‘Pokemon Go’ takes over Las Vegas as players race to ‘catch ‘em all’

Who knew that imaginary creatures could create such a real-life ruckus?

It’s been a week since “Pokemon Go,” a free smartphone-based game app, was released. And ever since, legions of fun-loving Southern Nevadans have braved the oppressive heat to join other Americans with way too much time on their hands to chase Pokemon in parks, on city streets, in offices and wherever else the wily critters might turn up.

We first met Pokemon during the early 2000s, when the Japanese import came to America in the form of video games, trading cards and animated TV shows and movies.

The simple premise: Players capture free-range Pokemon and train them to fight other trainers’ Pokemon. What sets “Pokemon Go” apart from most other popular smartphone games is that it uses a phone’s camera and geolocation ability to place illustrated Pokemon into real-life backgrounds. Players use their phones’ screens to approach Pokemon appearing around them and then throw a virtual ball at the creatures to ensnare them.

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