Monday, April 22, 2024

Are Mcdonald’s Pokemon Cards Real

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Holographic Bulbasaur Charmander And Squirtle

McDonalds can’t keep up with limited edition Pokémon Cards in Happy Meals

After iconic Pokemon like Pikachu and Charizard, it goes without saying that the Kanto region starters are likely some of the most recognizable monsters out there. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle made their Pokemon debut alongside Pikachu back in 1996, and have since remained some of the favorite monsters of long-time fans, particularly those who grew up playing the original Pokemon games on the Game Boy. These are the second-rarest cards from the 2021 McDonald’s promotion.

This particular Bulbasaur card featuring the classic Grass-type starter Pokemon was originally released as part of the Shining Legends Pokemon TCG expansion back in 2017. In 2019, the card appeared in General Mills Let’s Go, Kanto! Mini Packs found in General Mills cereal boxes exclusively at Walmart. The card was also part of a McDonald’s promotion in France in 2019, also with holographic and non-holographic variations.

Now, the Bulbasaur card dons the Pokemon 25th-anniversary logo and unique icon as part of the 2021 McDonald’s promotion. Today, the Shining Legends Bulbasaur card goes for around $2-5, while the 2021 McDonald’s non-holographic Bulbasaur resells for around $3-5, and the holographic version goes for $15-20.

What’s The Value Of Pokemon Cards From Mcdonald’s

McDonald’s have added Pokemon cards to Happy Meals for a 25th-anniversary event. With all of the hype around Pokemon cards for the last few months, many fans have scrambled to get them from McDonald’s. Amidst the excitement, you may be wondering what they are worth.


The McDonald’s Pokemon cards are new, which means the market price isn’t really set for them. They started largely inflated, and prices will continue to change every day as more people get their hands on their packs.

Prices so far are far more artificial than they should be. Supposedly, a full set of 150 cards have sold for around $1000 on eBay. One complete set with each card, which is 50 cards, has apparently also gone for about $500.

Those prices are caused almost entirely by scalpers who have found a way to get their hands on all of the Happy Meal Pokemon cards. A shortage was created, and they have driven the price up.

The reason the prices are artificial is they aren’t scarce cards. There are 50 cards in total, 25 normal and 25 holographic cards based on McDonald’s.

Though they are all different in that they are associated with McDonald’s, they are technically reprints of other cards. Only the starters from each region, and Pikachu, are included in the packs.


Is Surfing Pikachu A Secret Rare

About this item. A single individual card from the Pokemon trading and collectible card game . This is of Secret Rare rarity.

Is a Pikachu Pokemon card rare?

Known as the Holy Grail of Pokemon, the Pikachu Illustrator card was only given out to winners at the CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest in 1998. With only a few in circulation around the world, this card is the rarest card in existence.

Can surfing Pikachu evolve?

You can also evolve Surfing Pikachu into a Surfing Raichu or Alolan Raichu. To get a Surfing Alolan Raichu, simply expose your Surfing Pikachu to a Thunderstone. To get a Surfing Kanto Raichu is a little more involved.

Can Hat Pikachu Gigantamax?

It should be noted that these Pikachu will not be able to evolve into Raichu, nor have the ability to Gigantamax like certain other Pikachu. Trainers cant feed these special Ash Hat Pikachu Max Soup from the Isle of Armor to give them the ability to Gigantamax, so dont bother.


Can Ash cap Pikachu evolve?

Unfortunately, Ashs Pikachu is unable to evolve into Raichu, theyre permanently stuck as Pikachu. You can breed Ashs Pikachu to make a normal Pikachu, which can then be evolved to Raichu by using a Thunder Stone. Teach that Raichu a few cool moves and youll have a winner on your hands.

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Why Is Pokemon Cards So Expensive

Why are Pokemon cards so expensive? Pokemon cards have become so expensive as a result of both stock shortages and scalpers. When restocks take place, scalpers are routinely quick to snap up the cards, selling them for way above their retail price. As a result of this scarcity, prices overall have increased.

