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I don't recall exactly how the tradition began, however I consistently call every one of my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Be it a core franchise game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Malfunction switches from male to female characters, featuring black and purple hair. Occasionally their fashion is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in the long-running series (and one of the more style-conscious releases). At other moments they're limited to the various school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokemon titles have transformed across releases, some superficial, some significant. But at their core, they stay identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. Game Freak uncovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to innovate on it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every iteration, the core gameplay loop of catching and fighting alongside adorable monsters has stayed steady for nearly the same duration as I've been alive.

Breaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus previously, with its lack of arenas and focus on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several deviations to that formula. It takes place entirely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous titles. Pokemon are intended to live together with people, battlers and non-trainers alike, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of before.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the series' almost ideal core cycle experiences its biggest evolution to date, replacing deliberate turn-based bouts with more frenetic action. And it is immensely fun, even as I feel ready for a new turn-based entry. Though these changes to the classic Pokémon formula seem like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your created character had as a tourist are discarded; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (if playing as a male character; the male guide if female) to join their squad of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Championship is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. However here, you fight a handful of opponents to earn the chance to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you will be promoted to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Battles: A New Frontier

Character fights take place at night, while sneaking around the assigned battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm always attempting to surprise an opponent and launch an unopposed move, because all actions occur in real time. Attacks function with cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and defeat each other at once). It's a lot to get used to at first. 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. Positioning also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, whereas others must be up close and personal).

The live combat causes fights progress so quickly that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in the same order, even when this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on feedback after using an attack, and that information is still present on screen within Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Sometimes, you cannot process it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's relatively small, though densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to visit. It's also rich with character, and fully realizes the vision of Pokémon and people coexisting. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life city birds obstructing my path when walking in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling from lampposts, and insect creatures such as Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

A focus on city living represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Nonetheless, 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 underground routes offer little variety. While I never visited the French capital, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where every district are the same, and they're all vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and simply designed terraces.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

Where Lumiose City truly stands out, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved the way creature fights in Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them genuine significance and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with few spectators watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between both extremes. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing 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 its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings overflow with personality that's absent from the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I