Pokémon

McDonald's Pokémon Cards 2027 Revealed Early: Pokémon's Announcement Showed the M27 Set

Pokémon's McDonald's announcement showed 2027 cards stamped M27, including a brand-new Squirtle, then came down. Here's what it revealed.

By Brandon · · Updated Oct 31, 2026 · 2 min read

Graphic comparing the 2026 McDonald's Pokémon cards stamped M26 with the 15 cards stamped M27 shown by mistake, including a new Squirtle
Image: Keep Collecting. Card lists per Wargamer, TheGamer, PokeGuardian and earlier leak coverage.

Someone at The Pokémon Company International had a rough Thursday. On October 29, Pokémon posted its official announcement for this year’s McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion. The cards it showed weren’t this year’s. They appear to be next year’s.

What happened

The cards in the announcement carried an “M27” set stamp and a 2027 copyright, per Wargamer. This year’s cards are stamped “M26.” So the announcement appears to preview the 2027 McDonald’s set a full year early.

The post didn’t last. Wargamer and TheGamer report it was taken down, and when we checked on October 30, the announcement’s link sent us to Pokémon’s news page instead.

PokeBeach’s theory for the mix-up: about half of this year’s Happy Meal toys, including Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, don’t have matching cards in the 2026 set. They do have them in the M27 set.

The M27 cards

Per PokeGuardian, the 15 cards shown were:

BulbasaurRowletSprigatito
CharmanderTorchicSquirtle (new card)
PiplupPikachuRaichu
ClefairySlowpokeMarill
GengarEeveeSnorlax

McDonald’s cards are reprints of older cards, and 14 of these fit that pattern. Squirtle doesn’t. Per Wargamer, it has new artwork by Kariya and a new attack, Splatter, which does 10 damage to one of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. PokeGuardian says it hasn’t been revealed in Japan yet.

Since McDonald’s sets reprint existing cards, a new Squirtle suggests it’s headed for a regular set first. PokeBeach goes a step further and speculates Mega Blastoise ex is on the way. That’s speculation, not a confirmation.

Update, October 31: Blastoise from Japan’s Aura Seeker was revealed on October 30, with an Ability that boosts Bench damage. PokeBeach thinks this Squirtle is its pre-evolution. Here’s the card.

What’s actually in Happy Meals this year

None of this changes the 2026 promotion. Per the announcement as copied by PokeGuardian:

  • Each Happy Meal comes in one of three boxes themed after Pikachu, Umbreon or Torchic
  • Inside is one of 15 mini Happy Meal box toys
  • Plus two cards from a 15-card set

The M26 cards seen so far include Metagross, Palafin and Hawlucha from the earlier leaked materials, and Chandelure and Tyranitar per Wargamer. The US promotion is reported to start November 10. PokeGuardian says the announcement listed a worldwide rollout: the US, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, New Zealand and Fiji in November, about 50 more countries in December, about 20 in January, and the UK and Ireland in February 2027.

For the full US dates and the toy lineup, see our November 10 rundown.

So to recap: the 2026 set is officially announced, the 2027 set got an early preview by mistake, and somewhere a social media manager is having a very long week.

Sources

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