Trainers outraged as McDonalds Pokemon card trick reveals Happy Meal holos before opening

James Busby

Pokemon fans continue to voice their anger as scalpers flock to McDonald’s restaurants in order to scoop up the 25th anniversary Pokémon TCG Cards. However, things have gotten even worse for collectors thanks to a simple trick. 

Collecting Pokemon cards has long been a hobby since the TCG debuted in Japan way back in 1996, but the recent resurgence in popularity has made this past time increasingly difficult. Not only do collectors have to compete with Twitch streamers, they also have to try and battle the never-ending hordes of scalpers that are capitalizing on the TCG’s growing popularity. 

While scalpers aren’t exactly a new thing to the world of Pokemon, they have seemingly come out en masse this week. This is due to the new 25th Anniversary Pokémon cards that appear in McDonald’s Happy Meals. In fact, the situation has gotten so bad, that many younger fans are now missing out on the promotion altogether. 

However, now scalpers have discovered a simple way that enables them to find rare holo cards without even opening the booster packs. 

Pokemon 25th anniversary McDonald’s promotion

Pokemon cards
Getting hold of these anniversary cards could prove difficult.

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. It’s incredibly easy to do, and only requires scalpers to shine a flashlight through the paper pack wrapper. 

Pokemon holo card
The placement of the holo card makes it incredibly easy to find.

The holo card is always on the top of each pack, so it’s 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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About The Author

James is Dexerto's Associate Games Editor who joined the website in 2020. He graduated from university with a degree in Journalism, before spending four years freelancing for GamesRadar+, PCGamesN, RPS, LoL Esports, Red Bull Gaming, and many more. You can find him covering everything from CoD, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, and Monster Hunter. Need to get in touch? Email James at james.busby@dexerto.com.