Wow it's been ages since my last Livecastershipping fic. I think most of you have probably forgotten about me hehe. Ahhh to be honest I had this plot bunny for a while but it wasn't panning out until I read my friend ceruleanskies's Christmas fic on wattpad, Magic Under The Mistletoe. Do check it out and show her some support! For all those who have been trading with Curtis, pay special attention to the spots on your Spinda! You might just find a pleasant surprise! Anyways more credits to W, my dear friend and beta for inspiration for the added bonus scenes!
Also, please forgive the rustiness, I haven't really written seriously since January because school is crazy and next year will just get crazier.
Spin Around The Spinda
Rosa was just talking to Hugh in Driftveil City when her Xtransceiver started ringing. On seeing the caller ID, she excused herself as her cheeks turned a rather obvious shade of pink. Hugh raised an eyebrow but said nothing nonetheless, choosing instead to keep playing with the Lillipup in his care.
"Hey Curtis! What's up!" sang Rosa, giggling a little at his image on screen. Curtis, in a green tunic and tiny Santa hat, was dressed like one of Santa's elves for the holiday special. Realising how ridiculous he must have looked, Curtis promptly removed the Santa hat, blushing as he sent Rosa into another fit of giggles. "Oh don't Curtis! You look adorable like that!"
"Ahaha you really know how to embarrass me Rosa," he mumbled as he ruffled his hair. "Anyway I called to let you know I've got a day off this Tuesday and I wanted to know if you-"
At that moment, Lillipup had gotten bored of Hugh's soft strokes and dashed out of his arms to Rosa. It began yipping and jumping up at her legs and Rosa stumbled for a while before crashing to the ground and Curtis cringed as he heard the noise.
"Rosa are you-"
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Rosa yelled, more for Hugh than Curtis. Turning back to Curtis she smiled sheepishly. "I'll see you there! Same place! Don't forget my present! That's Christmas Eve!"
With that the call ended. Curtis laughed to himself. Rosa never failed to amuse him. "Like I'd forget your present," said Curtis to no one in particular, smiling softly. Behind him, a Spinda had put on the discarded Santa hat and was staring quizzically at its trainer.
Spin Around The Spinda
Curtis was early as usual and since Spinda had liked it, he had let it keep the Santa hat. While he waited for Rosa to turn up, he patted the Spinda fondly, taking pride in the special pattern of its spots.
While in Fallabor Town to interview the local fossil maniac, he had heard rumours of a Spinda with a heart-shaped spot on its forehead. Instead of spending his free time fishing in Meteor Falls, Curtis had scoured the area around Fallabor Town, often returning covered in ash from Mt Lavaridge. Yancy had smirked knowingly and teased him about it but promised not to tell anyone. In fact, Yancy even helped distract their manager, allowing Curtis sneak out of the studio to hunt for it, often lending him her Jigglypuff to aid in the search.
"Hey, I ship you guys alright? Don't give me that look! Now go get your girlfriend that Spinda!"
"She is not my girlfriend!"
"Not yet. Hurry up before manager realises that wasn't actually Steven Stone in Meteor Falls."
On the last day of their Hoenn trip, Curtis had almost given up hope, slumping against the rocky walls of Route 113 as volcanic ash tickled his nose. Given the amount of ash he had collected while walking up and down the path, he was sure the glass blower could make him an entire house. Out of seemingly nowhere, the very Spinda he was hunting for teetered past and Curtis leapt to his feet, giving chase. Spinda, seeing both Curtis and Jigglypuff panting after it, giggled and continued running, delighted at having someone to play catch with.
"St-stop it Spinda! Please! We're really tired already!" yelped Curtis as he tripped over his feet. Jigglypuff echoed its distress as it came to a stop. Much as it wanted to help, the ash in the air made it hard for it to sing and it wouldn't do to put Curtis to sleep too. Spinda cocked its head mischievously and taunted them. Utterly frustrated, Curtis threw a Poke Ball at the Spinda, hoping it would at least buy him some time before continuing the mad chase. Spinda, caught by surprise, made no move to run, instead looking puzzled as the red light surrounded it.
The ball dropped to the ground and quivered. Once. Twice. Thrice. Finally, it stilled and both Curtis and Jigglypuff gaped. Was it really that simple? They had anticipated an epic battle and suddenly all that time spent planning strategies seemed wasted.
