I don't know if this will be taken down or not so I shall just post my suggestion/idea of concept here
In Pokemon from the start you begin your journey with one of the three of the most powerful pokemon in that region automatically giving you a headstart against the npc's and trainers. In pokemon lore it is led to be believed that the ordinary trainers you face throughout the game all got their pokemon from a parent or possibly just befriended it. A RPG is about progression progressing and striving to be get even stronger so my idea is to simply put the player in the shoes of a normal trainer. Every trainer starts out differently based on where they live when it becomes time for them to receive a pokemon so I suggest having multiple starting locations all influencing your choices for a starting pokemon. In most regions we only ever see one pokemon professor but for getting starters there could be multiple backstorys as to how you obtained that pokemon. A example of regional starters would be that if you start in the mountains you must choose between an ice type, rock type, or a flying type.
Thank you for reading
Sincerely JeremyHaz