[@Rex] Oh, by the way, it occurs to me to ask whether or not we'll be able to acquire Pokemon other than our partners, or whether it's just that partner for the whole game. That might affect whether or not new players join this game, and/or what Pokemon they take up as their partner.

EDIT: A few more questions:
1. Given that TMs and HMs are kind of like CD discs, and players can carry around a whole bunch in the Pokemon games, would it be permissible for players to acquire a whole bunch and use them to replace a Pokemon's moves as necessary?
2. How closely does this game's logic follow that of real life? For example, could players ride on the back of a sufficiently-large flying Pokemon even if it doesn't know the move Fly, e.g. for regular old slow travel as appropriate? Could they ambush or snipe opponents for afar with their Pokemon, or do the trainers have to engage in fair fights even if they'd rather not? How free-form are battles, i.e. do they run more like the games or the anime?
3. How necessary are HMs? Will they be mandatory, semi-mandatory, or unnecessary for progress, granted that if HMs are mandatory for progress, that basically encourages the use of HM slaves as in the games?