Then excitement set in. Grabbing the Poke Ball, he ran all the way back to town, Jigglypuff too tired to run, rolling after him. At the studio, he had received a long lecture from his manager over his dishevelled appearance but he was too happy to care. Eventually his manager gave up, grumbling about how all teenagers went through those phases.
Unfortunately, Curtis was too busy grinning at the memory of the capture to notice that the Spinda he worked so hard to catch was wandering off. Of course, as luck would have had it, just as he had realised that Spinda was missing, he heard Rosa calling out to him as she jogged over.
"Merry Christmas Curtis! Here! I baked these for you!" she sang, thrusting out a neatly packaged bag of cookies.
"Wow Rosa I didn't know you could bake," said Curtis as he looked guiltily at the little green bag in his hands. How was he going to find Spinda and not ruin the surprise?
"Neither did I," she replied. "Mum's a really good teacher." Smiling widely, Rosa looked at Curtis expectantly. Curtis tried his hardest to keep his cool as Rosa gazed at him. "Well?" she prompted. "It's your turn to give me a present."
"U-Uhm Merry Christmas to you too Rosa! I, uh, I'm sorry! I left your present at the Pokemon Centre while waiting for my Pokemon! Let's go there now and I'll uhm give it to you there!" lied Curtis.
Rosa stared at him doubtfully for a half a minute and Curtis felt himself sweating despite the snow falling. "Okay! Let's go! I'll help you find it!" she cheered as she grabbed his hand and ran towards the centre. Curtis thanked Arceus for Rosa's innocence and trust, praying that he wouldn't disappoint her.
Spin Around The Spinda
Curtis led Rosa to the canteen where he bought her a hot chocolate. "Hey uhm Rosa? Why not you wait here and I'll be back with your present in a jiffy yeah?"
"Of course." Rosa's sweet smile made Curtis all the more anxious to find the Spinda as he dashed back out.
"Hey! Trainer! Stop there!" Curtis screeched to a halt, nearly colliding into a potted plant by the centre's exit. Nimbasa's Nurse Joy marched over with a stern look on her face. "A blizzard is about to start. I can't let you out there!"
"Nurse Joy please just let me go! This is really urgent!" pleaded the green-haired idol. To his disappointment, the nurse shook her head and blocked the door.
"Absolutely not! It's extremely dangerous! What if you get caught in that blizzard? Surely whatever this is can wait until after the storm clears?"
Curtis decided he would have to resort to using his best puppy dog eyes, something Yancy would never let him live down. "Nurse Joy, my Pokemon is lost out there. I would never forgive myself if it freezes out there during the blizzard. Please, I'll be back as soon as possible!" he begged.
Nurse Joy's eyebrows furrowed. "Did you say your Pokemon is out there?" she bit her lip. "Well, hurry on and get it! And get yourself indoors before the storm hits you hear me?" She stepped aside and Curtis murmured his thanks as he ran out.
Shaking her head as she sat back down, Nurse Joy wondered if she had made the right decision.
Spin Around The Spinda
Rosa sipped the hot chocolate as the minutes passed, wondering how much longer Curtis could take to find the present. A horrible thought occurred to her that Curtis had indeed forgotten about the present and had rushed out to buy one but she mentally slapped herself. Curtis could not have forgotten. How could she doubt him?
Still, she had that little thought nagging at the back of her mind. Against her better judgement, she made her way to the front desk where Nurse Joy was mumbling to her Audino.
"Oh Audi, why did I let him go?"
"Let who go Nurse Joy?" asked Rosa as she approached. Suspicious, Rosa pressed further, "Was it a green haired boy? In a cap and vest?" Nurse Joy nodded mutely as Audino patted her back and Rosa was overwhelmed by a huge wave of disappointment.
He did forget.
Without saying anything else, she trudged slowly back to her room, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in her heart.
Spin Around The Spinda
As the snow fell, Curtis was still searching for Spinda, straining his eyes, hoping to spot a dot of colour among all the white.
"Spinda!" he called. "Spinda where are you! Come on the weather is getting worse! Spinda!"
