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I'm not sure exactly how the tradition started, but I always name all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Be it a core franchise game or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Glitch switches between male and female characters, featuring black and purple locks. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in this long-running series (and one of the most style-conscious entries). Other times they're confined to the assorted school uniform designs from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed between installments, some superficial, others substantial. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and has only truly attempted to evolve on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting with adorable monsters has remained steady for nearly the same duration as I've been alive.

Shaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, with its absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several deviations to that framework. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous titles. Pokemon are intended to coexist alongside humans, battlers and civilians, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of before.

Even more radical is Z-A's live-action battle system. This is where the franchise's near-perfect core cycle experiences its biggest transformation yet, swapping methodical sequential fights with something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for another turn-based entry. Though these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly recruited by the female guide (if playing as a male character; Urbain if female) to become part of her team of battlers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement of past games. But here, you fight a handful of opponents to gain the chance to compete in a promotion match. Win and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching the top rank.

Real-Time Battles: A New Approach

Trainer battles occur at night, and navigating stealthily the designated combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm always trying to surprise an opponent and launch a free attack, because all actions occur in real time. Attacks operate on cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's a lot to get used to initially. Despite gaming for almost thirty hours, I still feel that there is much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a significant part during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or go to designated spots to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, while others need to be up close and personal).

The live combat causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to pause during Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on response post-move execution, and that data is still present on screen within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since taking your eyes off your adversary will spell immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to visit. It's also rich with character, and perfectly captures the vision of Pokémon and people living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, taking flight when you get near like the real-life city birds getting in my way while strolling in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling on branches.

A focus on city living represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a positive change. Even so, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. While I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for Lumiose, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a city where every district are the same, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It features tan buildings with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

In which Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles in Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, giving them genuine significance and importance. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with two random people watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in eateries with diners observing as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you'll battle on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales brim with character that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

During the Championship, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and filling the Pokédex, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I