By Veronika Bondarenko The toy giant struck a deal to make Pokémon toys and building sets. Since its peak in the early 2000s, the Pokémon craze has never waned but gone through different waves of popularity. Almost a generation after the card-trading frenzy and blockbuster 1999 animated Pokémon feature, the 2016 “Pokémon Go” mobile game sent millions looking for virtual creatures in the real-life streets of their neighborhoods. The most recent Pokémon craze came when, in 2021, McDonald’s (MCD) – Get McDonald’s Corporation Report launched a Pokémon-themed Happy Meal in celebration of the Japane…