How Can You Tell If A Pokmon Card Is Fake

Pokemon Cards Mcdonalds

Playing with Pokémon cards is not only fun, but it can also help strengthen math and reading skills. No two games are the same when playing with Pokémon cards.


Each game uses different strategies to beat your opponents. How do you know if you have been sold or playing with fake Pokémon cards?

Here are a few tips to help you determine whether or not you own fake Pokémon cards.

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Rare Mcdonald’s Pokemon Misprints

As with most any other set of Pokemon TCG cards, misprints and error cards tend to be both the rarest and most valuable cards on the third-party reselling market. One McDonald’s customer sold an error Pikachu card just last week for about $500. While the holographic cards in the 2021 McDonald’s promotional set are the ones fans have been on the lookout for, this one, in particular, was non-holographic, showing just how much some collectors value error cards.

It is also worth noting that a misprint holographic Squirtle card from the 2021 McDonald’s Pokemon 25th anniversary set is also making the rounds on eBay at the moment. Listed for $45 by user michigangirltreasures, this holographic Squirtle misprint shows that the Squirtle on the error card has supposedly been printed with much more of a green color than when compared side-by-side to what looks like a normal holographic Squirtle card. Although it is rather hard to tell, it does seem like only the Squirtle on the card is discolored, giving it a lot more value.


How Can You Tell Fake Charizard

The Side Infrared shows what the card looks like at wavelengths invisible to the human eye. While the genuine Charizard is still fully visible, all of the text and design disappears on the counterfeit! The low angle of the lighting also reveals the height differences of the card in relation to the holographic area.

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Mcdonalds Pokmon Happy Meals: Us Shortages

Fans of the Pokémon Trading Card Game will be hoping that the Pokémon Happy Meals include the special edition McDonalds 25th Anniversary Pokémon cards that were included with Happy Meals in North America in February.

This special set was exclusive to the Happy Meal range and included 25 cards covering all the Starter Pokémon from the history of the series. There are 50 cards in the set , and they each have a 25th Anniversary logo on them.

Happy Meals in North America came with packs containing four cards, which led to reports of scalpers buying Happy Meals in bulk to try and resell complete sets on eBay.


McDonalds restaurants had to place restrictions on Happy Meal sales, after they were targeted by scalpers reselling the cards on auction sites for hundreds of dollars.

According to social media reports, some collectors were even buying the Happy Meals in mass numbers, in the hopes of obtaining new cards, and throwing out the food.

McDonalds eventually released a statement acknowledging the extreme lengths customers were going to in order to obtain the Happy Meal cards.

With such significant demand for our promotional Pokémon TCG cards, and some fans even going to extreme lengths to get them, were working quickly to address shortages and also strongly encouraging restaurants to set a reasonable limit on Happy Meals sold per customer, it said.

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How Many Mcdonalds Pokmon Cards Are There

McDonald’s Pokemon Cards in 2021!? What!????

Each Happy Meal comes with a card pack that contains 4 Pokémon Trading Game Cards.

There are 25 Pokémon featured from every region including 24 starter Pokémon plus Pikachu. Each Pokémon comes in a holo and non-holo format.

In total, there are 50 possible Trading Game Cards in the limited-edition McDonalds set accounting for both the holo and non-holo cards.

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Mcdonald’s Pokemon 25th Anniversary Card Images

Above, you can see the non-holographic version of each card available. There are 25 in all – every starter Pokemon from each generation, plus Pikachu. Additionally, there are holographic versions of each of these cards, making a set of McDonald’s Pokemon 25th Anniversary TCG Cards equal 50.

See detailed images of the cards in the slideshow below.

Pokemon 25th Anniversary Mcdonalds Promotion

Every 25th-anniversary pack contains four cards and Pokemon fans will have the opportunity to collect all 24 starter Pokémon, plus Pikachu. There are also foil versions of each card, meaning that there are 50 cards to collect in total. As a result, many adult fans have been buying up large quantities of Happy Meals, denying younger fans the chance to claim their own packs.

