I don't recommend anything Pokémon made by Ionix to even the most dedicated of fans. Don't buy them, show Ionix we're not interested, and hope that they'll either take the hint and produce something worth anything, or let the license expire and have a company who knows anything about Pokémon take over. As for me, I'll probably throw these sets in the back of my closet and forget about them. Better than displaying them in my collection and giving anyone the idea I care...
And if you ever see these things walking around: Shoot first, ask questions later...
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