Pokemon Go players are taking to the streets of Brookhaven in droves at all hours as they attempt to capture the elusive pocket monsters with their cell phones.

Released on July 6, Pokemon Go already has 10 million downloads on Google Play and some are calling it the biggest mobile game in U.S. history.

But how do these fictional creatures bounce and fly around Brookhaven monuments like the Whitworth College sign?

With a set of technologies called augmented reality, Pokemon Go uses the cameras, accelerometers and global positioning systems common in smartphones to show Pokemon in the real world.

Players must catch the creatures, which they can see on their phone screen, by hitting them with a Pokeball, much like throwing a skee ball at an arcade, but on a phone.

Jason Reeves works at Hero’s Haven, a comic book store in Broohaven, and he also plays Pokemon Go. Reeves said teams of Pokemon Go players compete over control of gyms located around town. A gym is just a spot near a city landmark where players congregate and interact with each other through their phones.

“Nintendo sets up gyms in landmarks all around your home town,” Reeves said. “In Brookhaven, there’s one at the library and the courthouse. I believe there’s one by the water tower. Once you hit level five, you can choose a team.”

There are three teams in the game, Valor, Mystic and Instinct. The teams also have colors which correspond to the first three Pokemon games: red, blue and yellow.

It’s almost a tradition with video games big enough to become part of the popular culture for hoaxes and urban legends to spread. According to snopes.com, reports that a 15-year-old boy was stabbed by his brother over the game, that a man in Massachusetts caused a major accident after playing the game in his car and that a boy was shot for trespassing while trying to catch Pokemon were all hoaxes from fake news sites designed to generate as many clicks as possible.

That isn’t to say Pokemon Go — both inside and outside the game — is without issues. Pokestops can be highly trafficked areas. For a business, this may be a sought after feature but some private property owners are petitioning the game to move or remove the stops.

There have also been reports nationwide of people playing the game in inappropriate places, including U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery.

Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said he hasn’t received complaints yet about players in the city, but he does have concerns.

“One thing I’m mainly concerned about right now is the hours,” Bell said. “They are going out at 2 or 3 in the morning playing these games.”

Bell said players should always be aware of their surroundings while playing the game.

“I’d hate for them (to be) going into areas or (around) people they don’t know participating in these games,” Bell said.

Reeves said players should use common sense when playing the game, but he believes it can be a benefit to players as well.

“It’s done wonders for some people downtown,” Reeves said. “I find myself walking around more and doing exercises. It’s a unique group of people trying to catch Pokemon downtown and you know you’ve got something in common. You’ve got Pokemon to talk about if nothing else.”

Reeves said the original Pokemon encouraged interaction between players. In order to collect all of the Pokemon in the game, players of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue would have to trade. Reeves said Pokemon Go is continuing that tradition.

“When I go to work at Hero’s Haven, people come in, play Magic and have their phones out at the same time,” Reeves said. “Someone yells, ‘There’s a bulbasaur” and everyone runs out at the same time. Then they come back and play Magic and it keeps going on.”