first of all, like ur banner, dispise ur name. not you, your username. Just a warning, people on here don't take kindly to *shudder* Justin... B... Beiber.
Second of all, i hate to say it, but my starter is always the strongest. I'm trying to level it out, but if ur trying to beat the game quickly, keep your pokemon overleveled. If you want more of a challenge, keep it under the level line. The highest i'd go for a first gym leader would be 12-20. That's how i do it, i keep it overleveled.