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I'm not sure exactly how the tradition started, but I always name every one of my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Be it a main series title or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Malfunction switches from male to female avatars, with dark and violet hair. Occasionally their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in this enduring series (and among the more style-conscious entries). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokemon Games

Much like my characters, the Pokemon titles have evolved across releases, with certain cosmetic, some significant. But at their heart, they stay the same; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. The developers uncovered an almost flawless mechanics system approximately three decades back, and has only seriously tried to innovate upon it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar is now in danger). Across every version, the core mechanics cycle of catching and fighting alongside adorable monsters has stayed consistent for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that framework. It takes place completely in a single location, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, ditching the expansive adventures of earlier games. Pokémon are meant to live together alongside humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only glimpsed previously.

Even more drastic is Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's almost ideal gameplay loop experiences its most significant transformation yet, swapping deliberate sequential bouts for something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, even as I feel eager for another traditional entry. Though these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula seem like they create an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately recruited by the female guide (for male avatars; the male guide for female characters) to become part of her team of trainers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Championship.

The Championship is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" progression of past games. However here, you battle a handful of trainers to gain the opportunity to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you will be promoted to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Live-Action Battles: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles occur at night, and navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is very enjoyable. I'm always trying to surprise an opponent and unleash an unopposed move, because all actions occur in real time. Moves operate on cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's a lot to get used to initially. Despite gaming for almost 30 hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also factors as a major role during combat since your creatures will trail behind you or go to specific locations to execute moves (some are long-range, while others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in the same order, despite this results in a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and plenty of chances to become swamped. Creature fights rely on response post-move execution, and that data remains visible on screen in Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Sometimes, you cannot process it since diverting attention from your adversary will spell immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to explore. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the vision of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, taking flight when you get near like the real-life city birds getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The monkey trio joyfully cling from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna cling on branches.

A focus on urban life is a new direction for the franchise, and a welcome one. Even so, navigating the city grows repetitive eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to Paris, the inspiration for Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where every district differs, and they're all vibrant with differences that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which the city really shines, oddly enough, is indoors. I loved the way creature fights in Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in eateries with diners observing as they dine. An elite combat club will invite you to a competition, and you'll battle on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality that's absent from the overall metropolis in general.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Championship, as well as subduing wild powered-up creatures and completing the Pokédex, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I