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I'm not sure exactly how the custom started, but I always name every one of my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Whether it's a main series game or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Glitch alternates between male and female characters, with black and purple hair. Occasionally their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the enduring franchise (and one of the most style-conscious releases). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform designs from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing World of Pokemon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved between releases, some superficial, others significant. But at their core, they remain the same; they're always Pokemon through and through. The developers discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system some three decades back, and has only truly attempted to innovate on it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Across every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of catching and fighting with adorable monsters has remained consistent for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and focus on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes into that framework. It's set completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning journeys of previous games. Pokémon are intended to live together alongside humans, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed previously.

Far more radical is Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its biggest transformation yet, replacing methodical turn-based bouts for more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for another traditional release. Though these changes to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they create a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, whatever plans your created character planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; Urbain for female characters) to become part of their squad of trainers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" progression from earlier titles. However here, you fight a handful of trainers to earn the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Win and you will be elevated to a higher tier, with the final objective of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Combat: A New Frontier

Trainer battles take place at night, and sneaking around the assigned combat areas is very enjoyable. I'm always attempting to get a jump on a rival and launch a free attack, since everything happens in real time. Attacks function with cooldown timers, indicating both combatants can sometimes strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out at once). It's much to adjust to at first. Despite gaming for almost 30 hours, I continue to feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of using my Pokémon's moves in ways that complement each other. Placement also factors as a major role during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or go to specific locations to execute moves (some are long-range, while others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I often repeating sequences of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and numerous chances to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles rely on feedback after using an attack, and that data is still present on screen within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since taking your eyes off your adversary will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's relatively small, although densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to visit. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of Pokémon and people living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away when you get near like the real-life city birds getting in my way while strolling in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling 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 over time. You might discover a passage you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC 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 City doesn't have that. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and simply designed terraces.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

In which Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights within Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place 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 as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you will combat on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the beautifully designed base of a certain faction with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality missing in the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I