Lego Smart Play arrived earlier this year with plenty of promise, but its Star Wars -themed launch sets raised a couple of pretty significant concerns about the concept. Six months later, after building two of its newest Smart Play-themed Pokémon sets , the technology is making a lot more sense.

Back in March, the first wave of Smart Play left a mixed impression, especially among those who didn’t want digital technologies intertwining with a fundamentally plastic, creative product. The technology itself was great fun, bringing sounds, lights, movement, and even gyroscopic dimensions to Lego without screens or apps, but the Star Wars sets were clearly designed for play above practically everything else, at the expense of their fundamental design.

Vader’s TIE Advanced was the biggest offender . Its proportions felt off, its rear was left open to accommodate the Smart Brick and trigger mechanism, and its construction was clearly strengthened up to survive the sort of physical play that Smart Play encourages. It did what it needed to do, but it certainly isn’t something you’d put on a shelf. For context, I’m a 40-year-old-man and certainly not the target audience, but the Lego Group surprised me on just how aesthetically unpleasing its approach was.

But then, well, the new Pokémon range appeared, and it already feels like a learning experience for Lego. I’ve spent time with two of its 12 sets — Training House with Pikachu (72164) and Charizard vs Jolteon Ultimate Battle (72167) — and neither feels like its appearance has taken a back seat to Smart Play. Scale definitely contributes, especially with the smaller Pikachu set, but it still feels like the company did its best with the brief.

Charizard and Jolteon are particularly convincing. They’re substantial, recognizable models that wouldn’t look out of place alongside Lego’s original Pokémon -themed releases. Despite each one housing a Smart Brick, neither looks compromised by it, while the added sounds and reactions feel more like a bonus than the reason the models exist.

Most of the 12 sets don’t include Smart Bricks at all, instead using smaller Smart Tags that interact with a Smart Brick from one of the two All-in-One sets. This means Pokémon like Mewtwo, Gengar, Umbreon, Garchomp, Eevee, and Lapras can use Smart Play without the technology dominating their designs. I’m particularly impressed with the Mewtwo set — it’s probably my favorite of the bunk, even though the entry-level $15 Jigglypuff set gives you everything you’d possibly want from dependable ol’ #39.

Smart Play still isn’t cheap if you’re starting from scratch, and a lot of its appeal will inevitably be lost on adults like me who want sets for their shelves, but younger builders are much more likely to get their money’s worth — maybe not for long, but what truly holds the attention of our sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, and everything in between, anyway?

Everything’s a distraction like nothing before, and with the Smart Play Pokémon range, set-builders get a good-looking product and a little more. Whether it works out for Lego or not in the long run is a matter for the sales; at least it’s trying to put a new spin on things.

Back in March, my verdict was that Lego Smart Play was great fun, but not a revolution yet. Six months later, the Pokémon theme hasn’t quite changed that opinion, but it has made the whole idea much easier to recommend. Smart Play works considerably better when the Lego underneath it is good enough to stand on its own.