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

Whether it's a main series game or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Glitch switches between male and female characters, featuring black and purple locks. Sometimes their fashion is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in the long-running franchise (and among the most fashion-focused releases). Other times they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokemon Titles

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed across releases, with certain cosmetic, some substantial. However at their heart, they remain the same; they're always Pokémon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and has only seriously tried to innovate upon it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your character is now in danger). Throughout every iteration, the core gameplay loop of catching and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained consistent for almost as long as I've been alive.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces multiple deviations to that framework. It's set entirely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning journeys of earlier games. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Even more radical than that Z-A's real-time battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect core cycle undergoes its biggest evolution to date, swapping methodical sequential fights for something more chaotic. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, despite I feel ready for a new traditional entry. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they form an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; the male guide if female) to join her team of battlers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "gym badges to Elite Four" progression of past games. But here, you battle several opponents to earn the chance to compete in a promotion match. Win and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving the top rank.

Real-Time Combat: A New Approach

Character fights occur at night, and sneaking around the assigned combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly attempting to get a jump on an opponent and unleash an unopposed move, since everything happens instantaneously. Attacks function with cooldown timers, meaning both combatants may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to get used to at first. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that complement each other. Placement also plays a major role in battles since your creatures will follow you around or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others need to be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe in Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles depend on response post-move execution, and that information remains visible on the display within Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Sometimes, you can't even read it because diverting attention from your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find unseen stores and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, 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 such as Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Even so, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon an alley 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 never visited Paris, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It has tan buildings with blue or red roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

In which the city really shines, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved how Pokémon battles in Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, giving them real weight and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet take place on a court with few spectators observing. It's a total letdown. 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 invite you to a tournament, and you will combat on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not Chandelure) hanging above. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Various individual combat settings brim with character that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I