After weeks of speculation, fast food franchise McDonald’s has finally begun rolling out a new round of Happy Meals centered on the Pokémon series. Going live yesterday to mark the creature-catching brand’s 25th anniversary, the promotion offers a special pack of trading cards with each meal, intending to give younger fans a neat treat to go with their burgers and fries. However, it appears older fans have effectively taken over McDonald’s Pokémon collaboration, with restaurants frequently selling out and numerous anniversary cards going up for sale online.

As pointed out by Polygon, quite a few evident non-children have been scooping up these Pokémon-themed Happy Meals left and right, leaving very little for the kids they were intended for. While many of these buys are from legitimate enthusiasts and collectors, it appears a large portion of Happy Meals are currently in the hands of opportunistic scalpers. Individual Pokémon cards and packs alike are currently going for well over $100 USD on sites like eBay, with full 150-pack boxes listed for as much as $1,000 in some cases.

@McDonalds @Pokemon I sure hope you do some form of inventory control for your promo Pokémon cards as some of your stock is being sold in sealed boxes which means they’re not even making it to your stores ? Though same thing happened with Tim Hortons Hockey too. Retail $1.99 ? pic.twitter.com/kX8qZyRX2V

— redphoenixsportscards (@redphoenixcards) February 9, 2021

@McDonalds @Pokemon @eBay this is not cool, your employees scalping these while my kids can’t get them with a paid meal pic.twitter.com/P2KXYV0otR

— jimmy bond (@jimmybond613) February 9, 2021

For those wondering what all the fuss is about, McDonald’s Pokémon collaboration gives fans access to 50 special Pokémon cards in standard or foil varieties, with each representing a starter from throughout the series’ 25 years. Enclosed in a Pikachu-themed Happy Meal box, customers are gifted with a pack of four cards as well as an added toy such as a card frame, deck box, or sticker sheet of various Poké-critters. As per PokeGuradian, the list of available cards is as follows:

• Bulbasaur
• Charmander
• Squirtle
• Pikachu
• Chikorita
• Cyndaquil
• Totodile
• Mudkip
• Torchic
• Treecko
• Chimchar
• Piplup
• Turtwig
• Oshawott
• Snivy
• Tepig
• Chespin
• Fennekin
• Froakie
• Litten
• Popplio
• Rowlet
• Grookey
• Scorbunny
• Sobble

McDonald’s Pokémon 25th anniversary Happy Meal Commercial

Read more on PokeGuardianhttps://t.co/Hhp0VZ0LYB pic.twitter.com/juUV9JXPI3

— PokeGuardian.com (@PokeGuardian) February 9, 2021

Outside of McDonald’s Pokémon Happy Meal promotion, booster packs have now begun emptying out elsewhere as well, with retail stores also selling out of numerous Pokémon cards. Things have gotten so out of hand, The Pokémon Company has actually released a statement regarding the scarcity. Acknowledging the “very high demand” of these special editions, the company assured they are currently working at “maximum capacity” to “print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products” and that reprints would be shipped out to retailers “as soon as possible.”

We’re aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon TCG products due to very high demand. In response, we are reprinting impacted products at maximum capacity to ensure more fans can enjoy the Pokémon TCG.

More info here: https://t.co/sClZo3BXsp

— Play Pokémon (@playpokemon) February 10, 2021

Considering how prevalent scalpers have become during the pandemic, it’s not exactly surprising to see even Happy Meals aren’t safe from buyouts. However, the fact that more cards are on the way is likely to go over well with collectors and fans, at least until restocks are inevitably sold out. McDonald’s Pokémon promotion is only slated to last for a limited time, so it won’t be too long before this Happy Meal frenzy is behind us. After all, there’s still plenty more to be unveiled for Pokémon’s 25th anniversary, including a pair of game remakes according to recent rumors.

What do you think? Are you surprised to see McDonald’s Pokemon-themed Happy Meals get swiped up by scalpers, or do you feel it’s an inevitability in this day and age? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:

• Bloodborne: The Board Game Now Available For Pre-Order
• Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Introducing New Valentine’s Mode
• Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Logo Revealed, Jason Momoa Reportedly Sought For Knuckles Role

If you enjoy this writer’s work, please consider supporting them by tossing a Ko-fi their way! Every little bit helps and aims to keep DFTG independent and free of bias. Thank you so much for your support! Eric Hall @ Ko-fi