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I don't recall exactly how the custom began, however I always name every one of my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Be it a core franchise game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Glitch switches between male and female avatars, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in the long-running franchise (and one of the most fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're limited to the assorted school uniform designs of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokémon Games

Similar to my characters, the Pokémon games have transformed across releases, some superficial, some significant. But at their core, they remain identical; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. The developers discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to innovate upon it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Across every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of catching and battling with adorable monsters has remained steady for nearly as long as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus previously, with its absence of gyms and focus on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple deviations into that formula. It's set completely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the expansive journeys of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to coexist with humans, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we have merely seen glimpses of before.

Far more drastic is Z-A's live-action battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect core cycle experiences its most significant transformation to date, replacing methodical turn-based bouts with something more chaotic. And it is immensely fun, despite I feel ready for a new traditional entry. Although these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula seem like they form a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

Upon initially reaching in Lumiose City, whatever plans your created character planned as a visitor are discarded; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; the male guide for female characters) to become part of her team of battlers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight several trainers to gain the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Win and you'll be promoted to a higher tier, with the final objective of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Combat: A New Frontier

Trainer battles take place at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite entertaining. I'm constantly attempting to get a jump on an opponent and unleash a free attack, since all actions occur in real time. Attacks operate on recharge periods, meaning you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to adjust to initially. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also plays a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others must be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights go so fast that I often repeating sequences of attacks in the same order, even when this results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to breathe during Z-A, and numerous chances to become swamped. Creature fights depend on response after using an attack, and that data remains visible on screen within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Sometimes, you cannot process it since diverting attention from your opponent will spell immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose City

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's relatively small, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering new shops and elevated areas to visit. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans living together. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, taking flight as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon like Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on urban life is a new direction for Pokémon, and a positive change. Nonetheless, navigating the city grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes offer little variety. Although I never visited the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where every district are the same, and all are vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It features beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed terraces.

The Areas Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

Where Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights in Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings brim with character that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, as well as quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I