Well, rwbonesy, I think the game is exactly the oposite of what you said. The field effects are, indeed every time more powerfull, but that's mean for you too. What is highly fun with this game is that you can't go with your favorite pokemon, spamming their best move to win, but you still can go through the game with your favorite pokemon, but you need to think, to elaborate a strategy, to find out how to use the field at your advantage. Maybe the game is just more easy if you go with the top-ranked pokemon, but you can beat it without them, using pokemon you truly like. It's harder, but the reward is just higher.
I like to lose a couple of times against a gym leader before i understand his/her/xe (??) strategy and elaborate one to counter it. IMO this is why this game is so fun!