Hey everyone, I'm here with another update for 'The Big Ten League' and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks a bunch for the continued support. With this story up it has started a collaboration with other stories based off of it that I ask all my readers to take a look at with the end author's note here. So without further delay, let's get to the chapter.

Last Time: Emily and Bulbasaur took a walk after taking a short break from riding all day to Iowa City. On their walk they encountered a Ralts and with Pichu's help, they managed to catch it and add a new member to their team. Emily soon encountered a bad driver from Iowa who too is participating in the Big Ten League and challenged him to a battle to vent her frustration.

Key:

Bold- PA system/Message Bulletins/Text messages to

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

Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks


Emily and Michael were quick to get the advantage on each other in hopes of turning the fight in their favor. According the current standings Wisconsin was now ahead of Ohio State, which was now tied with Iowa for points. If Emily won, Wisconsin would be able to get an extra point ahead, but if she lost, Wisconsin would drop down to be tied with Ohio State again.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Michael hollered.

"Ralts, dodge it with Double Team!" Emily countered back.

Mudkip's mouth opened wide and a small, albeit strong jet of water shot at Ralts. The attack missed when Ralts' body flickered and split into four copies. When Mudkip's attack hit one of the clones, it dissipated, leaving only three left. The copies began to circle him in a taunting manner in hopes for him to make a mistake.

"Jump back and use Mud-Slap!" Michael clenched his fist.

Mudkip skipped back and avoided a Confusion attack from Ralts that left a noticeable dent in the ground. Once he had all three copies in sight, he did a quick spin. His tail slapped the soaked ground from his missed Water Gun. A glob of mud shot up and covered Ralts and her copies.

The copies flickered and disappeared leaving the real Ralts standing off to the right. With a clear shot, Mudkip and Michael struck.

"Water Gun, now!" Michael smirked.

Another jet of water shot from Mudkip's mouth and hit Ralts square in the face and sent her staggering back. Mudkip then hurried towards her and jumped in the air. A loud thump was heard as Mudkip's body slammed hard in Ralts' with a tackle.

"Use Confusion, now!" Emily shouted.

Mudkip was stopped in midair from attacking and blasted back from an invisible force. The telekinetic attack made Mudkip bounce back to Michael, but he recovered quick and sunk back into a crouched stance to move at a moment's notice.

He jumped away again to avoid another telekinetic attack from Ralts. Michael observed the situation before him very carefully. Ralts had not been effective in making a lot of contact with her attacks. That tipped him off about two things. The first was that it was just caught by Emily and the second was that Ralts was tired. Was it possible that Ralts did not have time to recover after Emily caught her?

"If that's the case, I'll finish this quick," Michael thought, shaking his head.

He turned his attention back to the fight to see Mudkip get sent back from another Confusion attack. Even though Ralts was low on energy, she still was able to pack a punch on Mudkip.

"Use Tackle, Mudkip!" Michael shouted.

"Use Teleport and follow up with Confusion!" Emily yelled.

Mudkip jumped at Ralts who disappeared in a small flash of light. He just missed his target and did a quick look around to find Ralts, but she was nowhere to be seen. He closed his eyes and his top fin twitched a bit as it tried to find any movement. His eyes snapped open a second later and he jumped to the side just in time to avoid the telekinetic blast.

Ralts landed on the ground a second later after descending from the air. Once she was on the ground, she flickered again and split into four copies using Double Team.

"Again with this?" Michael folded his arms.

"I'm not letting you win!" Emily retorted.

"Suit yourself."

Emily's brow furrowed as she watched Mudkip dodge Ralts' attacks effortlessly. She only now realized that she was running out of time to seal her chance for a win. In her anger she blindly chose Ralts without thinking about the small amount of rest she had after being caught. All she could do now was try to delay Michael and Mudkip and attack when she had an opening which was proving to be difficult with Mudkip's keen senses.

"Hit her with Water Gun!" Michael pointed at Ralts.

"Use Teleport, now!" Emily shot back.

The jet of water narrowly missed Ralts who disappeared just in time to avoid it. The fin atop of Mudkip's head perked and he quickly spun around. His tail gave a quick flick and kicked mud behind him. The mud landed on the ground just as Ralts appeared. Ralts started to slip and tried to regain her balance.

"End it with Tackle!" Michael shouted.

Mudkip pounced at Ralts and dove headfirst for her. A loud thud sounded as Mudkip's body slammed hard into Ralts and sent her staggering back. Seeing that Ralts was still standing, Mudkip opened his mouth wide. Another jet of water bolted for her in hopes of ending the battle, but Ralts was having none of it.

"Stop it with Confusion!" Emily yelled.

