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I'm not sure precisely when the custom started, but I always name every one of my Pokemon characters Malfunction.

Whether it's a core franchise game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Malfunction alternates between male and female characters, with dark and violet hair. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this enduring series (and one of the more fashion-focused entries). At other moments they're confined to the various academic attire styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across releases, with certain superficial, others substantial. However at their heart, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokemon to the core. The developers discovered an almost flawless mechanics system approximately 30 years ago, and has only truly attempted to evolve upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every version, the fundamental gameplay loop of catching and fighting with adorable monsters has stayed consistent for almost as long as my lifetime.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that formula. It's set completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning journeys of earlier games. Pokemon are meant to coexist alongside humans, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only glimpsed previously.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the series' near-perfect core cycle experiences its most significant transformation yet, replacing methodical sequential bouts with more frenetic action. And it is immensely fun, even as I feel ready for a new traditional entry. Though these changes to the classic Pokémon formula seem like they create a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're promptly enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain if female) to join her team of trainers. You're gifted a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. However here, you fight a handful of trainers to earn the chance to participate in a promotion match. Win and you will be promoted to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: A New Approach

Character fights occur during nighttime, and navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm always attempting to surprise a rival and launch a free attack, since everything happens instantaneously. Attacks function with cooldown timers, 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 at first. Despite playing for nearly 30 hours, I continue to feel like there's much to master in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Placement also plays a significant part in battles since your creatures will follow you around or move to designated spots to perform attacks (some are long-range, while others must be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights go so fast that I often sometimes cycling 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 opportunities to become swamped. Pokémon battles depend on response after using an attack, and that data is still present on the display in Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your opponent will spell immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Deep into the game, I'm still discovering new shops and elevated areas to explore. It is also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, taking flight when you get near like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang on streetlights, and bug-Pokémon like Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on city living is a new direction for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover 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. While I never visited the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where every district are the same, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It has tan buildings with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights in Sword and Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between both extremes. You will fight in restaurants with patrons watching as they dine. 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) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct battle locales brim with character that's absent from the larger city in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

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