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I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, but I consistently call every one of my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Be it a main series game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Malfunction switches from male to female characters, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in the long-running series (and one of the more fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Glitch.

The Constantly Changing World of Pokemon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokemon titles have evolved between releases, with certain superficial, others significant. But at their heart, they stay the same; they're consistently Pokemon to the core. Game Freak discovered an almost flawless mechanics system some 30 years ago, and just recently truly attempted to innovate upon it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Across every version, the core mechanics cycle of catching and battling with charming creatures has remained consistent for nearly the same duration as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several deviations to that framework. It takes place completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the expansive adventures of previous games. Pokemon are intended to live together alongside humans, trainers and civilians, in ways we've only seen glimpses of previously.

Far more drastic than that Z-A's live-action combat mechanics. This is where the series' near-perfect core cycle experiences its most significant transformation to date, swapping deliberate sequential bouts with something more chaotic. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, even as I find myself ready for a new turn-based release. Although these changes to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're promptly enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join their squad of trainers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" progression of past games. However here, you battle several trainers to earn the opportunity to compete in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Frontier

Trainer battles take place at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite entertaining. I'm constantly trying to surprise an opponent and launch a free attack, because everything happens instantaneously. Attacks function with cooldown timers, meaning both combatants may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's a lot to get used to initially. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to designated spots to perform attacks (some are long-range, whereas others need to be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in identical patterns, despite this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause 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. Sometimes, you can't even read it because taking your eyes off your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also rich with character, and fully realizes the vision of Pokémon and people living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach like the real-life city birds obstructing my path while strolling in New York City. The monkey trio joyfully cling on streetlights, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling to trees.

A focus on city living is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and most rooftops and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where no two blocks are the same, and they're all alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

Where the city really shines, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, giving them genuine significance and meaning. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place on a court with few spectators observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in eateries with patrons watching while they eat. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality missing in the overall metropolis in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

During the Royale, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I