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r r yr- m 9 an elusive search for pokemon yellow has frantic mom banking on santa by tracy kibble staff writer sold out two words parents dont want to hear 24 shopping days before christmas two words that turn consumers into a frenzied panicked elbowing mob two words that had me phoning cajoling even begging clerks for a spot on a waiting list i heard those words over and over and over tuesday morn ing as i desperately tried to buy the hottest game of the year nintendos pokemon yellow version for game boy pikachu edition for my eightyearold son kody you see for a pokemon fan the yellow version is a must- have in a growing collection that also includes pokemon char acters 151 in all pokemon cards pokemon video games and the afternoon pokemon cartoon which incidentally cant be missed those treasured little pocket monsters from japan are causing me great stress the yellow game is special because unlike the red and blue versions it features pikachu who follows ash the player throughout the game helping him capture all the other char- acters pikachu even surfs the waves in one scene to catch up to ash and appears by herself in others ultra cool my confidence in purchasing the 50 game was dashed early in my search however after just one phone call forget about it youre not going to find one anywhere said sarah roberts electronics department clerk at toys r us in newmarket not ah encouraging statement when youre looking for the one toy that is certain to light up your childs eyes christmas morning pokemon yellow version is definitely the game of the year and proof is in the sales nintendo of canada ltd based in vancouver has already sold more than a million copies and the release of pokemon the first movie didnt hurt many retailers are blaming an inability to keep up with consumer demand on the company nintendo does this every year they hype up a game and they decide what game will be the hottest said ian haxton of gamers world in newmarket haxton said he gets between six and 10 calls a day from people wanting the version and he hopes to get a shipment next week he already has them sold based on a list of about kjnfot ie ofestiue season ai jayor uree unarms wnere fe perfect free is jus me beginning 50 people just waiting for his call i told him to add my name markville shopping centres compucentre sold its last pokemon yellow version two weeks ago has a waiting list of 43 people and receives 30 calls a day from consumers hoping to find someone somewhere with a full stockroom compucentre sales representative senthu balendran said his head office has some in stock but each of the stores is wait ing for its share of the hot commodity its not impossible to get a yellow version game before christmas but it will be difficult maybe a 30percent chance he said balendran said nintendo simply underestimated the explosive popularity of the game its just that the demand is higher than the supply factories are making them but quantities are low he said electronics boutique salesperson marcus passafiume in newmarket summed up the whole pokemon situation in two sentences its a headache its my nightmare join the club sears canada catalogue shopping turned out to be a bust as well one employee told me she cant even put my name on a waiting list because they currently have more than 800 pokemon yellow versions on back order and walmart stores across york region are sold out with out much hope of getting new supplies in before dec 24 at midnight i guess kody and i will just have to count on santa hell pull through he always does staff photorob alary marcus passafiume manager of the electronic boutique in newmarkets upper canada mall wishes he had more copies of the superhot pokemon yellow version to sell these are just the promotional materials the company sends to outlets at markham museum and historic village jecemer 3rcf 5f z999 javin us for the festival of trees and celebrate this joyous holiday season with dozens of beautifully decorated trees and a host of special holiday events for the whole family our 25 acre historic village will light up with trees and wreaths designed and decorated by local businesses and associations don v forget to enter our raffle for a chance to win one of our beautifully decorated trees or wreaths omaiy weamfer3nf oautidzy ecemerw otmdat meeern0er5j open 1000 am 900 pm open 1000 am 900 pm open iomo am 400 pm cjtfvaflajtfjufc w visit oinhliuiy isitsoutas secrm seniors tea dec 3 1000 am 200 pm 2 searings advance tickets required 800 per person includes sandwiches sweets and admission to all other festival activities breakfast with santa dec 4 930 am k 1100 am 2 searings advance tickets only adults 1000 children 12 and under a00 includes admission to all other festival activities dec 5 closing ceremonies 230 pm 400 pm tree raffle and announcement of festival of trees winners breakfast with santa dec 5 930 am 1100 am 2 searings advance tickets only adults 1000 children 12 and under 800 includes admission to all other festival aaivities ihurs dec 2 ridec3 lat dec 4 the s lung ass for more information call u at 965 20446 or 905 820101 a unique partnership presented by festwal proceeds etlf aelp support i jtugasscewtiou research for a cure and improved treatment of hag disease as well as educational progamming at tie mariaam museum i the rfc lung association yoirf visit ou call for de 9350 highway 48 markham just north op i6th avenue on hwy 48 294 int cornerofhwy7andmcco8nm mmim entertainment sponsors ufarklun mnanitaor