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I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, but I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Be it a main series title or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Glitch alternates between male and female avatars, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their style is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in the long-running franchise (and one of the more style-conscious releases). Other times they're confined to the various school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokemon titles have evolved across installments, some superficial, some substantial. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to innovate on it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your character faces peril). Across all version, the core mechanics cycle of catching and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained steady for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several deviations to that formula. It takes place entirely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the expansive adventures of earlier titles. Pokemon are intended to coexist with people, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Even more drastic is Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. It's here the series' almost ideal gameplay loop undergoes its most significant transformation to date, swapping methodical sequential fights for more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, despite I feel eager for another turn-based release. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they create a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your custom avatar planned as a visitor get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; the male guide for female characters) to join her team of trainers. You're gifted a creature from them as your starter and are sent into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight several trainers to earn the chance to participate in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be promoted to the next rank, with the final objective of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Combat: A New Approach

Character fights take place at night, while sneaking around the assigned battle zones is very entertaining. I'm always attempting to surprise an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since all actions occur in real time. Attacks operate on recharge periods, indicating both combatants can sometimes strike simultaneously at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's much to adjust to initially. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in ways that complement each other. Positioning also factors as a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others must be up close and personal).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to pause during Z-A, and numerous chances to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on response post-move execution, and that information is still present on the display in Z-A, but whips by quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it since diverting attention from your adversary will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach similar to actual pigeons obstructing my path while strolling in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on city living is a new direction for the franchise, and a welcome one. Even so, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to Paris, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where every district differs, and all are vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It features tan buildings with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

In which the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I loved how Pokémon battles in Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them genuine significance and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet happen in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in eateries with patrons watching as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. My favorite location is the beautifully designed headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales brim with character that's absent from the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

During the Championship, along with quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the Pokédex, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I