The Pokemon Trading Card Game (Pokemon TCG) is once again making the news, with the cards taking off so hard, that there are now card shortages, and Nintendo is now working hard to print up new cards to keep up with the demand.

Sound familiar? That’s just what was going on in the late 90’s, when the Pokemon TCG was first introduced. Back then, the fervor was so great that kids were actually getting into fights over the cards, and some schools even banned them.

There was also a brief moment around the late 2000s when the Pokemon TCG actually overtook Magic: The Gathering as the most popular Trading Card Game!

Of course, Pokemon has been popular, about as long as it’s been around. Just because you’re not hearing about it on the news doesn’t mean that people aren’t still playing it.

But you know what else is making the news? There are now Pokemon TCG Happy Meals at McDonald’s, and scalpers are buying them up in huge quantities to get at the cards.

One YouTuber has even won the scorn of the Pokemon community by buying as many as 100 Happy Meals just for the cards! I haven’t found his video, so it’s likely he since deleted it, but in any case, he’s now in damage-control mode.

At some locations, it’s possible to buy the cards separate from the meals, a fact that some are likely taking advantage of. But if you just want a few cards, it’s understandable, because then you don’t have the minor inconvenience of throwing out the “food”.

As you are likely aware, calling McDonald’s food “food” is pretty generous, though the problems with them are shared by much of fast food, such as adding excessive sugar to items like bread to make them more addictive. Wendys has ketchup that’s so sweet, it’s just wrong.

When it comes to food, people need to develop more self-respect.

Remember those guys who, in the nineties, tried telling us that Pokémon was fading? They’re still wrong.

A moment enjoyed is not wasted.