🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, however I consistently call all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Whether it's a main series title or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Malfunction switches between male and female avatars, featuring dark and violet hair. Occasionally their style is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the long-running series (and one of the most fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the various academic attire designs of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But they remain Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across releases, some cosmetic, some significant. But at their core, they stay identical; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately three decades back, and has only seriously tried to innovate upon it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout all iteration, the fundamental gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside charming creatures has remained consistent for nearly as long as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus previously, with its absence of gyms and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes into that framework. It takes place completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, ditching the expansive journeys of earlier games. Pokemon are meant to live together with humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we've only seen glimpses of previously.

Even more drastic than that Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the series' near-perfect core cycle undergoes its most significant evolution yet, replacing deliberate sequential bouts with more frenetic action. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, even as I feel eager for a new turn-based release. Although these changes to the classic Pokémon formula seem like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character planned as a visitor get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain if female) to join her team of battlers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Championship is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression from earlier titles. However here, you battle a handful of trainers to earn the chance to participate in an advancement bout. Succeed and you'll be promoted to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Real-Time Combat: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles take place during nighttime, while sneaking around the designated battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm constantly attempting to get a jump on a rival and launch an unopposed move, because everything happens instantaneously. Moves operate on cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent can sometimes strike simultaneously at the same time (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's a lot to adjust to initially. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a major role in battles since your creatures will follow you around or move to designated spots to perform attacks (some are long-range, while others must be in close proximity).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling through moves in the same order, despite this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to pause during Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on feedback after using an attack, and that data is still present on screen in Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. 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 relatively small, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and rooftops to explore. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, taking flight as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures such as Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The building design is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and underground routes offer little variety. Although I haven't been to the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks are the same, and they're all alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where the city really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights in Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & 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 eateries with patrons watching while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not Chandelure) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct battle locales brim with character missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

During the Championship, as well as quelling rogue powered-up creatures and filling the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I