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I don't recall precisely when the custom started, but I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Whether it's a main series title or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Glitch alternates between male and female characters, featuring dark and violet hair. Occasionally their style is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in this enduring franchise (and one of the more style-conscious entries). At other moments they're confined to the various school uniform designs of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed between installments, some superficial, others significant. But at their heart, they stay the same; they're consistently Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered an almost flawless gameplay formula some 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to innovate on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Throughout all version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of catching and battling alongside adorable monsters has stayed consistent for almost the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several deviations into that formula. It takes place entirely in a single location, the Paris-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the expansive journeys of earlier titles. Pokémon are meant to coexist with humans, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed previously.

Far more radical is Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's almost ideal core cycle experiences its most significant transformation yet, swapping methodical turn-based fights with something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, even as I feel eager for another turn-based entry. Although these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe sound like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately enlisted by the female guide (if playing as a male character; Urbain if female) to join her team of battlers. You're gifted a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement of past games. But here, you battle several trainers to gain the opportunity to compete in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Combat: A New Approach

Trainer battles occur at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm always trying to get a jump on a rival and unleash a free attack, because everything happens in real time. Moves operate on recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and defeat each other at once). It's much to adjust to at first. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in ways that complement each other. Positioning also plays a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to specific locations to execute moves (some are long-range, whereas others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles go so fast that I find myself sometimes cycling through moves in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and numerous opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights depend on response post-move execution, and that data is still present on screen within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since taking your eyes off your opponent will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's relatively small, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also rich with character, and perfectly captures the vision of creatures and humans living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons getting in my way while strolling in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on urban life is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to Paris, the model behind Lumiose, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and all are alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has beige structures topped with colored roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights within Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet happen in a field with few spectators observing. It's a total letdown. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in restaurants with patrons watching as they dine. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Routine

Throughout the Championship, as well as subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I