What we could use in the show are a bit more serious action.
Make Team Rocket an actual threat, instead of those goofy trio with their arkward Giovanni fantasies. Team Aqua and Team Magma are what I'm talking about. They make a threat, they're actually dangerous, and they have a plot. Team Rocket just wants to take over the world. The typical stereotypic bad guy theme.
The battles should be a bit more intense. They've gotten better with them since Hoenn started, but we could use a bit more graphic. Show the pain a bit better, show the attacks a bit more damaging. Right now they just look like someone is throwing stones. And that's about it. Not much, when you consider that Pok?mon should be way more stronger.
Or better yet. Let the show live up to the game. Death is dealt with there. In the anime, death isn't really a discussed issue with Pok?mon. More humans. We have yet to see the cemetary at Mt. Pyre, and in Lavender Town, which is disappointing. The movies deal with deaths of Pok?mon though, but really. Why do the movies get the honor, but not the show in general? Currently, it looks like the show is playing around. And that can be boring. More plots, more serious situations, and more intense battles.