What if during a Pokemon game, you had a group of friends that travel with you during the game sort of like the anime. They add story elements and maybe they are interested in different stuff so they add a sort of new dynamic.
Example:

>You travel with generic female. She is into contests. Each town along with a gym you have to also complete the contest

>Travel with other friend that likes to cook. He does chef shit and you can compete in cooking competitions or some shit.

Along with these guys you can still have your typical rival that you battle every now and then.