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

Be it a main series game or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Glitch switches between male and female characters, with black and purple hair. Occasionally their style is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in the enduring franchise (and one of the more fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're confined to the various school uniform designs of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Titles

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved between releases, some superficial, some substantial. But at their heart, they remain identical; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to innovate upon it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Throughout all version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and battling with charming creatures has remained consistent for almost as long as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes to that framework. It's set completely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X and Y, ditching the region-spanning journeys of earlier titles. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, battlers and civilians, in manners we've only glimpsed before.

Far more drastic than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the franchise's near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its most significant transformation yet, swapping deliberate turn-based bouts with something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, despite I find myself eager for a new traditional release. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe sound like they form an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain if female) to become part of her team of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in 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" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight a handful of opponents to gain the chance to participate in a promotion match. Win and you will be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Live-Action Battles: A New Frontier

Character fights take place at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm always trying to surprise a rival and launch a free attack, because everything happens in real time. Attacks function with cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to get used to at first. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also factors as a significant part during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to specific locations to perform attacks (some are long-range, while 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 results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to pause in Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights depend on response after using an attack, and that data remains visible on the display within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to explore. It is also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, taking flight when you get near like the real-life pigeons getting in my way when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling on branches.

A focus on urban life is a new direction for Pokémon, and a positive change. Even so, navigating the city grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you never visited, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. While I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for Lumiose, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks are the same, and they're all vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored the way creature fights within Sword and Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and importance. Conversely, 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 diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings brim with character that's absent from the larger city in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I