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Pokemon league hopes to attract players

Nathan Perry's parents started the Pokemon of Wichita Trading Card League so he'd have someone to play with.

BY ANDREA MOLINARI

The Wichita Eagle

Gamers in Wichita now have an opportunity to practice their Pokemon Trading Card Game skills with a local 10-year-old who happens to be among the world's top-ranked players of the game.

Ed and Susan Perry started the new Pokemon of Wichita Trading Card League because Pokemon enthusiasts, including their 10-year-old son, Nathan, didn't have a public place to play and work on strategies.

Recently, Nathan has competed well at Pokemon Organized Play tournaments. He has won tournaments in three cities; won the state tournament; took second at regionals, where he won a $1,000 scholarship; and plans to compete in the nationals tournament this summer in Columbus, Ohio.

He is currently ranked ninth in the nation in the junior division, for children 11 years and younger, and 12th in the world in the same age group.

To practice, "Nathan and I played each other," Ed Perry said, because they didn't know anyone else who played the game in Wichita. "We thought it was a good reason for us to start a league."

The Perrys founded the Pokemon of Wichita Trading Card League this spring to increase local interest in the game.

Ed Perry, the league leader, said he hopes that there will be enough people in the league to host a tournament in Wichita in about a year.

The first league meet on April 20 attracted six players, including the Perrys.

"I think they had a blast," said Jas Strader, store manager at Agents of Comics, which hosts the group's meets.

To play the game, two people have six cards each (each card has a different character worth a certain number of points), and the characters on the cards "battle" each other. The player who takes out all the opponent's cards wins.

"The game is easy to learn but hard to master," Ed Perry said.

Nathan, a fourth-grader at McCollom Elementary School, said, "I like it because you don't have to play the same cards, like other games."

He got started with the game when he brought home cards from the school bus three years ago, said Ed Perry, an avid gamer.

Nathan is hopeful that he will be invited to compete in the world tournament in August at Disney World.

That tournament invites only the top eight ranked players per division from the United States. The number of invitations vary per participating country.

"I am probably on the competitive side," Nathan said. "But I always feel better if I learn something if I lose."

If you go

POKEMON OF WICHITA TRADING CARD LEAGUE

What: The league is looking for new members to play at weekly meetings. All players are welcome, including children and adults, novices and advanced players.

Where: Agents of Comics, 942 W. Douglas

When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays

How much: League play is free.

Visit www.go-pokemon.com to learn about the game and tournaments or call Agents of Comics at 316-262-6642.c

Reach Andrea Molinari at 316-268-6264 or amolinari@wichitaeagle.com.