I could imagine that if we don't get a second rival who picks the starter we're weak to, it must be a sign Game Freak is making SM even easier than 6th Gen and I know some people won't like that. Also, apparently Hau's name comes from the Hawaiian word for the sea hibiscus flower, which makes sense when you consider the flower pattern on his shorts.
You got to remember that we see both starters in the Poke Dex already. I still think people are taking "I don't like battle" too far when it comes to the girl. She is out age and usually when kids travels, they get a pokemon. The opposite gender worked for the Professors and they still both got starters. We didn't battle them too much, but we did some.
N didn't like battles at all, even more so than Lillie. Yet he still battled.
One of the translations say "I... I am not good with battles when pokemon get hurt. But I will cheer for you."
This could mean that she will still battle the hero because she trusts them. And if she is working for the evil team, which I am honestly doubting, at least not directly, she will probably have to battle eventually. Not giving her a starter is just a bad move.
And giving Hau the weak starter, I don't think effects difficulty at all. Before we battle a rival for a second time, we will usually be able to catch a pokemon that is stronger than the other starters.
People are also looking at early early game play. We will probably circle the island before we even go to the next island, and by then, anything could happen. We could encounter another rival. We could have another rival like N who will battle us.
