Hey everybody! Quick update for the story as I decided that for this story I will try to utilize Coli-Chibi's method of updates by making small chapters to get them out quicker. Although don't expect a bunch of updates a week. I've got my own life and other priorities. I am still taking OCs, but I need gym leaders! Everyone that applied has gone for companion roles. If you choose gym leader you are guaranteed a spot, whereas rival and companions will only be reserved for the best submissions. While I'm at it, please choose other states of the Big Ten instead of Wisconsin from where your OC is from. All but two of the ones I received are from there.

Previously on The Big Ten League: Colin Campo announced the end of his college football career and his decision to represent UW Madison as a Pokémon trainer for the Wisconsin Badgers. Now that the time has come for Colin to start his journey, he heads to Bascom Hall to receive his first Pokémon from Professor Larmer.

Key:

Bold- PA system/Message Bulletins

Bold Italic- Radio/TV/Pokedex descriptions/Phone responses

Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks


The months zoomed by for Colin after he gave his announcement of quitting football. During that time, a few things happened, both positive and negative. The positives were that the Wisconsin Badgers made it to the Rose Bowl just as Coach Henderson said and they finally won it. Colin was able to attend the game and stand on the field with the team and did not hesitate to run on the field after they scored the winning touchdown at the last second. It truly was a magnificent feeling for the former receiver as he got to hold up the trophy for his team when it was presented to them. After the Rose Bowl, Colin passed his exam to become a Pokémon trainer and was given a date for his journey to start in mid-March.

The negative in the months that went by was the huge fight Colin and his father had. Shortly after he ended his football career, his father gave him a call and their discussion got heated. His father, Gary, was demanding to know why he gave up football as it was his only way of getting a ride through school because of his scholarship. Colin tried to explain his reasoning by saying that the doctor told him to stop because if he hurt his knee down the road again, it could lead to permanent damage. Gary of course brushed the excuse off saying that he never took the doctor's words to heart before. Colin then tried to explain that although his scholarship was for football, the administration was trying to transfer it over to being a Pokémon trainer. Once again, his words fell on deaf ears and Colin finally lost it. He could still remember the words he said and deep down he felt guilty for doing it since he knew his father was just concerned. However, his idea of concern was never conveyed properly and it always involved him asking what his plan was to rectify the problem after putting him in the spotlight when he knew that he had no plan.

"I'm asking you what your plan is to fix this situation, boy," Gary said through the phone.

"I already told you! The administration was going to try and transfer my scholarship over to being a Pokémon trainer for them!" Colin retorted.

"The key word in that sentence is try. You can't put all your eggs in one basket. What happens if they can't do that? You're screwed, and you'll have to pay for your schooling out of your pocket and with your major, you'll be paying for a quite a while."

"If you are trying to motivate me, you are doing a crappy job."

"I'm just telling you what will happen. Your mother and I can't pay for your schooling. That's why we were so proud when you got that scholarship to play football and that's why I'm mad you decided to quit just because the doctor told you to."

"Tch, there's a couple of things wrong with that sentence."

"Excuse me?"

"One, you mean Mom was proud of me. You never said anything after I got it. Two, you never had the luxury of blowing out your ACL twice! It's very painful and if I can avoid permanent knee damage for the rest of my life I'll take it!"

"Don't give me that! You know damn well I was proud of you when you got that scholarship! What I see happening here is you being afraid of taking risks after the doctor told you that! That never stopped you when you played in high school!"

"Then why the hell didn't you say it to my face, huh? All I want to hear from you once in a while is "good job" or "I'm proud of you, Colin" but you never say it! By the way, it never stopped me in high school because I knew I was making you proud when I played the game and I couldn't stand the thought of you being disappointed in me if I quit. Now that I am trying to be my own man and make my own choices, you're getting pissed off!"

"I just don't want you to give up something you enjoy. I've seen you play the game and I know you love it. I saw the smiles you had when you played with your friends."

"You know what I think? I think you don't want me to quit because this is what you want. You never made something of yourself in college after high school and now that I succeeded in doing what you failed in, you're trying to live it through me."

There was a long pause as Colin waited for his father to speak on the other end of the line. Seconds ticked by and after his father failed to say something, Colin hung up. That conversation occurred a week after Colin ended his football career and that was the last time he spoke with his father.


Shaking his head with a sigh, Colin got up from his bed and gave a stretch. Today was the day he had to report to Professor Larmer to receive his first Pokémon and his gear to start the journey. He slung his bag over his shoulder and put on his grey hat with the signature big red W on the front. He exited his apartment and started walking down to the parking lot where his motorcycle was sitting. His phone vibrated as a call started to come through and he answered it quickly.

