PixlBit

There are a couple of changes I would like to see in a mainline Pokémon game for me to become interested in them again. One thing I feel they should really do is make the battles in full 3D with animation and everything like the Pokémon Stadium type of games and ditch the static battle scenes. That would make things more interesting. Another thing is lessening the number of Pokémon and making the existing ones more unique with some actual personality. Do we really need to have 500+ different Pokémon when many of them have similar stats, abilities, and moves? Plus then they could actually have a story to the games, making everything more interesting.

It doesn't look like either of these are happening with this installment, unfortunately.

I think some of what was actually done in Diamond and Pearl worked to rectify some of the "meaningless" Pokemon, though they did add a few more. Tangela, Electabuzz, Magmar, and others received necessary evolution upgrades in an attempt to make the Pokemon that are there more relevant, and I certainly don't see anything wrong with adding in more Pokemon when the ones they add improve upon what's already there.

I don't think 3D animated battles are as good of an idea, though. In all the 3D games I've played, I've really not seen anything all that impressive. Most often, it's a video of a Pokemon doing a stock animation toward an invisible wall.

This said, I wouldn't be opposed to an alternative line very much like what you described. Pokemon as a battling/adventure/collection-based RPG works pretty well, but I'm all for a game with more emphasis on individualizing Pokemon, and wouldn't mind seriously reduced numbers if time and effort was put into animation and control of each Pokemon.