The Limited Edition Pokemon Oreos That Caused Quite The Frenzy

Oreo cookies are no stranger to a brand collaboration that can produce some of the craziest Oreo flavors ever seen on shelves — we are looking right at you, Sour Patch Kid Oreos. But not all of Oreo's partnerships have affected the taste of its cookies. When the cookie company teamed up with the Pokémon Company back in September of 2021, the results had cookie lovers and Pokémon trainers alike in a frenzied state over the design printed on the classic chocolate sandwich cookie.

This limited edition snack promised a rather unique change to the traditional Oreo cookie, featuring images of 16 popular Pokémon embossed onto the chocolate wafer. Popular pals like Pikachu and Squirtle were expected to be found on almost every box, but the real excitement came from the hunt for a handful of extremely rare Pokémon-printed Oreos that could only be found in a select few boxes. While the retail price of these Pokémon Oreos were not hiked up especially high in stores, fans took the iconic phrase, "Gotta catch em all," to new heights and were willing to pay top dollar from third party sellers in order to get their hands on an Oreo cookie with their favorite Pokémon on it.

The 16 Pokémon that had the potential to appear in these limited edition Oreos was a real roster of all stars and fan favorites: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Sandshrew, Jigglypuff, Dratini, Cyndaquil, Grookey, Sableye, Lapras, Piplup, Snivy, Pancham, Rowlet, and one exciting and elusive Pokémon: Mew. This was big news for die-hard Pokémon fans. For those who are not as deeply immersed in the lore, Mew is an extremely rare psychic-type Mythical Pokémon that is just as powerful as it is adorable. The official Oreo Twitter account generated massive excitement from fans after sharing a photo of the rare Mew Oreo with the caption, "Uh ya... we understood the assignment."

Oreo and Pokémon's collaboration cost true fans a whole lot more than the price of one package of Oreos. In a similar fashion to rare Pokémon cards, energized fans invested in many packs of Oreos in order to find the extremely rare creatures. Or, they simply logged onto eBay and bought one from other collectors for a rather hefty price tag. According to NPR, fans were buying "mint edition" Mew Oreo cookies for thousands of dollars online during the height of its release. 

Unopened boxes of Pokémon Oreos can still be found on eBay for a reasonable ten to fifteen dollars. However, there are still certain listings from collectors who were lucky enough to find a rare Mew-printed Oreo that they are generously offering to customers for sums ranging from $5,000 to $20,000... or best offer.

If Pokémon lovers bought a few of the 2021 limited edition sets of Oreos off of eBay, could the cookies be safely eaten three years later? While Oreos do technically have a "Best by" date printed on its packaging, it doesn't mean that these cookies actually expire. These quality markers are placed on products in order to inform both buyers and sellers approximately when the item will no longer be enjoyed at peak freshness, indicating that quality might start to decline after the printed date. However, this is not an indicator of spoilage or safety, meaning you can still confidently eat Oreos after the printed date, they might just be a little stale.

A fact you probably didn't know about Oreos is that they are considered "non-perishable," meaning that it has a long-lasting shelf life and will not make you sick, even if they are multiple years old. Assuming that the Pokémon Oreos from 2021 have never been opened and have been stored in a cool, dry place, the cookies have not likely developed any harmful bacteria. Being sealed is a pretty good indicator that you could enjoy them without too much of a taste or texture discrepancy. Even still, don't expect old sandwich cookies to taste great. It's best to avoid eating the outdated Oreos if they have visible mold, noticeable changes in the cookie's texture, or a drastic color difference — luckily, most collectors would rather frame and preserve their limited edition cookie imprinted with Mew's face than ever try snacking on them, which is probably a good call.