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Patricia is the former editor-in-chief of Kotaku, where she spent a decade writing and editing. Prior to that, she served as the Culture Editor at Polygon, and as a reporter at The Verge. Hernandez specializes in Pokémon TCG, Nintendo, and offbeat internet culture stories.
Upcoming Pokémon promo brings back a McDonald's product that's been MIA for nearly a decade
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Fast food chain McDonald's is expected to announce a new partnership with Pokémon in the coming weeks, and the worldwide promo will mark the return of a Happy Meal essential that's been missing in action for (shockingly!) eight years.
Pokémon and McDonald's have been teaming up on a nearly yearly basis since 2011, often with Happy Meal boxes that contain a small selection of trading card reprints. The campaigns transform the special order's packaging into a giant chipper Pikachu head, making it one of the more striking McDonald's marketing campaigns in recent memory. The initiative has proven particularly popular in recent years following the resurgence of the Pokémon trading card game — and a FOMO-driven culture that convinced fans the exclusive cards could make a worthwhile long-term investment.
These aspects of the promo are expected to return in 2026, but according to TCG site PokéBeach, that's not all of what's coming down the pike. The news site shared images of the unannounced Pokémon Happy Meal-exclusive toys debuting this year, and each one depicts a fan-favorite monster. The toys are meant to look like mini Happy Meals, but they can also double as portable frames for the cards packaged in the meal.
Shockingly, McDonald's Pokémon Happy Meals haven't come with an actual toy since 2018 — eight years ago. Each Happy Meal is expected to offer two random trading cards. We don't yet know the full list of cards, or if the collectibles will come in special printings, like holofoil. PokéBeach reports that monsters like Metagross, Palafin, and Hawlucha will be a part of the wider card list. As for the toys, here's the full list of possible monsters to collect:
- Eevee
- Pikachu
- Espeon
- Rowlett
- Weedle
- Bulbasaur
- Piplup
- Sobble
- Chikorita
- Sprigatito
- Squirtle
- Espurr
- Charmander
- Minccino
- Munchlax
McDonald's Pokémon scalping problem
The new Happy Meals will be here soon as well: Right now, the projected dates for the United States are Nov. 10 to Dec. 14. Hopefully, the long-term prices for previous McDonald's Pokémon cards, alongside the apparent lack of exclusives like Japan's burger-eating Pikachu card, will help keep scalpers away. The hype surrounding the Pokémon Trading Card Game's 30th Anniversary might already ensure that the event will be a headache for McDonald's workers all the same.
In the past, eager Pokémon fans have staked out stores and placed mass orders to catch 'em all only to throw away the actual food component of the Happy Meal. In Japan, chaos surrounding this collaboration ended with stores calling the police on their own customers. Some McDonald's stores have since instituted purchasing limits, or adopted policies allowing for the purchase of toys without a Happy Meal.
You can look at an early picture of the rumored 2026 McDonald's Pokémon toys here.