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Scott Hood's nose barely cleared the shop counter where he riffled through the colorful game cards with focused intensity.
He spoke out of the side of his mouth, so he wouldn't have to turn his eyes from Ponyta, Poliwag and the other colorful fantasy characters that flashed through his fingers.
The object of Scott's attention was Pokemon, the hottest fantasy card game since Magic The Encounter came out a few years ago.
The cards are so popular that some schools are banning them as too disruptive. Stores can't keep them in stock, local distributors live from shipment to shipment, and the manufacturer's overwhelmed sales force answers the phone with a recording suggesting that you leave a message.
"See, I started with just one card, but my teacher took it 'cause I kept pulling it out to look at it, but she gave it back the next day," Scott said, still ruffling through the cards. "She's nice. I've got nine cards, but you can't play with just nine. But I've saved up $5 - I'm 6 1/2 - and now I can get more. Charmander. Do I have Charmander?"
The Pokemon cards - more than 100 different ones selling for 25 cents to more than $50 for rare holographic first editions - are based on a kids' animated TV show and a Nintendo game developed in Japan.
Scott got interested in cards when his dad, Greg Hood of Crystal, gave him 20 baseball and football cards recently. Scott quickly traded all 20 for his first Pokemon card. He got several more last weekend from the Easter bunny and at midweek was ready...