Today was supposed to be a big deal for Pokémon fans. McDonald’s puts out the big image on their social media accounts, and the Pokémon Company International puts out the press release sharing the date, time, and card list.
McDonald’s official Pokémon Happy Meal collab image 2026
Easy as pie. Except, things don’t always go according to plan. Today, things went about as sideways as is possible in the world of TCGs. In a strange twist of events, the Pokémon Company put out a now deleted news post announcing the Pokémon McDonalds Happy Meal for late 2026 and early 2027. Only, they released the wrong promos – all of which haven’t even been released in English yet, and one that hasn’t even been released in Japan: the Squirtle.
Pokémon rarely makes errors like this, so when I saw the officially released Pokémon McDonalds Happy Meal card list for 2026, I pushed the news out via my own platform. Admittedly, I should have noticed the discrepancies. Indeed, McDonald’s own social image clearly shows different cards than the list Pokémon shared.
But I’m not the only one fooled by the awkward slip-up. Indeed, countless news outlets also shared the wrong list for this year’s Pokémon/McDonalds collab which officially launches on November 10, 2026 in the US.
Here’s the actual Pokémon card list for this year’s McDonald’s Happy Meal
Although the official promo images have yet to be revealed with the McDonald’s set numbering and unique foil patterns, we do know this year’s set release. It includes the following cards:
While Pokémon has not put out another press release or web page to correct this error, the rest of the details we already know are still correct. Two of the 15 cards above will be included in the McDonald’s Pokémon Happy Meals. They won’t have the Pokémon 30th logo and will be included inside the same cardboard as the plastic mini Happy Meal toy featuring one of 15 different Pokémon.
Each Pokémon Happy Meal will include 1 of 15 different toys, each featuring a different Pokémon.
Instead of having just one generic Pikachu box, Happy Meals and their corresponding toys and prizes will be included in special Umbreon, Pikachu, or Torchic boxes, adding a little more fun to the occasion.
What were the 15 cards released by the Pokémon Company International this morning?
With all of this in mind, what are we to think about the 15 cards leaked via the official Pokémon news release this morning? Well, the spoiled cards are most likely from next year’s McDonald’s Pokémon Happy Meal collab. How can you tell? Well, it’s simple: just look at the set code. This year’s set code will be M26, short for McDonalds 2026. The below cards each have M27 – McDonalds 2027!
With that being said, the true official set release for the McDonalds/Pokémon Happy Meal collab should be revealed soon with the proper set codes.
