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Pokémon Happy Meal trading cards cause chaos at McDonald’s branches in Japan

Oona McGee Aug 12, 2025
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The Pokémon card battle at McDonald’s was tougher than anyone anticipated.

This past weekend, Pokémon fans in Japan had an adventure to go on, as McDonald’s announced it would be giving away free Pokémon cards with its Happy Meals on 8, 9, and 10 August.

For each Happy Meal purchased, customers were able to receive two Pokémon cards — one being a guaranteed standard Pikachu, and one randomly chosen from five possible varieties. With the cards being limited in quantity, fans were prepared to go into battle to get them, including our reporter Maro, who got up early in the morning on release day to catch a set of her own.

While Maro knew demand would be high for the cards, she wasn’t prepared for the crowds she found when she walked down to her local branch at around 7:15 a.m. Even at her quiet countryside branch, the parking lot was full of cars and there was a long line of vehicles for the drive-thru that stretched all the way down the road.

This was a sight she’d never seen before, and when she stepped into the store she felt bad for the staff, who were rushing around trying to fulfill everyone’s orders. It was busier than ever, yet staff did a brilliant job of serving everyone patiently with kind smiles.

While there were plenty of children and families here, there were also lots of adults like Maro who were just as excited to pick up the limited-edition cards. Although she’d ordered her Happy Meal in advance through the mobile app, she still had to wait 50 minutes for her order to be ready, but at this point she was just thankful that she was able to even place an order, given that the cards were likely to run out before the weekend was over.

Making the Happy Meals even more sought after was the fact that they came with one of nine Pokémon toys, which are being released over the space of three weeks.

Thankfully, due to her early-morning efforts, Maro was able to receive her Happy Meal with its bonus extras, and before racing home to open her pack, she held her card set up in triumph as she left the store.

After returning home, still sleepy from her early outing, Maro’s mood lifted as she pulled out her breakfast.

In addition to her apple juice, hotcakes, and hash brown, or “hash potato” as it’s known in Japan, Maro received…

▼ … the Charmander’s Spinning Top!

It looked even cuter in real life, and now the time had come for her to open the card pack and find out what mystery card she’d received.

▼ She got the guaranteed Pikachu, with Ralts as the bonus card!

Cards like these are super rare, especially when the campaign ends, making them even more special in Maro’s book. After admiring their beauty, she ate her breakfast while scrolling through social media, where she found that the Pokémon Happy Meal craze had gone haywire nationwide, with some stores selling out by 7 a.m., and loads of customers lining up to collect ’em all. While many customers were genuine fans, it soon became apparent that some were resellers. Photos on social media showed large amounts of uneaten Happy Meals in plastic bags, wastefully left behind by those who bought excessively just to get the cards.

After seeing all the happy families in the store with their Pokémon cards, Maro felt a surge of anger toward the resellers who were buying up all the Happy Meals and depriving fans of joy by depleting stocks to turn a profit. While she’s happy that big chains like McDonald’s can offer exciting campaigns like this, she does hope that they’ll implement measures like limiting sales to one per customer or banning mobile orders in future, so that true fans of the franchise can get their hands on these Pokémon cards the way they’re meant to… and not at premium prices.

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[ Read in Japanese ]