Ralts raised her arms and let out a loud cry as she released her attack. The Water Gun was stopped midway which surprised both Mudkip and Michael, but they recovered quickly.

"Use Mud-Slap!" Michael hollered.

Mudkip spun and his tail hit the muddy ground hard. A giant clump of mud flew at Ralts and covered her face. The hit made her lose her concentration and she stopped her attack. The Water Gun continued its course and hit her dead center in the head. Ralts let out a loud cry and was knocked to the cold, wet ground.

"Ralts is unable to battle! Michael and Mudkip are the victors!" Colin raised his arm to them.


Michael cheered and kneeled to pet Mudkip who hurried over to him in excitement. While he was celebrating, Emily returned Ralts to her ball and thanked her for giving it her all. He stood up a second later and walked over to Emily with his hand outstretched. He gave Emily's hand a firm shake when she took it a second later.

"Thanks for the awesome battle." Michael smiled. "I'd like to battle you and Ralts again sometime."

"Same to you." Emily smirked back. "Next time we'll win."

Three pings sounded and Colin, Michael and Emily pulled out their phones after hearing it. The battle app had an update. After going to the app, they saw the standings for the Big Ten League shift around. Wisconsin, originally ahead of Ohio State and Iowa had been switched out of its spot with Iowa. Now Iowa was ahead of Wisconsin and Ohio State by one point. Colin and Emily frowned and Michael beamed broadly.

"That's what I'm talking about! I put us in front!" Michael pumped his fist.

Emily grimaced at that and looked at the individual stats for the school. She was in third for individual points for Wisconsin behind Brianna and Scott who were first and second respectfully, but ahead of Colin who was in fourth. Although her battle record still wasn't bad, she wanted to be in first for Wisconsin, not third. Every loss counted and with the loss she just suffered to Michael, it hurt her chances of getting caught up with Brianna and Scott. If she did not act in the heat of the moment by sending out Ralts instead of one of her other two Pokémon, maybe it would have turned out different.

"Damn-it." Emily tucked her phone away.

Michael put his phone away and then glanced at Colin. He had him here and still wanted to battle him. Although Colin outshined him as a receiver, he felt he had the upper hand with battling. Now that he had the chance to battle him here and put Iowa further ahead, he would not waste it. He turned to Colin and smirked.

"What about you, Campo?" Michael asked.

"Excuse me?" Colin replied.

"Wanna' battle me now? Receiver verse receiver sounds like fun, right?"

Colin crossed his arms and mulled it over. There was an upside and downside to accepting Michael's challenge. The positive was that he could put Wisconsin back in front, but if he lost, Wisconsin would fall behind Ohio State and dropping two places in one day would be bad.

He wanted to battle Michael, but after remembering his battle with Takatora, he was hesitant. The snide teen's words echoed in his head and made his fists clench.

"You're an athlete, not a trainer, so save yourself the embarrassment and give up on the Big Ten League," Takatora's words echoed in his head again.

No. Colin shook his head, clearing it from the doubt. He would not quit. People like him had determination and did not give up until it was all said and done. He had to get stronger to crush Takatora and the only way to do that was to let go of the fear of failure and battle Michael. He took a deep breath and his hand plucked the Poké Ball of his chosen Pokémon.

"You're on!" Colin nodded.

"That's what I like to hear." Michael smirked. "Hope you're ready for a fight!"

Mudkip took his position back in front of Michael and look at Colin cockily. Colin tossed the ball up and down a few times before throwing it to the center of the makeshift field. The ball opened with a snap and Charmander appeared, arms crossed and eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, small embers burst from his nose. He was ready for a battle.

"You're playing a dangerous game there, Campo!" Michael said.

"We'll see about that," Colin said, clipping the ball back to his belt.

Once Charmander smirked at Mudkip, the two of them ran at each other. Mudkip ducked under Charmander's Scratch attack and swiped at him with his tail. His tail was blocked by Charmander's free arm and he shoved him away to put space between them.

"Mud-Slap, now!" Michael yelled.

"Dodge and use Smokescreen!" Colin shot back.

Charmander rolled away and managed to avoid the chunk of mud that was launched at him. He opened his mouth and a thick cloud of black smoke left it. The smoke covered the entire battlefield concealing him from sight from both Michael and Mudkip. He crept in Mudkip's direction but kept his space to avoid a random attack.

Meanwhile, Mudkip searched around the smoky veil frantically. He could not see Charmander and he could not hear him moving. His best bet was to send an attack in the direct he last saw him. He opened his mouth wide and fired a quick Water Gun. There was a splash, but no cry of surprise. He missed. His fin quickly perked up and he jumped just in time to avoid a sharp scratch from Charmander. He saw Charmander's tail vanish back in the smoke, but he wasted no time.

