Knock-Off LEGO Pokemon Are on Sale For Absolutely Free!

In case you haven't heard, this year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, which has built up a big reputation as a cash cow miltank delighting children and irritating parents.  So of course, companies will be vying for the license to produce Pokemon merchandise, including construction bricks.  Back in the early 2000s, Mega Bloks held it, and this decade, Ionix has acquired it, with all the disturbing transforming functions it entails.

However, it seems nobody told two companies working with the site RD Depot.  That's right; not one but two companies seem to be producing brick-built models of the iconic Japanese monsters; iBlock Fun and Mini Blocks.  That's not where the confusion ends, either, as it would seem only Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle are actually contained in the boxes labeled as them, while the Lapras box contains Gengar, the Snorlax box contains Mewtwo, the Dragonite box contains Eevee, and the Caterpie box contains "Mewtwochild"--how he differs from regular Mewtwo is not expained.  But hey; they're free!

The models themselves look...okay, from a fan-made MOC standpoint, and they certainly aren't as hideous as Ionix's Transformer Ash Ketchum or as lame as Mega Bloks' approximation of smaller Pokemon as simply their pictures painted onto cubes, but that's not really the point; the point is that this is most likely counterfeit, of the sort that is produced by people overseas who don't really know much about what they're making.

This is a warning to all parents browsing: Even presented with an ultra-cheap price, do not buy such toys for your children.  Toys produced in irrefutable factories outside the quality control of official license-holders are often made with dangerous ingredients like lead.  This blog post is presented in a semi-humorous fashion, but spread it with that key message in mind.