I agree. It would bring in a lot of directionality into the combat. area attacks, melee, directional, flight/ground. Terrain could yield competitive advantages based on type.
It actually has potential to employ more actual spatial tactics than a game like FFTA. (edit: hell it would be more about direction/formation and matchup than even advance wars and fire emblem. It would be interesting to place the trainer on the field and have them deploy/recall pokemon one at a time with in the ball's throwing radius)
=/ Stop making me want it more.