"Water Gun, now!" Michael yelled.

"Charmander, hit it with Flamethrower!" Colin shouted.

A loud hiss came when blistering fire met water. Steam and mist mixed in with the smoke making it more difficult to see. Neither Mudkip nor Charmander got hit by each other's attacks and went back on the move to play hit and run once again. The smoke finally cleared up just as they were about to collide.

"Hit him with Tackle!" Michael clenched his fist.

Mudkip dove headfirst for Charmander and hit him in the chest, sending him back in a daze. Seeing his chance he went in for another hit, but Charmander shook it off. He sidestepped Mudkip and with a swing of his tail, wrapped it under his belly and flipped him hard to the ground. The hard slam knocked the air from Mudkip's lungs.

"Juice him with Flamethrower!" Colin pointed at Mudkip.

Charmander's mouth opened wide and giant stream of fire shot out. The fire engulfed Mudkip who let out a loud cry from the burning sensation. The attack ended a second later and Mudkip's body simmered from the flames that ate him up. He glared at Charmander who glared back.

"Use Water Gun on the ground!" Michael called out.

"Charmander, get in close and use Scratch!" Colin countered back.

Mudkip doused the dirt ground with a strong Water Gun attack and made a large mud puddle. The change of the field made Charmander slip in the mud, stopping his charge. The loss of balance mad him fall into the mud pile with a loud splat, covering him completely.

"Water Gun, now!" Michael shouted, seeing his chance.

The jet of water hit Charmander in the face and he let out a pained cry. The water managed to flush Charmander out of the mud pile and sent him rolling away. He came to a stop near the opposite end of the field and left the puddle open for Mudkip's attack.

"Follow up with Mud-Slap!" Michael kept up the pressure.

Mudkip jumped into the mud puddle and with a swift chop of his tail sent a wave of mud at Charmander. The mud hit him and the flame on his tail, weakening it badly.

Colin growled and clenched his fists. This was bad. Michael had control of the field and his type advantage was giving him the upper hand of the fight. If Charmander took another beating like that, he would lose. His knuckles cracked and his brow furrowed. He looked up at Mudkip and then to Charmander who gazed back at him. When their eyes locked, Colin felt a fire spark inside of him.

"Don't quit, Charmander! You hear me?" Colin said.

"Char!" Charmander nodded.

Colin felt his confidence coming back when Charmander stood up and brushed the mud off of himself. His partner was ready for round two and ready to seal the deal with a victory.

"There you go! On your feet!" Colin nodded fiercely. "Take him down!"

Charmander's eyes flashed red for a brief moment and he let out a loud cry. The tail on his flame burst with new life and he released a stream of fire into the night sky. His renewed vigor had made itself known with the activation of blaze. His eyes locked on Mudkip and he opened his mouth, sending a stronger Flamethrower at him.

For Michael, he was a little thrown off by the sudden power boost from Charmander. It looked as though the fight was his, but now the tide of the battle had changed. Charmander and Colin were now on the offensive and it would not be good if he made use of the newfound momentum he gained.

"Dodge and use Water Gun!" Michael shouted.

"Smokescreen, now!" Colin bellowed.

Water flew across the field and at Charmander, but he quickly dodged it and opened his mouth again. Smoke flooded the muddy field and he immediately dashed for Mudkip to put the pressure on him.

"Use Scratch when you get the chance!" Colin yelled at Charmander.

Mudkip caught a brief glimpse of Charmander's tail through the smoke and narrowly dodged his sharp claws. He turned to tackle him, but a stinging sensation swept across his face. Charmander was quick on his feet and managed to get a lucky swipe on him. He opened his eyes and fired a Water Gun at pointblank range. Charmander let out a grunt and hunched over.

"Flamethrower!" Colin punched the air.

Charmander returned with his own pointblank attack and sent Mudkip flying out of the smoke. The smoke cleared a second later and the two of them stared each other down.

"Come on! Where is it?" Colin thought.

He got his wish a second later when a pillar of fire surrounded Mudkip and vanished as soon as it came. It took some time, but he was finally able to leave a burn status on Mudkip. Mudkip fell to his knees and trembled as he tried to remain standing. It was time.

"Finish it with Scratch!" Colin yelled.

"End it with Tackle!" Michael shouted.

Both Charmander and Mudkip stared at each other and prepared their last attacks. With a quick push, both of them charged at one another. Mudkip leapt into the air for another diving tackle and Charmander had both sets of claws ready to slice at him. All it took was for Charmander to stick his legs out in a slide to dive under Mudkip and with a quick slash, his claws raked his stomach. They slid away from each other and quickly turned around to face each other again.

