McDonald’s Pokémon collaborations are a scalper’s dream and a parent’s worst nightmare because they include limited edition cards in Happy Meals, and collecting the whole set will likely require multiple trips through the restaurant’s drive-thru. However, the next team-up between the fast food restaurant and The Pokémon Company is a bit more lowkey, and is only happening in Japan. I’m sure that won’t stop collectors from trying to get the one exclusive card in the set, nor will it dissuade scalpers from ruining it for everyone, probably.
Starting August 9, McDonald’s Japan will be giving out an exclusive Pikachu card with art depicting the little yellow guy about to chow down on a hamburger. The Pikachu card will be included in each Happy Meal, along with one of five random second promo cards of either Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Ralts, or Riolu. While the Pikachu card features new art, the promo cards are all reprints from other sets, though each of them will have an ugly as sin McDonald’s logo slapped in the corner, just overlapping the actual character art. That’s especially annoying for the Pikachu card, given that this art is only available through the McDonald’s promo right now. The collaboration will be short-lived, however, as the cards will only be distributed until August 11. Here’s a look at the full set:
Oddly enough, McDonald’s Japan teased this event on its social media platforms with silhouettes of Pikachu, Eevee, and Mega Lucario, but only the electric mouse is actually featured in the cards the restaurant is distributing. Riolu is Lucario’s pre-evolution, but that’s the only real connection.
It remains to be seen if this will bring scalpers out to McDonald’s locations in droves, especially given that the Pikachu isn’t a highly desirable full-art card. Still, after watching people treat an art exhibit like a Black Friday sale, I wouldn’t put anything past people looking to make a quick buck off a children’s card game.