Polymock sounds neat, though I'm trying to keep us from straight copying any other games' Minion Battle system.

WoW thieved Pokemon, people may argue this idea is similar, however you have to remember this style of combat is distinctly rooted in the Final Fantasy franchise.

Party-based ATB Combat IS Final Fantasy. Sure, using Minions as combatants isn't something new... but we have them, we may as well have some fun battling 'em!

Besides, this format is entirely different than Pokemon's.