Summary
OnePokemonfan hoping to pick up some promotionalPokemon Trading Card Gamecards for their kids on a trip to McDonald’s had a horrible realization after opening the Happy Meal boxes and discovering that the wrong toys were inside. The current cross-promotion between the fast food chain and thePokemon TCGshould net buyers four cards per Happy Meal, but some fans suspect foul play may be keeping cards out of some boxes.
Thecollaboration between McDonald’s andPokemon TCGwas announced and launched just one day ago, on January 21. While supplies last, Happy Meals ordered through the McDonald’s mobile app will feature specialPokemonboxes that contain a promotional Dragon Discovery booster pack, a poster, and a sheet of stickers. The promotional Dragon Discovery collection only consists of 15 cards that are exclusive to the limited-time Happy Meals, and each pack should contain four of these cards.
One parent, who goes by the Reddit handle disead, claims that on a recent trip through the McDonald’s drive-through line at a location in San Francisco, two different employees told them that the Happy Meals they had ordered contained packs of the cards. While the Happy Meal boxes they received bear the image ofDragon-type PokemonRayquaza and sometimes-dragon Charizard, the toys inside ended up being easy-reader books titledLittle Green Frog, which is reportedly a toy the restaurant gives out for children under three.
Pokemon-Loving Parent Makes Disappointing Happy Meals Discovery
After reportedly returning to the restaurant, the parent grew suspicious that foul play may be taking place, noting thatMcDonald’sPokemoncards are being sold for ridiculous pricesonline, and at least one eBay listing for $1,000 or best offer shows an unopened cardboard box marked with the restaurant chain’s logo and, according to its posting, 150 Dragon Discovery booster packs. The parent claims that after confronting the restaurant’s manager, the manager initially denied even knowing what theLittle Green Frogbooks were until the parent asked what toddler toys the restaurant was giving out. At that point, they claimed, the manager went into the back and could be heard yelling at staff to stop giving out toddler toys to customers who asked forPokemoncards.
While this customer’s three daughters did end up getting theirPokemoncards due in no small part to their persistence, their story fits into a larger narrative about the lengths some people will go to get their hands onPokemontrading cards. Earlier this month,video footage of chaos at Costcolocations surfaced as people swarmed the store and reportedly even got into at least one fistfight following the release ofPokemon TCG’s Prismatic Evolutions expansion. Additionally, many stores, including GameStop, have put a limit on how many packs of cards each customer can buy in an effort to stop the wave of online scalping of card packs.
Pokemon TCG
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
