Pokémon GO has taken the world by storm since it debuted in early July, and Wareham is no exception.

Fashioned after the popular 1990s cartoon and card game, Pokémon, Pokémon GO is a mobile phone application that takes the story and game to another level: it’s virtual reality on smartphones.

Players use their phones to catch as many Pokémon (fictional creatures with different powers) as they can while interacting with their real-world surroundings.

“Before work, I hit this pokéstop,” said Christian Fernandes of Wareham, pointing to a building near his workstation at WCTV. He pointed to several more, “This pokéstop, this one, and this one.”

Fernandes completes a loop around the buildings at the historical center of town twice a day, trying to “catch” Pokémon at “pokéstops.” He said a lot of the pokéstops in town are historic buildings, and there’s often information about the building or monument that players can read about while playing the game.

Pokéstops are places that allow players to collect eggs and Pokéballs to collect more Pokémon. A pokéball is a round, fist-sized container that holds individual Pokémon. Eggs can be collected to grow Pokémon using “candy” and “stardust.”

The game divides players into three different teams: Instinct (yellow), Valor (red) and Mystic (red, blue, and yellow). Just like Pokéstops, there are gyms where players can battle and level up their Pokémon.

The more one plays, the more one collects. The more one collects, the more levels they advance. The more levels they advance, the more variety of Pokémon they can catch in the game.

Fernandes finds benefits to the game in real life. He said businesses will set “lures” on their buildings, which attract Pokémon and can be seen in the game. That, in turn, attracts more people. It's like a win-win, he said.

The game also encourages people to get out of the house more, he said.

“Everyone is outside getting sun and walking around,” said Fernandes. “I do two or three miles a day.”

Fernandes said his whole family plays the game; age is no matter.

“I’m 27 years old talking like I'm 13,” said Steve Almeida. He grew up watching the television show and playing the card game, and is now playing Pokémon GO every day.

“It’s a game we wanted to play as kids but it didn't come out till now.”

For those brought up in the age of technology, like Almeida, Pokémon GO is a blend between a digital world and the real world. It’s entertainment meshed with reality. Almeida said the game has gotten people interacting more, players will approach each other and the first question they ask is, “What team are you on?”

Almeida's co-worker, Amanda Boldus, said, “I think it's smart that they did that.”

She agreed that it helps people get out and explore their surroundings more. But that doesn't come without consequences.

With lawsuits, disagreements, and arrests around the world, there has been a lot of noise around the game and its players.

On Aug. 16, a Michigan couple sued the owners of the game for attracting players to GPS coordinates of private properties, claiming people have peeked into their home and trampled their yard in search of the virtual creatures.

In Singapore on the same day, two men were arrested after a dispute between a pedestrian playing Pokémon GO while crossing the road, and a driver who sounded his car horn at him.

There are dozens of similar instances and police all over the world have issued warnings for players.

These include:

• being aware of surroundings and your safety

• playing in groups rather than individually

• not playing while operating a motor vehicle

• not trespassing on restricted areas and private properties

• educating children about stranger-danger at Pokéstops

• never revealing personal information through the application.