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McDonald's Pokémon collab explained: Will the branded Happy Meal come to the UK?

Grab a Pikachu with those McNuggets.

Mcdonald's key art of the Pokemon Happy Meals with Dragon Discovery cards

McDonald's/The Pokemon Company

Published: Thursday, 23 January 2025 at 3:34 pm

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McDonald's is no stranger to Pokémon collaborations, but the latest Happy Meals have got Pokémon Go & TCG Pocket players eager to head over to their nearest restaurants, though UK players want to know if they can get in on the fun too.

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The Pokémon x McDonald's collab not only gives hungry Trainers the chance to grab limited-edition physical TCG cards in four-card booster packs of a new 15-card set, Dragon Discovery – including Charizard, Dragonite, Rayquza, Salamence and Hydreigon – but also has bonus rewards for those who play Pokémon TCG Pocket & Go as well.

The only issue concerning some players is that while the event is well under way across restaurants nationwide in the US, there hasn't been any official word on the McDonald's Pokémon cards coming to the UK.

Well, we have all of the insight you need to know around if and when the McDonald's collab will come to Great Britain.

Will the McDonald's Pokémon collab come to the UK?

Three McDonald's Pokemon Happy Meals featuring Charizard, Rayquaza, and Dragonite

Pokemon Happy Meals with Charizard, Rayquaza, and Dragonite boxes. McDonald's / The Pokemon Company

While there currently hasn't been an announcement on the limited Dragon Discover Pokémon cards coming to McDonald's in the UK just yet, we speculate that the collab will arrive on Wednesday 19th February 2025.

We believe the McDonald's Pokémon collaboration will start on this date due to 18th February being the final day of the United Kingdom's run of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Happy Meals, which ended earlier in the US before the Pokémon card meals became available soon afterward.

A delay of themed Happy Meals always seems to be the case in the UK, potentially due to certain logistics needing to be figured out while dealing with the much larger US first.

On the other hand, we remember from looking at the terms and conditions of a previous GB McDonald's prize draw that the chain is more than capable of running a Pokémon event.

Nevertheless, we'll be updating this article as soon as we have official confirmation of the Pokémon collab.

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Pokémon McDonalds 2025 card list & values

Multiple Pokemon cards from the McDonalds collab card list

Nine of the 15 Pokémon cards in the McDonald's collab. McDonald's / The Pokemon Company

As confirmed on the Pokémon website's announcement post of the 2025 McDonald's collaboration, this is the full list of 15 Dragon Discovery cards available in the new Happy Meals, with approximate base-card values based on their original sets being eBay-sellable in PSA 9-grade or lower condition, obtained from PokeDATA:

Pokémon Go & TCG Pocket bonuses

TCG Pocket hourglasses

Pokemon key art showing bonus hourglasses from the McDonald's collab event

Details on how to get bonus Pokémon TCG Pocket hourglasses in Happy Meals. McDonald's/The Pokemon Company

When buying a Pokémon Happy Meal through the McDonald's app during the collab, Pokemon TCG Pocket players can also get sent a one-time code to get 24 pack hourglasses and 12 wonder hourglasses as a bonus.

As McDonald's mentions in its corporate announcement post, these can be used to open two extra in-game packs along with getting an extra Wonder Pick.

Keep in mind that to receive the code, you must opt in to receive emails on the McDonald's app, and you can only get one code per Pokémon TCG Pocket account.

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McDonald's-sponsored PokeStops

Pokemon GO key art showing PokeStops at a McDonald's restaurant

A PokéStop available at a McDonald's restaurant. Niantic/McDonald's

Continuing from the other collab launched in the US in December 2024, Pokémon Go players can still visit McDonald's restaurants to get extra items and other rewards during the following specific weeks:

Once there during those timeframes, Trainers can find active Lure Modules to catch additionally spawned Pokémon.

If a McDonald's is hosting a Gym, players can take part in 5-Star Raids hosting one of the latest Raid bosses for the month.

The PokéStop collab never launched in the UK, but we'll also update this article if we end up seeing McDonald's sponsored stops appearing in British branches.

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Authors

Ben Williams

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