Hey /vp/, I've been rolling around a thought for a new type of pokemon game. Never gonna make it, but I thought I'd pitch to you guys as a fun thought

So, I would imagine you as a junior trainer in a low level pokemon league. You must compete in tournaments to get money. These tournaments are all 'flat' style tournaments, and though exp is gained, level is a hidden variable

You can spend money to travel, heading to locations to catch wild pokemon, or to other towns to compete in their competitions.
You use a town's gym to train pokemon of that type. There are 'general' gyms where you can train pokemon of any type, but there's bit of a penalty for using these.
Gym leaders replace TM's. A gym leader can teach TM's of his type to any pokemon capable of learning them. The leader charges for this, however. Moves that a pokemon could have learned through leveling up, your pokemon can be taught by you at a local general gym.
You can only challenge the gym leader with pokemon of that gym's type. There are tiers of badges that you get from winning:
Novice *type* trainer: You can teach all *type* type TMs to pokemon of that type
Trained *type* trainer: You can teach all *type* type TMs to any compatable pokemon
*Type* specialist: You can teach all *type* TMs to any compatable pokemon, and teach all *type* pokemon any moves they are capable of learning

All the while, you've been funding training your pokemon through your tournaments, and slowly work your way up into higher leagues where more money is earned. You've also been able to fund further travel to get better pokemon, and eventually are invited to the champion's league. The champion's league acts as a sort of 'elite four', and upon victory are permitted to challenge the champion.
After you become the champion, new areas unlock. You are recognized as champion, but must defend your title occasionally, or lose the permissions granted to you as champion