I was one of the volunteers running the demos at Comic-Con. I have to say that this game has some serious potential. We were busy teaching people of all ages for the whole convention. We had kids and teenagers coming back to play again and bringing their friends to learn. If this is any indication of the public's interest in the game, it should be a great success.
The figures look awesome, with great paint and sculpts, especially for a price of a little over $3 dollars each. With that price, it may not be possible to accrue a collection of figures as large as one's TCG collection, but it should be easy enough for most people to at least get a basic team of three figures.
With regards to the issues of luck and skill involved in the game, I have to say that the game seems nicely balanced. Unlike the TCG, where you never know what card your opponent could play next, in the TFG, you always know what your opponent can do; all their attacks and Trainer cards are visible the whole game. This allows for prediction and planning (ie skill), similar to chess. The aspect of luck shakes things up, but can be allowed for when one is determining possible actions. Simply spinning without regard to the possible outcomes will not work very well.
As of now, the TFG is rather basic, but just look at the TCG. Base set was rather simple, but complexity and depth have been added over the years with the addition of two types, different types of Trainers (Supporters, Stadiums, Tools, etc.), Pokemon EX, Lvl X, and Delta. Introfucing new playmats, status conditions, attacks, Trainer cards, and weakness/resistance will help to improve the TFG with time. It seems that there is already work being done in this direction. The figures already have types (ready for weakness and resistance) and the Misty and Brock trainer figures have blue bars (which the Pokemon USA staff told me would be used for Trainer specific Trainer cards, a la Brock's Training Method and the like from the Gym TCG expansions).
I encourage everyone interested in the game to find some friends and pickup a couple starter sets when the TFG comes out. Give it a try and see if you like it. I'm already hooked and can't wait until it comes out.