🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, but I always name all my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Be it a core franchise title or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Malfunction alternates between male and female characters, featuring dark and violet locks. Occasionally their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this enduring series (and among the most fashion-focused entries). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Titles

Much like my trainers, the Pokemon titles have evolved between releases, some cosmetic, some significant. But at their heart, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon through and through. The developers uncovered an almost flawless gameplay formula approximately three decades back, and just recently seriously tried to innovate upon it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Throughout all iteration, the core gameplay loop of catching and battling with charming creatures has stayed 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 lack of arenas and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes into that framework. It takes place completely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, ditching the region-spanning journeys of earlier titles. Pokemon are intended to coexist alongside people, trainers and non-trainers alike, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Even more radical than that Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's almost ideal core cycle undergoes its most significant evolution yet, replacing deliberate sequential bouts with something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself ready for another turn-based release. Although these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they form a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly recruited by the female guide (for male avatars; the male guide for female characters) to become part of her team of battlers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Championship.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight several trainers to earn the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Frontier

Trainer battles occur at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm always attempting to get a jump on an opponent and unleash a free attack, since all actions occur in real time. Moves function with cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and defeat each other simultaneously). It's much to get used to at first. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's plenty to learn regarding using my Pokémon's moves in ways that complement each other. Positioning also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to designated spots to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, while others must be in close proximity).

The live combat causes fights go so fast that I often sometimes cycling through moves in the same order, even when this amounts to a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe during Z-A, and numerous chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on response after using an attack, and that information remains visible on screen within Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Occasionally, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to visit. It's also rich with character, and perfectly captures the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, flying away when you get near like the real-life city birds obstructing my path while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling to trees.

An emphasis on city living is a new direction for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and sewer paths offer little variety. While I haven't been to Paris, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where no two blocks are the same, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It has tan buildings with blue or red roofs and simply designed balconies.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored the way creature fights within Sword & Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet happen in a field with few spectators observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between both extremes. You'll battle in eateries with patrons watching while they eat. An elite combat club will invite you to a competition, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings brim with character missing in the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

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