I posted one in-progress screenshot in the LEGO Pokémon contest thread but I finally finished my submission to the challenge. I already uploaded it to the challenge page and now I’m just sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for approval.
I spent an obscene amount of time over the past month trying to get everything just perfect. If I had to guess I put in over 200 hours, nearly all my free time and even some not-so-free time 
. Just trying to get find all the right pieces, making sure they still made them, paint them all the right colors, and have them lined up and angled perfectly. The build came out to 2491 pieces, just nine below the max part limit.
I am beyond pleased with how it turned out in the end. It was my first attempt at designing anything this big or detailed out of Lego and I think it turned out really well. I’ve never been much of an artistic person so I wasn’t sure I could translate the idea from brain to brick but I think I got pretty close. I do wish I hadn’t hit part limit though, I had this whole plan to build the distortion realm behind them and a portal to the stadium card Broken Time-Space in front. 
It wasn’t without its hiccups though. I lost sooo much time just doubling back and remaking parts that were already “done.” Completely remade the face, completely remade the fins, completely remade the inner skeleton, etc. I think it was for the best overall but I would’ve loved to have those extra weeks here at the end so it wouldn’t feel so rushed.
I’m hoping it does well in the contest and that all the hard work pays off. Though even if it doesn’t it’s cool seeing how far I can go when I push myself to the absolute limit. I just wish I’d be able to build it in person in the event it doesn’t get picked, half the gold pieces aren’t produced in gold yet and I’m counting on Lego to make those ones real. 
