Many Japanese are crazy over the fictional creature called Pokémon, short for “Pocket Monsters,” that fans grab any merchandise inspired by the pop culture character.

McDonald’s fast-food stores in Japan tried to cash in on the Pokémon craze by offering trading cards featuring the monsters for every purchase of its Happy Meal. The 9 to 11 August promo was a hit, drawing throngs of customers to the restaurant and driving up sales.

The buyers were not interested in the meal, though. They were after the Pokémon trading cards, which can fetch high prices. Some buyers placed bulk orders just to resell the cards, tossing aside the meals and creating unnecessary food waste, NHK reports.

Authorities asked McDonald’s restaurants to avoid food waste.

Meanwhile, a Pokémon “addict” from Iowa, United States (US) was sentenced on 15 August to four months imprisonment for defrauding his employer.

After serving his sentence, Mitch William Gross, 34, will be on supervised release to pay back $146,590 to Ruan Transportation Corporation, New York Post (NYP) reports.

Gross spent that amount from September 2021 to October 2022 using the company’s credit card issued to him for work-related purposes, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says on its website, citing court documents related to the case. He purchased Pokémon cards, gaming items, and prepaid gift cards, in addition to covering other illicit charges, the office said.

He covered up the personal purchases by submitting falsified receipts and mischaracterizing fraudulent charges on his expense reports so they appeared as legitimate business expenses, the office adds.