Fast food giant McDonald’s is finally breaking a decade-long trend and has added collectible cards from thePokémon Trading Card Gameas a promo for buying a Happy Meal. ThePokémon TCGhas some of the rarest and most valuable cards of any game in the world, with a lot ofcards worth more than $10,000each. With a new promo like this one, fans (at least in one region) will be able to start collecting McDonald’s exclusive cards once again.
According to a report fromPokeBeach,McDonald’s Japan will be distributing promo cards for Happy Meals for the first time in 10 years. From August 9th to 11th, customers can get a new Pikachu promo plus one of five promo cards at random: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Ralts, and Riolu. Only Pikachu has new artwork, while the rest of the cards are reprints of existing sets, with a new McDonald’s logo stamped onto each card.
McDonald’s In Japan Are Getting Pokémon Card Happy Meals
Six New Cards To Collect In Japan
Even with five of the cards being reprints with existing artwork, thenew McDonald’s logo stamp might be enough for collectors to want to get all sixof the cards. McDonald’s has long capitalized on the success of the card game and released a lot ofexclusive promo cards in 2024, but Japan hasn’t had promos in a long time.
The six new McDonald’s exclusive promo cards are drawinga mixed response from fans, whose main concern is the potential for scalping.thepeeps191expressed concern over collectors ruining the fun of thePokémon TCG, writing,“yea half these new “collectors” (not trying to hate towards genuine enjoyers of the hobby) are just plainly destroying the hobby its not even funny anymore.“Others are expressing concerns over how the cards will be handled with international collectors outside of Japan.
An Exclusive Pikachu Card Is Available In Japan’s Happy Meals
Another Cute Pikachu Artwork
The main star of the promo is the new Pikachu card. The artwork depicts Pikachu leaning over a table and preparing to eat a burger, making it a nice showpiece for any collector. Fans seem to be enjoying the new artwork, too, withGrim Thoughtswriting:“Now that this is in front of me, I want a card of a Pikachu just eating a burger in my collection.”
With a run of only three days and the promo only being in one country, the excitement around the new Pikachu is likely equal parts exciting and concerning. A lot of Japanese fans will likely be heading to McDonald’s to collect them all, while other fans may hunt down the cards online and possibly pay a lot of money to import them. Scalping is one of theworst problems with thePokémon TCG, so hopefully, fans can find an easy (and somewhat inexpensive) way to get these newPokémon Trading Card Gamelimited cards.
