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I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, but I always name every one of my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

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, featuring black and purple locks. Sometimes their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this long-running series (and among the more fashion-focused entries). At other moments they're limited to the various school uniform designs from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokemon titles have evolved across installments, some cosmetic, others significant. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula some three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to innovate on it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Across all iteration, the fundamental gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has stayed consistent for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and focus on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that framework. It takes place entirely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X & Y, ditching the expansive adventures of earlier games. Pokemon are intended to live together alongside people, trainers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only seen glimpses of before.

Even more radical than that Z-A's live-action combat mechanics. This is where the series' almost ideal core cycle experiences its most significant transformation to date, replacing deliberate turn-based fights with something more chaotic. And it is immensely fun, despite I feel eager for another turn-based entry. Although these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe sound like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're immediately recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; the male guide if female) to become part of their squad of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and are sent into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" progression of past games. But here, you fight a handful of trainers to earn the opportunity to participate in an advancement bout. Succeed and you will be promoted to a higher tier, with the final objective of achieving rank A.

Live-Action Combat: A New Frontier

Trainer battles occur at night, and navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is very entertaining. I'm always trying to get a jump on a rival and unleash an unopposed move, because everything happens in real time. Moves function with recharge periods, meaning you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to get used to initially. Even after gaming for almost thirty hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in ways that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I often repeating sequences of attacks in the same order, 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. Creature fights depend on response after using an attack, and that information is still present on screen in Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you cannot process it since taking your eyes off your adversary will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It's also rich with character, and perfectly captures 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 in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna cling on branches.

A focus on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, navigating the city becomes rote over time. You might discover an alley you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I haven't been to Paris, the inspiration for Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, providing them real weight and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet take place in a field with two random people watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with patrons watching as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the beautifully designed headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales brim with character missing in the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Royale, as well as subduing wild powered-up creatures and filling the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I