🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, however I consistently call every one of my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Whether it's a main series title or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Glitch alternates from male to female characters, featuring black and purple locks. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this enduring series (and one of the most style-conscious releases). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform designs of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing World of Pokémon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across installments, with certain cosmetic, others significant. However at their core, they remain the same; they're always Pokemon to the core. The developers discovered an almost flawless mechanics system some 30 years ago, and just recently truly attempted to evolve on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Across every iteration, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has stayed consistent for nearly as long as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes to that formula. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the expansive adventures of previous games. Pokémon are meant to live together alongside humans, battlers and civilians, in ways we've only seen glimpses of before.

Even more drastic than that Z-A's live-action combat mechanics. This is where the franchise's almost ideal core cycle experiences its biggest transformation yet, replacing deliberate turn-based fights with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, despite I find myself eager for another turn-based release. Although these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokémon title.

The Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your custom avatar planned as a visitor are discarded; you're promptly recruited by the female guide (if playing as a male character; the male guide if female) to become part of their squad of battlers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression from earlier titles. However here, you fight several trainers to earn the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Win and you'll be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Frontier

Character fights occur at night, and navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly attempting to surprise a rival and unleash a free attack, since everything happens instantaneously. Moves operate on recharge periods, meaning both combatants may occasionally attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's much to get used to initially. Despite playing for nearly 30 hours, I still feel like there's plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Placement also factors as a significant part during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or go to designated spots to execute moves (some are long-range, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The real-time action makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling through moves in the same order, even when this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and numerous opportunities to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles depend on response post-move execution, and that data remains visible on screen within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Occasionally, you can't even read it because diverting attention from your opponent will spell immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's relatively small, though densely packed. Deep into the game, I'm still discovering unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It is also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of creatures and humans living together. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life city birds obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Even so, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The building design is devoid of personality, and most rooftops and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I haven't been to the French capital, the model behind Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where no two blocks are the same, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and simply designed terraces.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is indoors. I adored how Pokémon battles in Sword and Shield occur in arena-like venues, providing them genuine significance and importance. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & Violet happen in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with patrons watching as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) hanging above. My favorite location is the beautifully designed base of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct battle locales overflow with personality missing in the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Routine

During the Royale, as well as subduing wild powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I