To make matters even worse, scalpers have now discovered a trick that enables them to filter packs with standard cards from those that feature rare holo versions. Its incredibly easy to do, and only requires scalpers to shine a flashlight through the paper pack wrapper.

The holo card is always on the top of each pack, so its incredibly easy to see which ones house any rare cards. This essentially enables scalpers to sell large batches of unopened standard packs, without ever having to relinquish those with holo cards in them.

You may want to think twice before spending any money on secondhand marketplaces like eBay! Make sure to check out our Pokemon hub for all the latest news and updates.

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Full List Of Card Prices For Mcdonalds 25th Anniversary Pokmon Tcg Happy Meal Packs

The prices vary a lot, but most are about where you would expect.

As part of a promotion for the Pokémon franchises 25th anniversary, The Pokémon Company once again partnered with fast-food giant McDonalds to distribute cards in Happy Meals until March 8.

Each Happy Meal is supposed to come with a four-card promo pack that features reprinted art of all 24 starter Pokémon and Pikachu with a special 25th-anniversary stamp on the card. In total, there are 50 cards in this limited-edition set because all 25 Pokémon have a holo and non-holo variant.

Just like with every other Happy Meal promotion, customers can purchase the featured items separately, though this policy depends on the individual McDonalds store and management. This has led to locations being bought out of the cards entirely, leading to scalpers re-selling the limited-edition Pokémon cards online.

Because the cards are a limited-edition run tied into the Pokémon franchises 25th anniversary, there is an inherent collectibility factor playing into the price of the cards. Some sealed boxes listed for resale can go for between $600 to $1,000, while individual packs are going up to anywhere from $4 to $20.

Here is a list of average costs for every Pokémon card featured in this McDonalds 25th anniversary set, listed by generation and with holo and non-holo pricings form current and historic price database, PriceCharting. None of these listings are using PSA graded examples.

Pokemon Tcg In The News

McDonalds promo cards

Recent months have seen YouTubers, influencers, Twitch streamers, and even average fans going all-out on purchasing Pokemon cards, spending upwards of thousands of dollars for Pokemon Trading Card Game booster boxes, and in some cases, just as much for a single card. The monster-catching franchise’s 25th anniversary has brought along with it a virtual concert with Post Malone, new game announcements, and a plethora of commemorative merchandise, but by far the most viral part of the celebration has been Pokemon‘s collaboration with McDonald’s.

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The Ridiculous Price One Mcdonald’s Pokmon Card Sold For

On February 25, a single non-holographic Pikachu card from the 25th anniversary Pokémon Happy Meal set sold on eBay for $500. Why’d this McDonald’s Pokémon card sell for so much? Game Rant explains that the card was cut with diagonal edges instead of curved ones. This gave the Pokémon card a unique identity and a higher price point, even though it lacked the holographic background that tends to command more money. Despite the stories of other exorbitantly priced Pokémon cards, Game Rant notes that the value of this card is due to the scalping that occurred around the launch of the Happy Meal set. People would buy multiple toys that go with the Happy Meal in an attempt to collect the entire set easily or worse, to control the entire availability of the cards in a certain area, which has led to a rise in prices. Once the excitement dies down, you could expect prices for the Pokémon cards to drop as well.

Other artificially high prices noted by Sportskeeda included a set of 150 cards for $1,000 and the entire McDonald’s set of 50 cards for $500, both perhaps a tad more understandable than the single card going for $500.

Mcdonalds Pokmon Toys 2021

Each McDonalds Pokémon Happy Meal also includes a Pokémon toy. There are 4 types:

Pokemon Card Holder

This is a cardboard frame to hold your Pokémon card.

The cardboard deck box can hold your Pokémon cards.

Small Sticker Set

The small sticker set comes with 26 stickers, two for each starter Pokémon and two for Pikachu.

Large Sticker Set

The large sticker includes 4 Pokémon.

