could actually be a sweet idea,
> start off in a little rural town,
> evil gang comes to your village and harrases you and your family
> local elder gives you a pokemon to fend them off
> main city is a favela run by gangs
> only way to get your family out of poverty is by winning the championship and getting money
highly unlikely but this bent to a more traditional pokemon story could be a possibility and would be more interesting than a generic first world adventure with friends without any hiccups.