"Hello?" Colin answered.

"Hey honey, are you ready for your big day?" Heather's voice replied through the phone.

Colin smiled at his mother's gesture of wishing him luck.

"Yeah, I'm heading over to see Professor Larmer now to get started," Colin said.

"Sounds like a good deal, bud. I'll be rooting for you honey and I know your father will be, too!"

"I find that a little hard to believe, but thanks, Mom."

"Honey, your father loves you. You know this. He's never been good at being the touchy-feely type of person."

"Yeah, well, I'll believe it when I hear those words from him myself."

"I'll try and talk to him for you. Anyway, good luck my number one son. Kick ass like you always do!"

"I will. Bye, Mom."

Colin smiled as he hung up and pocketed his phone. He could always rely on his mother to brighten his day with those little banters they shared. He got on his motorcycle and it roared to life as he turned the key and gave a loud growl as he sped out of the parking lot and towards Bascom Hall.


Professor Larmer was without a doubt an interesting person. Whether it was from his dry sarcasm or wit, it was always bound to be rather humorous if a student had a class with him. Colin was lucky to have two classes with the professor and found him to be his personal favorite out of all of them he came across throughout his college education. The old professor was wearing a white lab coat over a pair of green suspenders and an orange, long sleeve shirt. His glasses and his bald head were the most prominent features on his person.

Larmer took a sip of coffee as he eyed the clock, waiting for the last arrival to pick up his Pokémon. He turned back to the two students before him and saw that they were becoming impatient with waiting for the last member to show up.

"Well, I guess you two can choose your Pokémon and be on your way," Larmer said as he took another sip of coffee. "Surely you'd rather get out of here than wait and try to strike up some intelligent conversation with me, right?"

The two students shifted at the old professor's words and looked down at the ground. As Larmer chuckled at the reactions of the two students, the doors to the lab opened and revealed the latest arrival. He smirked as his eyes landed on one of his favorite students and he could not resist the urge to poke fun at his tardiness.

"Well, Colin, nice of you to join us. You're only ten minutes late," Larmer said with a smirk.

"Really?" Colin replied as he glanced at his watch. "Huh, I thought it was later than that. I'll have to try harder next time."

"Good to see you. Now if you can come over here, we can get this little meeting over with."

"Are you in a hurry today?"

"Why would I be in a hurry? I mean, it's Friday and it is such a beautiful day outside. There's nothing more I'd rather do than sit cooped up in my office all day."

Colin laughed and stood between the two other students that were giving him annoyed looks. The first student was a male who stood at a solid six feet tall. He had short, messy black hair, green eyes and a pale complexion. The second student was a female that stood a head shorter than Colin. Her face was oval shaped and her hair was long and light brown in color. Her body was lean with muscle which tipped Colin off that she was most likely on the rowing team.

"Now that Colin is here, I think it's time we get on with it," Larmer said as he set his mug down.

The three students nodded eagerly as Larmer walked over to a side counter and grabbed a cylindrical capsule that contained three round balls. He walked over to the three trainers and pressed a small button on the side of the capsule. A small hiss came from the device as the glass opened and left the Poké Balls open for the taking. The three students stood there and were eager to pick their first Pokémon to start their journey.

"Now, since a lot of the starter Pokémon have been taken already, I only have these three left. Choose wisely," Larmer said as he looked between the three of them.

"Which ones are left?" The male asked.

"The three that I have left are Charmander, Totodile and Chespin."

"All of them are good choices," Colin commented.

"Indeed. So, Colin Campo, Scott Fowler, Brianna Davis, it's time to choose your first Pokémon. Who do you want?" Larmer replied.

"Why don't we let Campo choose first?" Scott asked.

Colin looked at Scott for a brief second before looking at the three Poké Balls that contained the last three starters. Since October, Colin spent a lot of time studying everything he could about Pokémon ranging from types, abilities, the various moves they could learn, battling, to even raising them. Needless to say, he already had his choice in mind as his hand reached for the central ball. He picked it up from the capsule and stared down at it. Colin felt as though he could feel the power flowing into him and knew right then and there that he made the correct choice.

"Alright," Larmer said with a nod. "Scott, Brianna, you're up."

Brianna went next and grabbed the ball on the right while Scott grabbed the last ball on the left. Larmer sealed the capsule shut and placed it on his desk before picking up his coffee mug again. He then walked over to his side table once more holding three belts with Poké Balls on them and picked up three, small rectangular objects. He gave one of each to Colin, Scott and Brianna.

