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I'm not sure precisely when the tradition began, but I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Whether it's a main series title or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Malfunction switches from male to female avatars, featuring black and purple locks. Occasionally their fashion is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in the long-running series (and among the more fashion-focused releases). Other times they're limited to the assorted academic attire styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Titles

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across installments, with certain cosmetic, others substantial. But at their heart, they stay identical; they're consistently Pokémon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to innovate on it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Throughout all iteration, the core gameplay loop of capturing and battling with adorable monsters has stayed steady for almost as long as I've been alive.

Shaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that framework. It takes place completely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous games. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, trainers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Even more drastic than that Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's almost ideal core cycle experiences its most significant evolution yet, replacing deliberate sequential fights with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for a new turn-based release. Although these changes to the traditional Pokémon formula seem like they form an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; the male guide if female) to join their squad of trainers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your starter 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 battle several trainers to earn the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be promoted to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Combat: An Innovative Frontier

Character fights take place during nighttime, while navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm always attempting to surprise a rival and unleash a free attack, since all actions occur in real time. Attacks function with recharge periods, meaning both combatants may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's much to get used to initially. Even after playing for nearly 30 hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in ways that work together synergistically. Placement also factors as a significant part during combat since your creatures will follow you around or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling through moves in identical patterns, despite this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles rely on response after using an attack, and that information is still present on the display within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Occasionally, you cannot process it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and rooftops to explore. It is also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, taking flight when you get near similar to actual city birds getting in my way while strolling in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover a passage you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It has beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where Lumiose City Really Excels

In which Lumiose City truly stands out, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles in Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and meaning. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen on a court with two random people observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with patrons watching while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated base of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings brim with character missing in the overall metropolis in general.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I