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I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, however I always name all my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Whether it's a main series game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Glitch switches between male and female avatars, featuring black and purple hair. Sometimes their style is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in this long-running series (and one of the more fashion-focused entries). Other times they're limited to the various school uniform designs from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Titles

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across installments, some superficial, others substantial. However at their core, they stay the same; they're always Pokemon through and through. Game Freak uncovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula some three decades back, and has only truly attempted to innovate on it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Across every iteration, the core mechanics cycle of catching and fighting with adorable monsters has remained consistent for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple deviations into that framework. It's set completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X & Y, ditching the expansive journeys of earlier games. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, battlers and civilians, in ways we've only glimpsed before.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. It's here the series' near-perfect gameplay loop undergoes its most significant transformation to date, replacing deliberate turn-based bouts with more frenetic action. And it is immensely fun, despite I feel eager for a new turn-based entry. Though these changes to the classic Pokemon recipe sound like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

When first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your created character planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join their squad of battlers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and are sent to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. However here, you fight several opponents to gain the chance to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be promoted to the next rank, with the final objective of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Combat: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles occur at night, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is quite entertaining. I'm always attempting to get a jump on an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since all actions occur instantaneously. Attacks operate on recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other concurrently (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's much to adjust to initially. Despite gaming for almost thirty hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also factors as a significant part during combat since your creatures will follow you around or go to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences of attacks in identical patterns, despite this amounts to a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights rely on feedback post-move execution, and that information remains visible on screen within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because diverting attention from your opponent will spell immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's relatively small, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and rooftops to visit. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans 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 gleefully hang on streetlights, and bug-Pokémon like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Nonetheless, navigating the city grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. Although I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

Where Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights in Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and importance. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between both extremes. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a tournament, and you'll battle on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed base of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Royale, along with subduing wild powered-up creatures and filling the Pokédex, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I