Pokemon Tourney Draws Hundreds of Young Players

It was all about Pokemon Saturday as hundreds of children swarmed a hobby store in the Fallbrook Mall, playing and trading cards fast and furiously.

The Children Helping Children tournament featured young people from as far away as Orange County, each paying $25 to match skills with 40 television and movie child stars, with proceeds going to charity.

While some played the Pokemon card game with the intensity of Vegas veterans, others bellied up to “The Card Guy” counter, wheeling and dealing like Wall Street brokers to flesh out their collections.

“I can give you Poliwrath.”

“Have it.

“Machoke.”

“Have it. I need Starmie, and that’s all I need.”

Robert Miller, 11, of Downey was in the thick of it, as were his grandparents, Regina and Isadore Miller, of West Hills who waited patiently for the boy outside the store, in the relative quiet of the mall.

Robert owns about 200 cards, neatly arrayed in foils, plastic protectors that hold and display the cards in rows three down and three across.

“Some kid traded me a Snorlax for an Alakazam. That’s good for me,” he said.

Michael Young, 16, worked the card counter at the store, appropriately named The Collector’s Guide to the Galaxy. At the top of the most wanted list?

“Charizard, simple as that,” Michael said.

“We sell it for $25 and it goes very fast.”

A first edition Charizard can sell for up to $100, he added. He can’t account for the card’s popularity, but he has a theory.

“Little kids like it because he [Charizard] looks like a dragon and he’s the strongest guy in the game right now.”

Courtland Mead, 12, who has played many roles in TV and movies, including spook-fests such as “The Shining” and the upcoming “The Haunting,” played a couple of matches. With his extensive collection carefully at hand, he patiently explained the rules of the card game to a middle-aged woman who plied him with questions about the Pokemon phenomenon. Courtland guided her through one game, which he politely let her win.

The crowd surged from room to room under the watchful eyes of cardboard-cutout heroes such as Capt. Kirk, Humphrey Bogart and Kevin Sorbo.

Among the long-suffering parents was actor Ernie Hudson.

“I’m here with my son and I’m waiting for his mother to come and relieve me, and I’m hungry,” he said.

His son, Andrew, 11, has been collecting for about two years.

Organizers of the one-day tournament, including the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund, said proceeds will help displaced children in Kosovo.

Pokemon, short for pocket monster, originated three years ago as a Nintendo game. There are 150 of the characters, some cute and friendly, some mean and nasty. They appear on collectible cards as well as playing cards.