There are a couple problems with this though I generally agree.
They already tried getting rid of the Pokémon League and it didn't really help Sun and Moon. They just replaced it, which is likely what they'd do again, although since the end of Sun and Moon suggested that Alola may get a Pokémon League they may just go back to using it. The only way they can make a major change is if they try to make the game open world, but that also creates several issues. You'd br able to just wander to areas where trainers and Pokémon are way too strong meaning it would be a lot harder to catch Pokémon and battle. This would also make levelling up your Pokémon very difficult. That also makes Pokémon inhabiting certain areas a little more difficult because they'd probably get rid of the closed off routes making a lot of places just big fields, possibly creating the same issue Sun and Moon had where certain Pokémon are either in very specific patches of grass or having a very, very low chance of encounter. They could get rid of tall grass but then Pokémon would appear on screen and there would either be too few or too many causing something like slowdown or cluttering areas.
Voice acting doesn't really matter to me either way, and I'd probably just mute it if possible.
Having a more serious story wouldn't really work out too well. It's a welcome change but a bunch of people think that Pokémon already limits them too much by closing off areas until you get a certain badge (or complete a story objective). Honestly I think those people are idiots, but they'd probably become a lot more vocal in whining because the game isn't "open enough".
They didn't get rid of the Pokemon League in Sun and Moon. Its at the end of the game and you become Alola's first League champion. They did switch up the Gym system and it worked out decent.
Acting should be an option, and give players the option whether to turn it on or off. Story doesn't necessarily have to be extremely serious, what I said is a good story. So it could be either serious, non serious, funny, a mixture of everything or whatever. Just as long as its good. They already have a story in these games so why not put more effort into it and make it a strong point. I did like they tried something different with Sun and Moon story wise and Gym system. I want more of that but more bigger changes.
Trying to figure out what to do with encounters and battling does seem the toughest one. How can you make something different but also works really well. Xenoblade Chronicles has an open world with strong enemies mixed with weak ones in the beginning of the game, that you'll have to return later on to fight.
But Pokemon is also marketed towards kids so making the game really tough is probably what game freak would avoid. But at the same time it does insult Children's intelligence, kids are very smart and can figure things out on their own. If kids are able to play FF7 back in the day, which is a more in depth and tougher game then Pokemon, then they can definitely handle a harder game.
But then comes the issue with accessibility. One of Pokemon's main points is how accessible it is. If you make the game too tough, and too in depth, then it might off put some people that want a simpler game. So making the game accessible is not necessarily saying making the game easy for people that can't handle it, its basically saying making the game not too complicated for people that don't want to much thinking and just want to relax and play. Me for example I play in depth RPG's, but sometimes I don't want to play something complex and want something simpler, so I'll play quick play games or an RPG that's not to complex.
If they do still have gyms, then an open game where you can battle gyms in any order you want would be cool. Travel to any area you want first. I think this is probably what they would most likely do to keep in theme with Zelda's openness.
--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
Funny, remember someone saying the show make the game like Xenoblade. While I thought it wasn't a bad idea, I thought it would be more for a spinoff.
Seems like that person may get his wish, if this is true, thanks to Mario and Zelda.
That was me, lol. It seems like a lot of people are on board with change. And a lot are tired of the same old formula.