Ah, but I beg to differ.
The game is built so that you Pokemon level up to about or around 50 when defeating the Elite 4. You can go to Kanto where the challenges get up to almost Lv60 (excluding Red).
Beyond Lv10, maybe. Yes, my Chikorita got to Lv10 before I was even able to capture Pokemon. However, level does not always equal challenge. Falkner was pretty hard the first time around (even with Cyndaquil). Come on, Sand Attacks repeatedly, and then annoying further with Mud Slaps. It's strategy, not pure power.
And he's the FIRST Gym Leader, so he's not supposed to be a serious challenge.
If I recall, Brock was somewhat of a pushover in RBY if you leveled up enough. However, RBY had ONE region and was arguably the hardest of the games to date.