If you circled November 5 for Pokémon cards at McDonald's in the United States, move the circle. In our October 22 report we passed on the first reported window for this promotion and said the dates could still change. They have. PokeBeach reported on October 27 that after speaking to multiple stores it can now place the United States run from Tuesday November 10 to Monday December 14. That November 5 date was not invented. It belongs to Australia, and untangling which country owns which window is only the first of the real changes in this update.
The format is not the old pack
The bigger news is what a meal actually holds this time. PokeBeach reports that each Happy Meal carries one plastic toy and two random Pokémon cards drawn from a set of 15. The toy is a miniature Happy Meal box built around one Pokémon, and the back of each toy serves as a frame for displaying a card. GameRant, reporting the same reveal, adds that this marks the first time since 2018 that Happy Meals include plastic Pokémon toys, after years in which the promotion focused on cards alone. Sole Retriever, working from leaked photos shared by a McDonald's franchise, describes the same pairing of a mini box toy with two trading cards in every meal. That is a different product from the one in our first report, which described the classic four card booster pack with a choice of a toy or a handbook alongside it.
Fifteen toys, and the names are out
There are 15 toys to match the 15 cards, and the lineup is now public across the reports. The toys feature Pikachu, Eevee, Umbreon, Rowlet, Weedle, Bulbasaur, Piplup, Sobble, Torchic, Sprigatito, Squirtle, Espurr, Charmander, Minccino and Munchlax. GameRant lists all 15 by name, and Sole Retriever lists the same 15 from the franchise photos. Because each toy doubles as a card frame, the toys are part of the collectible this year rather than a side extra, and a complete run now means finishing two linked sets of 15 at once.
Three cards are now named
The card list has its first confirmed entries. PokeBeach names Metagross from Temporal Forces, Palafin from Obsidian Flames and Hawlucha from Scarlet and Violet, and GameRant names the same three. PokeBeach notes the cards will be reprints carrying McDonald's numbering, as these promotions have always worked. The other 12 cards are still unknown, and so is the finish split. Past promotions typically included six holo cards in confetti holofoil, and our October 22 report passed that pattern on as part of the early reporting. PokeBeach is clear that nobody outside the promotion yet knows how many of this set will be holo, so treat the six holo figure as history rather than a promise for this run.
The corrected calendar
Three regional windows are now reported with store backing. Canada runs first, from Tuesday November 3 to Monday December 7. Australia follows from Thursday November 5 to Wednesday December 9, which is the window that was first reported as the United States dates. The United States runs from Tuesday November 10 to Monday December 14. PokeBeach says the promotion will reach other countries as well, with no dates reported for them yet. One honesty note belongs here. No announcement from McDonald's or The Pokémon Company has surfaced in our scan, so this story stays in the Rumor Mill tier even though the reporting behind it is now much firmer than it was five days ago.
What this means for collectors
Our take is that two cards per meal quietly changes the whole chase. A four card pack let a collector move through a 15 card set quickly. Two random cards at a time means more meals per missing card, more duplicates along the way, and a slower road to a finished set for anyone buying one meal at a time. That math tends to push complete sets and the scarcer finishes upward once the promotion ends and the supply of new cards stops. It also gives the sealed toys a real shot at holding value of their own, because a framed display piece is easier to keep and show than a loose pack. None of that is a price prediction. It is the shape of the hunt, and it is visible before the first meal is sold.
What to watch next
Watch for an announcement on official McDonald's or Pokémon channels, which would lock these dates in public and end the reliance on store level reporting. Watch for the remaining 12 cards and the holo treatment, because the finish split is where a secondary market forms in every one of these promotions. Watch also for purchase limits at restaurant level. Past McDonald's Pokémon runs have drawn bulk buying, and a two card format gives restaurants even more reason to set a cap early.