Okay, so the problem is that Sobble doesn't have any tools, so Grookey fits the theme better? There could be a theme where humans can also help their partner Pokemon with human tools and hold items. Like, an extremely farsighted Sobble that would be great at sniping once it's an Intelleon, but it can't function well in day to day life because of it. That's why it cries a lot too because it makes a lot of mistakes. Sword can give it a pair of glasses, like Wide Lens, which can changed to Zoom Lens later on because of its higher speed. Or Scope Lens for sniper crits. Point is, water types have been shafted long enough! Kusaka! Please! If you're breaking tradition now, please give the next two protags water types!
Though, part of the reason why I was a bit peeved was because the female protag doesn't get a fire type starter, so at least that's okay here