Pokemon TCG Seems Set to Return to McDonald’s Later This Year

It appears that we’ll be getting more Pokemon trading cards in McDonald’s Happy Meals in the coming months. PokeBeach reports that McDonald’s in France will get a new Pokemon Trading Card Game promotion starting in December. According to PokeBeach, France typically launches their Pokemon TCG promotion 1-2 months after the United States, which means that US McDonald’s should be getting their Pokemon TCG cards in either October or November. This is a bit later than usual Pokemon card promotions, which tend to run in August, although the delay could have something to do with the release of Pokemon Horizons toys over in Japan this month.

McDonald’s has had annual team-ups with the Pokemon Trading Card Game dating all the way back to 2011, with reprinted cards but with unique numbering and a confetti holofoil pattern. While these cards aren’t supposed to be collector’s items, they’ve often become the subject of speculative runs since the pandemic due to the increased popularity of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Still, most cards from the 2023 set are currently selling for about $1 per card.  

The Pokemon Trading Card Game just released its first special set of the year, Shrouded Fable, which focuses on Pecharunt and the Loyal Three. Other upcoming releases include the Stellar Crown expansion, which adds Stellar Tera-type Pokemon-ex cards. With the Pokemon World Championship coming this week, it’s likely that a new type of card will get announced, with current speculation focused on the return of Partner Pokemon (Pokemon that belong to a specific trainer) or Dark Pokemon.