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

Whether it's a core franchise game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Malfunction switches between male and female characters, featuring dark and violet hair. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in this enduring series (and among the most style-conscious releases). Other times they're limited to the assorted academic attire styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokemon Games

Similar to my characters, the Pokemon titles have transformed across installments, some cosmetic, some significant. However at their core, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokémon through and through. Game Freak uncovered an almost flawless gameplay formula some 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to innovate on it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character is now in danger). Throughout every version, the fundamental gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside charming creatures has stayed steady for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and focus on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that formula. It's set completely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, ditching the expansive adventures of previous titles. Pokemon are meant to live together with humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of previously.

Far more drastic than that Z-A's live-action battle system. This is where the series' almost ideal core cycle experiences its biggest evolution yet, replacing deliberate sequential fights with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for a new traditional release. Although these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they form a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're immediately recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; Urbain if female) to join their squad of battlers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you battle a handful of trainers to gain the opportunity to compete in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be promoted to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Approach

Character fights occur at night, and navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is very enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to surprise an opponent and unleash a free attack, because everything happens instantaneously. Moves operate on cooldown timers, indicating both combatants may occasionally strike simultaneously at the same time (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's much to adjust to at first. Even after gaming for almost thirty hours, I still feel that there is much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to specific locations to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The real-time action makes battles progress so quickly that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in the same order, despite this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles rely on feedback after using an attack, and that information remains visible on the display within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your opponent will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, though densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling from lampposts, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling on branches.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The building design is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and underground routes offer little variety. While I haven't been to Paris, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It features tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

The Areas Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

Where the city truly stands out, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield take place in arena-like venues, providing them genuine significance and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with two random people watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between both extremes. You will fight in eateries with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed base of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality missing in the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I