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I'm not sure exactly how the tradition started, but I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Be it a main series game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Malfunction alternates between male and female avatars, featuring dark and violet hair. Occasionally their fashion is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in this long-running series (and among the more fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the assorted academic attire styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokemon titles have evolved across installments, some cosmetic, others significant. However at their heart, they remain identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to evolve upon it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Across all iteration, the fundamental gameplay loop of catching and battling with adorable monsters has remained steady for almost as long as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and emphasis on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes to that framework. It's set completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous games. Pokemon are meant to live together with people, trainers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only glimpsed previously.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its biggest transformation to date, replacing methodical turn-based bouts for more frenetic action. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, even as I feel eager for another turn-based release. Although these changes to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they create an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokemon game.

The Heart of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist are discarded; you're promptly enlisted by the female guide (if playing as a male character; the male guide if female) to become part of her team of trainers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and are sent into the Z-A Championship.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression from earlier titles. However here, you fight a handful of trainers to earn the chance to compete in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching the top rank.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles take place during nighttime, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to get a jump on a rival and unleash an unopposed move, since everything happens in real time. Attacks operate on recharge periods, indicating both combatants can sometimes strike simultaneously concurrently (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's much to adjust to at first. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in ways that complement each other. Placement also plays a major role in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or go to specific locations to execute moves (some are long-range, whereas others must be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I often sometimes cycling through moves in the same order, despite this amounts to a less effective approach. There's no time to pause in Z-A, and numerous opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights rely on response after using an attack, and that data is still present on the display in Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Occasionally, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in certain doom.

Navigating Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's relatively small, although densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the vision of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, flying away when you get near like the real-life pigeons getting in my way when walking in New York City. The monkey trio joyfully cling on streetlights, and insect creatures such as Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living is a new direction for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You might discover an alley you never visited, but it feels identical. The building design is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and underground routes provide minimal diversity. Although I haven't been to the French capital, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and all are vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It features tan buildings with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

In which the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I loved how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and meaning. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet & Violet happen on a court with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between both extremes. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you will combat in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated base of a certain faction with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Several distinct battle locales overflow with personality that's absent from the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Routine

During the Royale, as well as subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I