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I don't recall precisely when the custom started, but I consistently call all my Pokemon characters Malfunction.

Be it a core franchise title or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Glitch alternates between male and female characters, with black and purple hair. Occasionally their fashion is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in the long-running franchise (and one of the more style-conscious releases). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokémon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed between releases, with certain superficial, some substantial. But at their heart, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. Game Freak uncovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to evolve upon it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Across every iteration, the fundamental gameplay loop of catching and battling with adorable monsters has stayed consistent for almost the same duration as I've been alive.

Breaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several deviations into that formula. It takes place entirely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X & Y, ditching the expansive adventures of previous games. Pokemon are intended to live together with people, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of previously.

Even more radical is Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. It's here the franchise's almost ideal core cycle experiences its biggest transformation to date, swapping methodical turn-based bouts for more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself eager for another turn-based entry. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they form a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your created character planned as a visitor get abandoned; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; Urbain for female characters) to join her team of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and are sent into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement of past games. However here, you fight several opponents to earn the chance to compete in an advancement bout. Succeed and you'll be promoted to a higher tier, with the final objective of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Battles: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles occur during nighttime, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to surprise an opponent and unleash a free attack, since everything happens instantaneously. Attacks operate on cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to adjust to initially. Even after gaming for almost 30 hours, I still feel like there's plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Placement also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or move to designated spots to perform attacks (some are long-range, while others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action makes battles go so fast that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause in Z-A, and numerous chances to become swamped. Pokémon battles depend on response after using an attack, and that data is still present on screen in Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your opponent will result in certain doom.

Navigating Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's relatively small, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away when you get near similar to actual pigeons getting in my way when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a positive change. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I never visited the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for nearly a decade. It's a city where every district are the same, and all are vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. On the flipside, 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 eateries with diners observing while they eat. A fancy battle society will invite you to a competition, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated base of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings brim with character missing in the larger city in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I