2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise and The Pokemon Company is looking to celebrate in style. While much of The Pokemon Company's plans to celebrate the Pokemon 25th anniversary remain under-wraps, its collaboration with McDonald's has gone live, letting fans get Pokemon cards with their Happy Meals, along with some other Pokemon-related stickers and knickknacks.
The McDonald's Pokemon promotion is live now, and it's unclear exactly how long it will last, so those interested may want to consider picking up a Happy Meal. Participating McDonald's will be including special Pokemon cards with Happy Meals, both regular and holo, with 50 cards in total to collect. The cards are the same as their main Pokemon TCG counterparts, but with the Pokemon 25th anniversary logo and in the case of holos, a McDonald's print.
Any given McDonald's Happy Meal will include a pack of four Pokemon cards, with every card being one of the franchise's starter Pokemon. From Pokemon Red and Blue to Pokemon Sword and Shield, all of the starter Pokemon in the series' history are represented. This includes Pikachu, who was the starter for Pokemon Yellow.
Here is a full list of the available McDonald's Pokemon cards for 2021. Keep in mind that there are two of each card since there are holo versions as well:
- Bulbasaur
- Charmander
- Chespin
- Chikorita
- Chimchar
- Cyndaquil
- Fennekin
- Froakie
- Grookey
- Litten
- Mudkip
- Oshawott
- Pikachu
- Piplup
- Popplio
- Rowlet
- Scorbunny
- Snivy
- Sobble
- Squirtle
- Tepig
- Torchic
- Totodile
- Treecko
- Turtwig
The McDonald's Pokemon cards isn't the only way that The Pokemon Company is celebrating the franchise's 25th anniversary. As previously stated, much of the plans are still being kept secret, though more details are expected to come this month, perhaps on Pokemon Day, February 27. In the meantime, we do know that The Pokemon Company plans on releasing New Pokemon Snap in April, so Pokemon fans have at least one new game to look forward to this year.
As for how else The Pokemon Company will be celebrating the Pokemon 25th anniversary, that's unclear. One of the most persistent rumors is that The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and Nintendo are actively developing Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes for the Nintendo Switch. The rumors claim that the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes are going to be announced later this month, so fans will find out sooner rather than later if there's any truth to them or not.
While fans wait for more information on actual Pokemon games, they can try to collect all of the McDonald's Pokemon cards. Whether or not the promotion proves to be as popular as the famous Burger King Pokemon promotion from a couple of decades ago remains to be seen, however.