I recommend you to invest in an adamant sync and catch Pidgey/Nidoran and train it along with your starter. Catch a paras when you hit Mt. Moon and an adamant high statted magikarp when you get the rod in vermillion. Do not evolve it into Gyarados yet, and try to beat eighth gym, once done, train your karp by using false swipe method to lvl 85+. and beat e4. Another important thing is to catch a magnemite with sturdy ability, he will help a lot.