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

Whether it's a main series title or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Glitch switches between male and female avatars, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in the long-running series (and one of the most fashion-focused releases). Other times they're confined to the various academic attire styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokémon Titles

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed across releases, some superficial, some significant. But at their heart, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula some three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to evolve upon it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character is now in danger). Across every version, the core gameplay loop of capturing and battling alongside adorable monsters has stayed steady for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Breaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several deviations to that framework. It takes place completely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous games. Pokémon are meant to coexist alongside people, trainers and civilians, in ways we have merely seen glimpses of before.

Even more radical is Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the series' near-perfect core cycle experiences its most significant transformation yet, swapping methodical turn-based bouts with more frenetic action. And it is immensely fun, despite I find myself ready for another traditional entry. Though these changes to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they form an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, any intentions your custom avatar planned as a visitor get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by the female guide (if playing as a male character; the male guide for female characters) to join her team of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" progression of past games. However here, you battle several opponents to earn the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Succeed and you'll be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Battles: A New Frontier

Character fights take place during nighttime, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm always trying to surprise an opponent and unleash an unopposed move, because all actions occur in real time. Attacks function with cooldown timers, meaning 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 at first. Even after gaming for almost thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's much to master in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a major role in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to specific locations to perform attacks (some are long-range, whereas others must be in close proximity).

The live combat causes fights go so fast that I find myself repeating sequences of attacks in the same order, despite this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and numerous chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights depend on response after using an attack, and that data remains visible on screen within Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Occasionally, you can't even read it because diverting attention from your opponent will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna cling to trees.

An emphasis on city living is a new direction for the franchise, and a welcome one. Even so, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive over time. You might discover an alley you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes provide minimal diversity. Although I never visited the French capital, the model behind Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where every district differs, and all are vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has beige structures with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

Where the city truly stands out, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet take place on a court with few spectators watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between both extremes. You will fight in eateries with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Various individual combat settings brim with character missing in the larger city in general.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, as well as quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable feeling of, {"I