Up ahead though, he thought he could see a Spinda and a wide grin spread across his face as he dashed forward to scoop it up. Caught off guard, the Spinda launched a Dizzy Punch at him, knocking Curtis flat on his back. On closer inspection, he realised that wasn't his Spinda. In fact, where the heart spot on its head should have been, was a spot in the shape of a broken heart. Had he not been flat on the ground, he probably would have fallen back over. He wondered if he could instead catch this Spinda for Rosa but the broken heart was still too disconcerting.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing with my Spinda!" yelled someone as he jogged closer. The man was tall with dark hair and tan skin and for some reason, although he was pretty sure his eyes were open, Curtis swore they looked like two slits on his face.
"Ah! I'm sorry! It was a misunderstanding! I'm looking for my Spinda! I'm worried it'll get stuck in the blizzard!" said Curtis as he flailed his arms. Realising the boy was being honest, the man offered him his hand and helped Curtis up.
"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry and so is Spinda. We thought you could be part of Team Plasma. You know every time a criminal organisation is brought down, there are always some members left," replied the man and his Spinda bowed apologetically. "The name's Brock."
Shaking his outstretched hand, Curtis introduced himself and explained that he was looking for a Spinda with a heart on its forehead. For some reason unknown to him, Brock blanched and stared at his Spinda forlornly. "You know what Curtis, I'll help you search. That should probably speed things up a bit," he offered, and Curtis was in no position to refuse given how much stronger the wind was howling.
They combed the entire city, with Brock taking the amusement park, Gear Station and the Battle Institute and Curtis the stadiums and musical theatre. However, when they met back in front of Gear Station, neither one had found the missing Pokemon. To make things worse, it seemed that the blizzard was about to start.
"Curtis, we should head indoors already. Pokemon are better at surviving in the wild anyway. I'm sure Spinda has already sought shelter from the blizzard. We'll continue searching after the storm passes."
Disheartened, Curtis nodded his assent. Despite the flurry of snow around him, Brock could see a faint light in the distance. Squinting, he realised it was a café and the thought of warmth appealed to his freezing bodies a lot. Figuring they could both use hot drinks to warm up, he urged Curtis inside.
What Curtis did not expect was his latest song, Marine Tube Tunnel Of Love, blasting from the speakers as a very familiar Pokemon with a Santa hat danced to the beat. The café's patrons cheered wildly as Spinda danced, or rather teetered, to the beat of the song.
"Spinda! There you are!" he called. The Pokemon stopped halfway and glanced up at its trainer, a tipsy looking smile lighting up its face. Spinda took a step back and started running to Curtis, leaping into his arms and snuggling him.
Café patrons cheered wildly, believing it was part of the act. Outside the wind howled and the blizzard started. The middle-aged café owner made his way over to where trainer and Pokemon stood.
"That's quite a talented Spinda you have there sonny. Here's a hot chocolate and some Pokemon Food on the house. You two deserve it. You'd do well to wait the storm out here too." Noticing Brock standing just behind him, he offered to bring a hot coffee over for him as well.
Thanking the man, Curtis and Brock settled into the comfy seats by the window. The pair struck up a conversation and Curtis learnt that Brock was actually in Unova for the Pokemon World Tournament, but because Driftveil City was overcrowded with gym leaders training their Pokemon, Brock had decided to train in Nimbasa instead. In return, Curtis talked about Rosa and how he meant to give her the Spinda and once he started talking about Rosa, he found it almost impossible to stop. While happy for the boy and how besotted he was with this girl, Brock found himself thinking of all his failed pursuits of the opposite gender, which more or less trickled down to every girl he had ever met on his journeys.
"So Brock, how did you meet your Spinda?" asked Curtis and Brock snapped out of his reverie. Brock's left eye, or left slit as Curtis thought of it, twitched oh so slightly as he recounted the tale of the search for another heart-spotted Spinda and how his broken-heart-spotted Spinda kept popping up everywhere instead, as though to highlight his failures in love.
Cringing, Curtis apologised for bringing up what was obviously a painful memory but Brock brushed it off.
"Hey Curtis does anyone know you're here? Rosa might be worried if she hasn't heard from you yet."
"Ah! You're right! I haven't! Oh no and Nurse Joy probably doesn't either!" Curtis frantically dialled Nurse Joy's and Rosa's numbers, however the blizzard was cutting off the signal and neither call got through. Sighing, Curtis patted Spinda on the head as he stared absentmindedly at the window, leaving Brock gaping at him.
This kid has Nurse Joy's number!
