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I'm not sure precisely when the tradition began, but I always name all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Be it a core franchise game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Glitch alternates from male to female characters, with dark and violet hair. Sometimes their fashion is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the enduring franchise (and among the more fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're limited to the various school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokemon titles have evolved across releases, with certain cosmetic, some substantial. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon through and through. The developers uncovered an almost flawless gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and just recently truly attempted to evolve on it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every version, the core gameplay loop of capturing and fighting with adorable monsters has stayed steady for almost as long as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes into that framework. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the expansive journeys of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Far more drastic than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the franchise's near-perfect core cycle experiences its biggest transformation to date, swapping methodical turn-based bouts for something more chaotic. And it is immensely fun, even as I feel ready for another traditional release. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they form a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist are discarded; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; the male guide for female characters) to join her team of battlers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" progression of past games. But here, you fight a handful of opponents to gain the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Win and you will be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Real-Time Combat: A New Frontier

Trainer battles occur at night, and navigating stealthily the assigned battle zones is very enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to surprise a rival and unleash a free attack, since all actions occur instantaneously. Attacks function with cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other concurrently (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's a lot to get used to initially. Despite playing for nearly 30 hours, I continue to feel like there's much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Placement also plays a significant part during combat since your creatures will trail behind you or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others need to be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights go so fast that I often sometimes cycling through moves in the same order, even when this amounts to a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and numerous opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights rely on response post-move execution, and that data is still present on the display within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Sometimes, you can't even read it because diverting attention from your opponent will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach similar to actual city birds getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

An emphasis on urban life is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Even so, exploring Lumiose becomes rote over time. You might discover an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. While I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for Lumiose, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and they're all vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It features tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

Where Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights in Sword and Shield occur in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and importance. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet and Violet happen in a field with few spectators observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with patrons watching while they eat. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you'll battle on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) hanging above. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated base of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Routine

During the Championship, along with subduing wild powered-up creatures and filling the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I