GIMME A BEE GAME ICONS CAST SPELL.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

AGOURA HILLS - A two-hour review and a wealth of knowledge helped propel Agoura Hills resident Mitchell Squires to the top of the Pokemon Master Spelling Bee heap Monday at the Los Angeles Library.

By correctly spelling such tongue-twisters as ``Voltorb'' and ``Kangaskhan,'' the Sumac Elementary School student not only earned a trophy and $2,000 in mutual funds that will go toward college, but the adulation of fellow Pokemon fans.

``I thought it was a tough competition,'' said Mitchell, who competed against 29 other youngsters for the two-hour written and oral spelling bee. ``They were Pokemon masters too.''

The event, hosted by Ben Stein of Comedy Central's ``Win Ben Stein's Money,'' celebrated the release of Nintendo's newest video game, Pokemon Crystal for Game Boy.

Pokemon, a contraction for ``pocket monsters,'' originally populated a series of hugely successful video games for the Nintendo Game Boy and N64 machines.

Since then, children worldwide have been collecting the 151 different kinds of Pokemon creatures in a trading-card frenzy. Pokemon has also invaded television networks and movie theaters.

Monday's spelling bee drew 30 children, ages 8 to 14, and their mothers, some of whom videotaped the event.

Mitchell's mom, Sherri, was one of them.

``I was really excited for him,'' she said. ``He loves Pokemon, and he's a good speller. So this is great combination for him.''

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Mitchell Squires, 10, of Agoura Hills holds aloft his trophy as the Pokemon Master Speller at a bee Monday hosted by TV quizmaster Ben Stein, left, at a downtown L.A. library.

John T. Barr/Special to the Daily News