Pokemon cards may be coming to McDonald's Happy Meals this month

By Benjamin Abbott
published

McDonald's might be getting Pokemon cards, and we'd like all of them please

Pokemon cards may be coming to McDonald's Happy Meals this month
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company, Nintendo)

Are Pokemon cards and Pokemon toys coming back to McDonald's Happy Meals? Very possibly, according to a recent leak. 

Thanks to PokeJungle's Twitter account (via GamingBible), it would seem that a small handful of Pokemon cards - four, to be precise - will be included in every US McDonald's Happy Meal. This freebie is supposedly in honor of Pokemon's 25th anniversary and should launch sometime in February. It's unclear whether the same offer would roll out to the rest of the world, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed. 

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Supposedly "featuring Pokemon from every region", the cards that'll be included in the Happy Meal roundup seem to feature most game starters (including Scorbunny from Pokemon Sword and Shield). We can't make out too many in the photo above, but it looks like there are 25 in total. Which just makes sense, doesn't it? 

Even though this hasn't been officially confirmed by McDonald's or Nintendo, it'd be a cool throwback to many of our childhoods. Yes, it's a shame that we aren't getting any Pokemon toys as well - like the classic 90's range that featured everything from one chonker of a Pikachu to a spinning-top Chansey - but hey, you can't win 'em all. It also should also introduce the Pokemon Trading Card Game to an all-new generation.

If nothing else, it's another indication that bringing video games back to tabletop is all the rage right now; besides The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms and a Horizon Zero Dawn board game, a Monster Hunter World board game is on the way. It actually features a model that's over a foot tall.

Anyway. Want to get back into the TCG? Pokemon Battle Academy is a good place to start. Thanks to accessible instructions and a steady drip-feed of rules that gradually prepare you for a full game, it's a great introduction to one of the best card games out there.

Pokemon card deals

If you want to get into the action now, check out the retailer quick links we've listed below. They'll get you started with the cheapest prices on the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

Pokemon Card retailers (US):
Amazon | Walmart | Best Buy

Pokemon Card retailers (UK):
Amazon | GAME | Argos

Want some tabletop recommendations? Be sure to check out the best board games, board games for kids, and board games for families.

Benjamin Abbott
Benjamin Abbott
Tabletop & Merch Editor

As the site's Tabletop & Merch Editor, you'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news. I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and can normally be found cackling over some evil plan I've cooked up for my group's next Dungeons & Dragons campaign.