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I'm not sure exactly how the custom started, but I consistently call all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Whether it's a main series game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Glitch switches from male to female characters, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in the long-running franchise (and among the more fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the various school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokemon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokemon titles have transformed across releases, with certain cosmetic, others substantial. However at their heart, they stay identical; they're consistently Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to evolve on it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Throughout every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of catching and fighting alongside charming creatures has remained consistent for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and emphasis on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes into that framework. It's set entirely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the expansive adventures of earlier games. Pokémon are intended to coexist alongside humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of previously.

Even more radical is Z-A's live-action battle system. It's here the series' near-perfect core cycle undergoes its biggest transformation yet, swapping deliberate turn-based fights for more frenetic action. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, even as I feel ready for another turn-based release. Although these changes to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your created character planned as a visitor are discarded; you're promptly enlisted by Taunie (if playing as a male character; Urbain if female) to become part of their squad of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Championship.

The Championship is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "gym badges to Elite Four" progression from earlier titles. But here, you fight several opponents to gain the opportunity to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: A New Frontier

Trainer battles take place at night, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is very entertaining. I'm always trying to get a jump on a rival and unleash an unopposed move, because all actions occur instantaneously. Attacks operate on cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's much to get used to at first. Despite gaming for almost 30 hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a major role in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to designated spots to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, while others need to be in close proximity).

The real-time action makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in the same order, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to breathe in Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles depend on feedback after using an attack, and that information remains visible on screen within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you can't even read it because diverting attention from your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's relatively small, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering new shops and rooftops to explore. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of creatures and humans living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, taking flight as you approach like the real-life city birds getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling on streetlights, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna cling to trees.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive over time. You might discover an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes offer little variety. While I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for Lumiose, I've lived in NYC for nearly a decade. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It features tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where Lumiose City Really Excels

Where the city really shines, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved how Pokémon battles in Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with two random people observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between both extremes. You will fight in restaurants with diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you will combat on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed base of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality missing in the overall metropolis in general.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, as well as quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable feeling of, {"I