Mudkip swayed and fell into the mud with a small splash.


"Yes!" Colin threw his hands in the air in victory.

Charmander dusted his hands off and rested them on his hips. He was soon scooped up by Colin who beamed broadly at him.

"You did it, buddy!" Colin cheered.

He set Charmader back down and rubbed his head gently. As he shared the win with his partner, his mind wandered off to when he first received him. It had only been a few days since he began his journey, but his partner had already shown his growth. He patted Charmander's head one last time before he stood up.

Colin looked at Michael who clipped Mudkip's ball back to his belt. He looked a little down at the loss, but it was soon replaced with a smirk. He walked over to him with his hand out for a quick shake.

"Guess I have something to look forward to later," Michael said.

"I guess so," Colin answered with a smile.

"That Charmander of yours is strong. I can tell he… whoa!"

Michael's sudden outburst caught his attention. He followed his gaze to Charmander and he wheeled around in surprise. His partner was glowing white and his body was shifting. None of them said anything as they watched Charmander evolve before them. The glow vanished and in Charmander's place was a Charmeleon.

Charmeleon let out a roar of satisfaction and fired a thick stream of fire into the air like he did earlier in the battle. When he finished he turned back to Colin and had a smirk on his face.

"I don't know about you, but I think you can take on the gym leader tomorrow without any problems!" Colin smirked.

"Char!" Charmeleon smirked back, giving him a thumb up.

Charmeleon walked back over to him and was returned to the ball a second later. Colin looked down at the ball. He stared at it much like he did the day he first received it from Professor Larmer in Bascom Hall. There was no doubt in his heart or mind that he made the wrong choice that day and with everything that happened in that last battle, it only solidified that belief. He and Charmeleon would only grow stronger from here on out and they would bring the conference title home to Wisconsin where it belonged. Anyone who got in their way would be in for a tough fight.

Three pings went off again as the battle app on their phones updated. Iowa fell back down to its tied state with Ohio State and Wisconsin reclaimed the spot it had earlier.

"Well, it was great while it lasted." Michael chuckled.

"Don't sell yourself short, dude. You're good at battling," Colin replied. "Hell, you're better than me. I just have the devil's luck."

"Heh, guess so. Mudkip and I will beat you next time, Campo."

"Charmeleon and I will be looking forward to it."

With that, Michael gave a two fingered wave and walked into the motel to check out a room, leaving Colin and Emily alone in the parking lot. Emily had a small pout on her face as she looked at Colin.

"What?" Colin raised a brow.

"You beat him and your Charmander evolved? That's so not fair!" Emily grumbled.

"You jealous?"

Emily stuck her tongue out at him and he only laughed as she followed after Michael to check out her room for the night. Colin was about to follow suit, but stopped when his phone beeped again. He pulled it out and took a look at the new message he got. It was from an unknown number, but his curiosity got the better of him. He brought the message up and read it quickly.

"Campo, meet me at Iowa City tomorrow. We need to talk."

Colin tucked his phone away and looked down the road. Who was the one trying to contact him? He shrugged it off and decided to worry about it later. All he wanted to do was get some sleep and prepare for his gym battle tomorrow.


That's the chapter everyone! I hope you enjoyed it as well as the little evolution there. Now with that said, I implore all of you readers to check out TheLoner2's collaboration that I am a part of. I have listed the stories affiliated with it below so please check them out and review them. I'll update this story again when I get the next chapter idea in my head.

Statements:

1.) Collaboration update: We now have an SEC League, AAC League and Conference USA League in the makings to go into the collaboration. Check out the stories for the following people "SEC League" by Nobel Six, "American Athletic League" (being written by Gallantmon7196), "Conference USA League" (being written by Solomon07). PAC-12 League (Will be covered by El Torro), ACC, Sunbelt Conference, etc. If you are interested, check out TheLoner2's forum "National College League for Pokémon Training". Remember, we only want devoted writers doing this collaboration if they're interested.

2.) Keep up the critique like I stated at the end of the last chapter. This site and writer's stories need that kind of support and it's not there which is very pathetic.

OC Battle Records (Wins/Losses/Draws):

Colin Campo: 3/2/0

Brianna Davis: 4/0/0

Scott Fowler: 3/0/1

Emily Garcia: 2/1/0

Takatora Kureshima: 2/1/1

Molly Taylor: 1/1/0

Michael Gibson: 1/1/0

Pokémon Roster:

Colin: (Charmeleon, M), (Pikachu, M), (Gible, M)

Emily: (Bulbasaur, M), (Pichu, M), (Ralts, F)