Copying what some might call a rant or whatever from my Facebook that I started typing out about the Pokemon series, figured I might post it here as well and see how things go.
Quick chat with some friends about the Pokemon series, and the big question came up again: Why can we only be Pokemon Trainers/Battlers?
This has been something that always kinda rode on my mind...the games are really nothing short of amazing on their own, but they've always lacked a really deep element of choice. While playing through my recently obtained White 2, plenty of false "choices" appeared such as being able to decline meeting Bianca to get a starter (which could easily branch into the ability to capture or befriend a pokemon on one's own), or to even decline working on the Pokedex. These options are given but they don't ever follow through.
Ruby and Sapphire came close to this by offering the route of playing as a Pokemon Coordinator (Pokemon Contests), but it made that option merely a side route of the main game and thus no real choice is given aside from just the ability to blow off contests (which in their own right are rather fun).
And the big thing people always want to do: join the villainous team. I can understand why this isn't normally an option...it doesn't exactly reflect well on a game to let the villains be glorified and make being evil look good for children, but one could admit the neat ideas of how to join or at what points one can join would add a seriously awesome level of gameplay.
Or hell, how about someone who really just wants to handle raising Pokemon for new trainers and breeding new Pokemon? The route of a Breeder could add an awesome new layer on top of Multiplayer experience (which the Pokemon series has ALWAYS promoted) and allow players to meet up and receive new Pokemon in the forms of eggs or low leveled pokemon...or even allow one to have a totally different starter by having a friend who's a Breeder meet with you at the start of your adventure.
There's tons of neat little ideas and quirks that could be played with.
I know the goal of all Pokemon games is to always deliver a fresh exprience that could be played by a total newbie to the series and learn how to play through the gameplay (hell, it's the reason your rival picks the pokemon your starter is weak against, to help you learn to overcome weakness). While a basic experience is fine and dandy, it'd really be sweet for Nintendo to come take a walk with some of us who have really thought into the bigger picture and come up with something that could only be described as a love-letter to the more hardcore fans...hell, make the upgraded version with even more content the "Special Edition" of a set instead of a re-release of the originals with slight story expansion and balance upgrades.
I'd like to ask everyone, if given the chance what role would YOU play in a Pokemon game if given the choice?