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

Be it a core franchise game 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 hair. Sometimes their style is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in this enduring series (and one of the more fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're confined to the various academic attire designs of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokémon games have evolved across releases, with certain cosmetic, some substantial. But at their heart, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokemon to the core. The developers uncovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and just recently truly attempted to innovate on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Across every version, the fundamental gameplay loop of capturing and fighting with charming creatures has stayed consistent for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its absence of gyms and emphasis on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes to that formula. It's set entirely in a single location, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, ditching the expansive adventures of previous titles. Pokemon are meant to live together with people, trainers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed previously.

Even more drastic is Z-A's live-action combat mechanics. It's here the series' near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its most significant evolution to date, swapping deliberate turn-based bouts with something more chaotic. And it is immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for a new traditional entry. Although these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe sound like they create 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

When first arriving in Lumiose City, any intentions your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (for male avatars; the male guide 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 Championship.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you battle a handful of trainers to gain the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Win and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Combat: An Innovative Frontier

Trainer battles take place during nighttime, and navigating stealthily the designated combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly attempting to surprise an opponent and unleash a free attack, because everything happens instantaneously. Moves operate on cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's much to get used to initially. Despite gaming for almost thirty hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of using my Pokémon's moves in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also plays a significant part during combat since your creatures will trail behind you or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others must be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles 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 get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles rely on feedback post-move execution, and that data remains visible on screen within Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your opponent will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's relatively small, although tightly filled. Deep into the game, I'm still discovering new shops and rooftops to visit. It is also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of creatures and humans living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach similar to actual city birds obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The monkey trio gleefully hang on streetlights, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna cling to trees.

A focus on city living is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive over time. You might discover a passage you never visited, but it feels identical. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I haven't been to the French capital, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where every district are the same, and they're all alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

The Areas Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles in Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen on a court with two random people observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You'll battle in eateries with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings overflow with personality missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Championship, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I