Finally got to play it as well. I really liked it, the music was great, especially while escaping from the prison.
I agree that some of the pokemon shouldn't be available so early, like Torkoal, Roggenrola and Machop, since they're pretty strong for early game.
On the other hand I don't think that it is unfair for those who choose a Grass starter. You can just catch some other mons, and wild pokemon shouldn't be a problem since you can flee when you think you won't make it. It might be annoying to train a Grass pokemon under this conditions, but you can just hold it o