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Pokemon Tcg Cards Are Popular Again

Pokemon TCG cards had a major comeback in 2020 that has extended into the new year. Collectors have been digging through their old cards in hope of finding one or two that have appreciated in valueand some of them have. Charizard cards and older cards that dont have a drop-shadow behind the image of the Pokemon have become especially lucrative, some going for thousands of dollars. First-edition holographic Charizard cards have sold for the insane price of $300,000. Stores selling out of Pokemon TCG cards resulted in the manufacturer upping the production numbers to make sure fans were able to have access to the packs they want.

The Pokemon TCG resurgence inspired YouTube and Twitch trends of people opening boxes of their old collections to sift through, and prices for many cards skyrocketed. Now that Pokemon cards are coming back, many collectors feel theres a chance the 25th anniversary McDonalds set might be worth something one day, too. Some of the cards have already sold for exorbitant prices.

The McDonalds set includes 50 cards, with half being regular images and the other featuring a holographic foil. No official information has been released about which cards are the rarest, but it seems the holographic cards are a little bit harder to track down. Each Happy Meal contains a pack of four cards, each bearing the Pokemon 25th Anniversary logo.

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Are Five Guys Fries Vegan

Pokémon TCG is back at McDonald’s! Check out these cards!

This means that the only two ingredients in the Five Guys French Fries are just potatoes and peanut oil, making them the perfect option for a vegan diet. The french fries are only flavored with salt, and there are no additional flavorings or ingredients included, making them completely vegan friendly.

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Mcdonalds Pokemon Card Rules For Happy Meals

Not only is it a nightmare for the restaurant, it literally snatches toys from kids hands. Fortunately, though, the UK chain has come up with a host of rules to ensure things dont go awry.

  • Customers will be unable to purchase extra toys.
  • Limits may be set on the number of Happy Meals customers can purchase.

Are There Fake Pokemon Cards On Ebay

Yet sadly, more and more on ebay, many of the listings are for fakes. There are some poor, good and « almost real » fake cards that can be found on the market, mostly on ebay. Some regular EX or GX cards are much harder to spot as a fake cards especialy to someone who is not an old school Pokemon player or collector.

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Mcdonald’s And Pokmon Addressed The Issue

Faced with certain adult individuals hogging all of the promotional gifts meant for kids, McDonald’s began to limit the number of toys and Happy Meals available. IGN reported on February 11 that McDonald’s corporate had begun to strongly encourage such restrictions on goods. Already, at that point, packs of the promotional cards were being sold for over $1,000. While McDonald’s was, of course, happy with the attention that their attention-seeking promotion received, they still put out a statement reading: “We want to offer the full Happy Meal experience to as many families as possible, and help ensure everyone is able to get in on the fun!”

At the time, however, the Pokémon company too was making moves to address the issue. In a , the company announced that due to the difficulty fans were having in purchasing cards, they were reprinting them so that fans could enjoy them without shelling out $1,000. It will take a while for the $500 Pikachus to vanish, but steps are in place that will destabilize the artificially high prices that led to this absurdity.

The Problem With Scalpers

McDonalds puts a piece of cardboard behind their cards to ...

Many outside of the Pokemon circle are hearing about these McDonald’s Pokemon cards through the news of scalpers. There have been multiple cases of scalpers buying the cards in such massive amounts where certain McDonald’s locations are currently limiting the pack numbers per customer.

While it is most likely these cards won’t sell for much due to the oversaturation of them and just how many there are in the world, this probably won’t effect the scalpers until much later. For now, there are going to be a lot of cases where kids that are excited for free Pokemon cards with their McDonald’s getting nothing instead.

Another group greatly affected by these scalpers are the various McDonald’s employees that have to deal with them. Images are circulating online of scalpers purchasing hundreds of Happy Meals all presumably with McDonald’s food inside. This food of course needs to be prepared by those working at the restaurant with the added pressure of other customers around who also want to be serviced. As previously mentioned, there are multiple locations where there are hard limits of Pokemon packs that customers can get, but the fact that this needed to happen shows that there were plenty of terrible incidents.

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