Pokémon has been throwing the party of the year in celebration of its 25th birthday, and they have made sure that the whole world will be attending! While the announcement of Shining Fates late last year got the attention of every Pokémaniac, the beloved franchise has delivered so much to its fans just a month and a half into the new year.
Of course, a lot of the mainstream media attention came earlier this month with the launch of the Pokémon x McDonald’s collaboration, as limited edition 25th anniversary Pokémon TCG promo packs were included in Happy Meals. The McDonald’s checklist features twenty-five Pocket Monsters, every starter, and Pikachu, as well as holofoil versions of each card. The early craze around these products was addressed by McDonald’s as they have recently started encouraging restaurants to put reasonable limits around the number of Happy Meals each customer can purchase. This issue stemmed from the packs themselves trading for nearly twice the cost of a Happy Meal.
McDonald’s is not the only card collaboration happening in the world right now, though. General Mills is placing special 3-card booster packs inside of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix boxes (it has been reported that the packs will also begin to appear in Pokémon Berry Bolt cereal). The General Mills Pokémon checklist is made up of the following:
General Mills Pokémon 25th Anniversary Checklist
| Holofoil Cards | Standard Cards |
|---|---|
| Pikachu | Snom |
| Galarian Ponyta | Yamper |
| Hatenna | Sinistea |
| Wooloo | Galarian Zigzagoon |
| Morpeko | Galarian Meowth |
| Gossifleur | Cufant |
| Dreepy | |
| Galarian Farfetch’d |
The Pikachu holofoil card is the only one that will have a special 25th-anniversary stamp on it in the General Mills packs, the standard cards are all Sword & Shield series reprints. The good news for fans is that each pack includes the Pikachu holofoil card! The other holofoils seem to be rarer, as finding one would mean getting two holofoils in one pack.
It is not just the Pokémon TCG that is getting the special treatment, now that Charizard is old enough to rent a car. P25 has announced that it will be offering a series of musical events and experiences throughout the course of the year. At this point, we know that Katy Perry will be involved and that Post Malone will be headlining a virtual concert on February 27th, otherwise known as Pokémon Day. The concert will stream on YouTube, Twitch, and the Pokemon.com/25 official website. Of course, this isn’t the only musical experience being offered in late February. Fans of the Pokémon video game Sword and Shield series can unlock a Pikachu that knows the move Sing on February 25th.
We are not even a full two months in and already Pokémon’s 25th Anniversary is in full swing! More announcements are sure to be coming soon as we approach the third month of festivities. If you need to quench your Pokémon thirst in the meantime, you may want to try searching for Shiny Charizard VMAX in the new Shining Fates release.