"I'm sure you already know what those balls are, so let's skip that bit," Larmer said. "Do any of you know what that red device is?"

"It's the Pokédex," Scott replied. "It records information on Pokémon seen or capture by the trainer."

"Impressive. Out of all the students that came through here, you're only the second one that got that right."

Scott shrugged off the compliment and pocketed his Pokédex and put on the belt that Larmer gave him. Brianna and Colin followed Scott's lead and were getting ready to leave the room to get a start on their journey.

"I trust you all know where the gyms are so you can start your badge run?" Larmer asked.

"Yes, we do," Brianna replied with a nod.

"Good. In that case, I wish you all luck. Remember. You all have my contact information if you need to get in touch with me."

The three of them nodded and Larmer picked up his bag and mug. He gave them a nod and departed the room, most likely to go read a newspaper in the park. Brianna was the first to break the silence between the three of them.

"Good luck," Brianna said with a smirk. "I'll have to battle both of you when we meet up again. I'm definitely looking forward to our match, Campo."

"I'll be happy to oblige," Colin replied with a smile.

Brianna smiled back and left the room, leaving Colin and Scott alone. With Scott remaining silent, Colin took that as his cue to leave and get on the road. His feet began to carry him to the exit but he stopped when he heard Scott call out to him.

"Campo, are you cut out for this?" Scott asked.

"What do you mean?" Colin replied.

"I mean that this isn't where your skills reside. You're an athlete, not a Pokémon trainer."

"It's never too late to try something new. Who are you to tell me I can't do something?"

"I call it as I see it. You're not cut out for this and it would be in your best interest to quit while you're ahead."

"Are you trying to get a rise out of me?"

Scott smirked down at Colin and was met with a glare in return.

"It's like I said. This is not your area of strength," Scott said again.

"I think you are full of it. I bet I'm a more capable trainer than you," Colin replied.

"Oh, yeah? Then how about we have a battle outside and I'll show you just how in over your head you are?"

"Bring it on."

Scott walked by Colin and bumped his side as he made his way to the door. Colin's eyes bore into Scott's back as he vanished from sight and his fists clenched. He already had a poor opinion of Scott and was more than eager to get back at him for insulting his potential as a Pokémon trainer. He looked down at the Poké Ball he was holding and then back to the door where Scott departed from. His first Pokémon battle was about to happen and he was excited to see just how well he would perform having no prior experience with Pokémon with the exception of his readings. Colin hurried to the front of Bascom Hall to face Scott outside.


Colin saw Scott was standing at the bottom of the staircase. They would have their battle at the top of Bascom Hill. It did not help that classes were finishing for students and the amount of traffic would limit their playing field for the fight. On top of that, the students would more than likely stop to watch the battle to see who was stronger.

Scott turned and smirked at Colin before pointing to the opposite end of the landing. Getting the message, Colin walked over to his side and set his bag down on the ground. He watched as Scott took his position and started tossing his Poké Ball up and down. The smirk on his face was still present and it made Colin even more determined to wipe it off his face by beating him in their battle. As they both stared each other down, the large masses of students going up and down the hill started to surround them to watch their exchange. The students started whispering with excitement and were beginning to take sides on who they wanted to win. Colin had lots of support, mainly due to the fact he was a former football player and had a lot of support and respect. Scott's support was mainly from people wanting to see an underdog undermine an alpha male.

"Last chance, Campo," Scott said. "Walk away right now and save yourself the humiliation, or get your ass kicked by me. What's it going to be?"

A lot of students jeered at Scott for being condescending and cheered for Colin as support to take the challenge and take him down. Colin, having a lot of ambition and being very stubborn growing up, was not one to back down from a challenge, especially if the person who was doing it was a bully. He glared at Scott, sending him his answer.

"Get real!" Colin retorted.

Scott chuckled and his smirk vanished as it was replaced with a look of concentration. He clutched the ball in his hand and wound his arm back and threw it into the center of the space they borrowed for their battle. Colin wasted no time and mimicked Scott's action as he threw his Poké Ball into the battlefield.

"Let's rock!" Colin hollered.

Both Poke Balls opened with a snap and two Pokémon began to materialize. The glows vanished and revealed the starters that the two rivals chose.


Ah, cliffhanger! Next chapter Colin will face off against his newfound rival Scott. I also have yet to reveal who Colin chose as a starter. Who could it be, hmm? I will most likely introduce one of the submitted OCs next chapter as well. Bear in mind what I stated above. Anyway, that's all I had for you, so I'll see you next time. -CaptainPrice