Just to build on what you have said here as i havent got to the later content yet but we can assume that some students if not put into the course might want to add to the enemy AI so that it does not just “roam” and actually give chase to the player.
This would mean if we didnt flip the character and the attacking then running away would mean you couldnt attack an enemy without running towards it again and expose the player to damage.
I think this is why it is set up this way and clarifying for other students that didnt play pokemon 
(Like me!)