Mercer Island residents eager to play the breakout hit mobile game Pokémon Go this week were bitterly disappointed to discover that all of the Pokémon appearing on the island had already been acquired by local real estate developer JayMarc Homes.
“As soon as I’d downloaded the game to my iPhone, I ran through Mercerdale Park and the Town Center,” said tearful Island resident Anita Date. “Every time I was about to catch Pikachu, or Charizard, it would disappear and a JayMarc Homes sign would appear in its place.”
Reached for comment, JayMarc Homes spokesperson Sol S. Manson responded: “At JayMarc Homes, we are relentlessly committed to providing what our customers want: As many premium-quality homes as we can fit on Mercer Island. If we happen to capture an imaginary creature or two along the way, it’s just part of the cost of doing business.”
Manson declined to comment on rumors that JayMarc Homes is planning to rebuild the Pokémon to three times their original sizes and sell them to Pokémon Go players from California.
In the meantime, a saddened community of Island gamers has learned a valuable lesson. Said one: “Living on Mercer Island is a lot like playing Pokémon Go. You might think you’re interacting with actual life forms, but when you get close enough you discover it’s just augmented reality.”