No other ideas yet?
How about a pokemon game with the megaman battle network system? 9 sqaure grid system (per side), you control the pokemon directly to move on them based on their species and attributes (ie, faster pokemon move quickly). A lot of the attacks would work mostly the same way they do in the megaman games. For ex, pikachu's thunder/thunderbolt attacks would come down from the top of the screen, with only a split second warning by the tile flashing yellow where it would hit. charizard's flamethrower would be like the regular flamethrower attack, going straight ahead for 3 squares (or more?). It's fly attack would send it off screen then soaring down the column the enemy is standing in. And the temporary invulnerability after being hit would still apply, but with attacks like aerial ace (just a speedy flying charge down the row) and swift being able to hit despite this momentary 'invis'. Really, there are a lot of parallel moves that could easily be used. a single use barrier/aura could pass for using protect/detect. etc.
You'd have a folder of attacks your pokemon knows that will in random order appear in your attack select, with big attacks like blast burn being similar to giga chips, flamethrower (and maybe fire blast?) as mega chips, and ember as standard chip types. So, you will not be limited by 4 different moves, but you'd have to plan out that you'd only have say, 5 hydro pump chips in the folder, and like 15 surf chips in there too. To use an attack, you select them in the order you wish to use them, confirm it, start the turn, and press the single button assigned to utililze these chose 'chip' attacks. for example, i choose howl, bite, and then howl again. the first time the button's pressed, poochyena will stop and howl, raising it's attack. the second time it's pressed, it will jump forward two tiles to hit the third tile with a stronger Bite, and pressing the button again will use the second howl and raise attack again.
There'd be a custom guage, as before, that kind of acts as a turn. so if you use a howl chip to raise your attack, it will last three of these guaged turns. the chip/attack select screen pops up when the guage is full (again, as before) and you can select from the next random attack chips that show up from your folder.
As for single battle items and such, they'd be available to use from the same attack select screen, but you can only use one per turn, and it will count as your entire attack selection for the turn- the same way using an item in pokemon takes up a turn.
But don't worry, you won't be defenseless even if you choose an item! Your pokemon will have a standard attack usable by pressing a different button to launch the attack. as with the megabuster in the megaman series, if you let the attack charge first, the attack can come out as a stronger version of itself or the 'upgraded' version of itself, depending. let's use charmander as an example. the standard attack might be ember. charging it could either be a stronger ember or turn the attack into flamethrower.
And then that goes into the whole customization system. I'd have it so that you could choose which ability your pokemon would employ (like iron head or swift swim for relicanth), but for some, you'd have to use that pokemon or certain attacks enough times to unlock that ability for use. Same goes for standard attacks. KO enough foes with a standard/charged standard attack and the charged standard attack will go from a stronger ember to the much stronger flamethrower attack. flamethrower would still be a chip in your folder, and while it would take space in your folder, a 'chip' flamethrower is easily and immediately usable, instead of requiring a charge time. Also, as your pokemon levels up and learns more moves and/or levels up or even evolves, you will be able to unlock and use new, different standard attacks. Like squirtle- first standard attack would be tackle (only hits one square ahead), with a charged tackle doing a little bit more, and jumps two squares ahead to hit the third square. Second standard attack it could learn would be water gun (weak), charged being a normal chip strength water gun attack. third learned would be a weak bubble, that charges for a normal bubble attack, which would (with use) upgrade into a bubblebeam attack as its charged attack (and a normal bubble attack as the quicker standard attack).
Certain moves might also be better served as a quick response move by pressing back+B, the way it was done to use shield, reflect, invis, and antidamage in megaman. These moves would include mirror coat, counter, revenge, payback, etc. While there might be chips for them that will be easier to use (using it does nothing, except setting up a trap for the next attack that hits you), using them as an activated ability would require skill and timing to pull off successfully. you do it too late, the attack hits you. you do it too soon, you're left vulnerable and it hits you. Then again, the game may be better without this part. =/
As you fight trainers and wild pokemon, you have the chance to earn/steal/find money, hold items, etc.
As for teams, you can have up to 6 pokemon, but it would also take up a turn's attack choice to swap out the active pokemon. While you control only one pokemon at a time, the game will challenge you by pitting you against multiple foe pokemon at once.
For once, stats/ev's will be easily controlled and standardized. Taking a page off of megaman's point system for upgrading the megabuster's abilities (power, speed, charge), each pokemon species will have their own species wide base stats, and you earn a certain number of points to assign to your pokemon's stats. So, there will be no difference between pokemon of the same species except for how you assign these points to boost the base stats. Or the rare shiny version you can catch. If anything, the cpu will randomly assign the points a pokemon would have for that level, and damage will be calculated accordingly for the battle, but the points will be free and unassigned for you to spec out your new pokemon if you catch it. This is a somewhat simplistic fighting system that will let you focus on your skill in real time battles rather than in having to breed or catch that perfect IV'd and natured pokemon (ie pain in the ass meta game stuff), as well as easily letting you create builds based around different move sets that require different stat alotments.
