The Pokemon Company and McDonald’s have teamed up before, but not without attracting undo attention from would-be scalpers. Earlier this month, McDonald’s Japan was forced to end its latest Pokemon Happy Meal promotion a few days early because the supply of cards quickly ran out amid chaotic crowds clamoring for the cards that came with them.
According to Nintendo Soup, scalpers drove most of the demand for Pokemon cards and many of them abandoned their Happy Meals uneaten at the restaurants or on the streets outside. In some cases, the crowds inside the McDonald’s restaurants were so unruly that the police had to be called.
朝マック食べに来たらクソチャイナ転売ヤーが湧いてた
普通に迷惑だし日本から出ていってほしい。そんでマクドナルドはいい加減きっちり対策しろ pic.twitter.com/2Eoc4IpvEE— はぴ@メイ (@hapi_tori) August 8, 2025
The most-prized item from this giveaway was a McDonald’s-exclusive Pikachu card featuring Pokemon’s iconic creature ready to scarf a Happy Meal of his own. Aside from the scalpers who came away with the cards, the only real winners of this PR debacle were the pigeons who devoured the discarded meals.
早朝の渋谷のカオス。
マクドナルドのバーガーやポテトが道にばら撒かれた結果、ハトの大宴会が開かれている模様。
買った食品は責任持って食べきっていただきたいし、ゴミは持ち帰っていただきたい。 pic.twitter.com/VYLo2Fte26— スミレンジャーZ（愛称スミレちゃん、元スラウザーです） (@iijNWqUQ7i41630) August 9, 2025
McDonald’s Japan did set a limit of five Happy Meals per customer, but that limit was either ignored or circumvented by scalpers. Overzealous collectors and scalpers aren’t unique to Japan. American Rick and Morty fans may recall the Szechuan Sauce mania that occurred in 2017 when McDonald’s briefly brought it back.
However, Pokemon fans appear to be in a league of their own. Reports have emerged that the Japanese mob has been using some Pokemon cards to launder money. Last May, a UK man was arrested in possession of over $300k worth of stolen Pokemon cards.
The resurgence of Pokemon fandom shows no signs of abating, and there’s even a PokePark Kanto attraction slated to open next year in Japan. The next game in the series, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, will be released on Switch and Switch 2 on October 16.