I really hope they polish a few things up in the Black/White remakes.
Anyways, just because a Pokemon isn't following the character doesn't mean this feature will be dropped. Perhaps this area is early in the game, and they don't want to reveal the starters, new Pokemon, or what Pokemon you will be able to get in that area of the game. Too be honest, the feature is kind of superfluous. Yeah, it was cool to have Pikachu follow you like in the TV show, but otherwise it has no real affect on anything (although I do like how they got rid of the Pokeball animation for your starter Pokemon, making battles go a bit faster).