A fan-designed LEGO model bringing the iconic Pokémon TCG Gyarados card into three dimensions has advanced to the final voting phase of an official LEGO Ideas contest. Created by a builder using the handle Fit-Tumbleweed3793, the 1,262-piece set reimagines the classic trading card format by having Gyarados’ head, neck, and surrounding ocean waves burst out from the frame in a hybrid 2D-3D sculpture.
The build is competing alongside four other fan creations—featuring Arceus, Joltik, Rowlet, and Mew—in the dedicated LEGO Ideas Pokémon TCG challenge. According to official contest rules, the winning design will be developed into an official LEGO set, with the final announcement scheduled to take place no later than February 4, 2027, placing it right alongside the annual Pokémon Day celebrations.
Should the Gyarados model win, it will join a rapidly expanding lineup of licensed Pokémon products from LEGO. The toy manufacturer recently launched a fresh wave of sets on August 1, including Smart Play kits focused on Kanto region favorites and standalone display models such as Rayquaza. Non-winning finalists in the contest will still receive a prize bundle of official sets, including the LEGO Pokémon Eevee set alongside several high-profile LEGO Ideas releases.
The competition comes at a pivotal moment for the franchise as standard trading card collecting reaches unprecedented interest levels. The Pokémon Company is currently preparing for its 30th Anniversary TCG set release on September 16, which has already prompted official statements regarding inventory measures to combat scalping. If approved for production, this Gyarados set would mark one of the first direct crossovers between physical LEGO construction sets and the visual framing of the trading card game itself.
