Pokémon TCG and McDonald’s are a familiar collaboration. Most years in the last decade have seen a mini set released in the kids’ meal, although I’m sure many adults have indulged in a Pokémon Happy Meal—for the food, of course. And with a fresh batch launching in November, there are more cards to collect. Personally, I’d rather collect the boxes if I’m stashing away any cardboard this time around.
While the Pokémon TCG cards for the McDonald’s collab haven’t been revealed yet, they’re reprints of older singles from previous Pokémon sets with fresh numbering to match the mini expansion. There will also be toys, as reported by PokéBeach, marking the first time Pokémon toys will be part of a Happy Meal since 2018.
The Pokémon cards aren’t anything unusual. What I really love about the collaboration is the variety of boxes for the Happy Meal, with a selection of Pokémon turned into goofy little cubes. Pikachu, Eevee, and Umbreon get their big ears popping up, while Squirtle’s simplicity reminds me why I love the Water-type. According to the leak shared by PokéBeach, there are 15 in total, each containing a toy. Arguably, this is better than a Poké Ball.
Each pack will come with four cards: three non-holo and one holo. Holo cards have a confetti-style design, and there will be a total of six different cards to collect. However, which cards the mini set will offer hasn’t been revealed just yet.
The US will get the collaboration between 10 November and 14 December, while Canada and Australia will get it from 3 November to 7 December and 5 November to 9 December, respectively. A date for UK hasn’t been shared just yet, but it’s good timing as plastic toys have just come back into the world of Happy Meals with more sustainable plastics, which hopefully means we will get the Pokémon toys over here, too.
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