Spin Around The Spinda
From the comfortable bed in the Pokemon Centre's room, Rosa could hear the storm raging outside. Worried, she looked out of the window and saw nothing but white outside.
She was still hurt and disappointed that Curtis had forgotten her present but how could she stay mad at him if he was out there in storm like that, especially if it was to buy her a present.
Making up her mind, Rosa headed down the stairs. Realising that Nurse Joy would never let her go out in a storm like this, she hatched a plan. Calling Swanna out, she explained the plan to the Pokemon who obediently settled herself on the landing of fourth floor's stairs. Rosa then ran the rest of the way to the front desk, making a show of huffing in exhaustion.
Alarmed, Nurse Joy looked up at the panting trainer worriedly. "What happened?"
Rosa had to conceal her smile. Nurse Joy was buying it. "T-There's a Swanna on the stairs. It's not moving. I think it needs help." Immediately, Nurse Joy called Audino over and the pair ran towards the stairs.
Seeing that her plan worked, Rosa dashed out into the snow, calling for Curtis as she tried to keep her eyes open.
Spin Around The Spinda
While Brock busied with plotting, Curtis was dozing off in front of the café's window, snoring lightly as he did so. He jolted awake when he felt a tugging on his sleeve.
"What is it Spinda? I'm really tired after searching for you, you know?" Spinda looked guilty for a second before adopting a more frantic expression as he pointed out of the window. "It's a blizzard Spinda. We can't go out there," he said seeing nothing but white.
"Spinda Spin Spinda!" insisted the Pokemon and humouring it, Curtis squinted out of the window. To his shock he saw the familiar colours of a certain trainer's outfit as she braved the storm.
"What the… Stay here Spinda! I'll be right back!" he instructed as he dashed out, ignoring the protests of the concerned café owner. Spinda saluted in response, watching worriedly for his trainer from the window.
Spin Around The Spinda
Curtis practically tackled Rosa to the ground when he found her. "Rosa! What in Arceus' name are you doing out here?" he demanded.
Her teeth chattered as she replied, "L-looking f-f-for you, y-you d-d-dummy!" Hugging her to his side, Curtis led her back into the café.
"One hot chocolate for the lady please!" he called and the fatherly café owner from before shook his head as he brought over two hot chocolates instead.
"Crazy kids, thinking blizzards are like singing in the rain," he mumbled to himself as he walked away.
As Rosa gradually warmed up, Curtis listened patiently as she explained her reason for being out in the blizzard. When she was done, she looked back down at the mug of hot chocolate in her hands. Seeing her disappointment, Curtis tilted her head up. Rosa's eyes stayed downcast.
"Did you really think I'd forget your present?" he asked. Rosa's eyes glanced at his for a second before flicking back down.
"I thought you ran out to buy me one because you forgot," she whispered sadly.
"Rosa, look at me." As her blue eyes looked up once more, Curtis whistled. Spinda, who had until then been hiding behind the sofa, launched itself into Curtis' lap, clapping excitedly as it did so.
"This little fellow here is supposed to be your present," he said as he rubbed Spinda's fur affectionately. In response, Spinda gave a little purr of its own. Curtis then pinched Spinda's cheeks much to its surprise, causing it to let out a squeal. "But he was naughty and ran off. So now he'd like to apologise to you, isn't that right Spinda?"
Understanding the whole mess had more or less been its fault, Spinda lowered his head, the Santa hat falling off it as it apologised in its own language. A smile tugged at Rosa's lips as she scooped the Pokemon into her arms.
"Oh its adorable Curtis! Thank you so much! It even has a little heart on its forehead and the Santa hat is so cute! Ah this is perfect really! I love him! Who's a good little boy huh? Huh? That's right! You are!" she cooed as Spinda nuzzled her, elated with its new trainer.
As she continued fawning over the Spot Panda Pokemon, Curtis had to smile. That Spinda had him running around in circles the whole time but it was all worth the delight on Rosa's face.
"Merry Christmas Rosa," he whispered, a gentle smile on his face.
"Uhm, I hate to ruin the moment Curtis, but could you give me Nurse Joy's number?" This time, there was nothing stopping Curtis from falling over.
Whoo! We're done! Sorry for the incredibly cheesy and cockbrock ending but I hope you still enjoyed it! Bonus scenes with Brock now! Since W reminded me of that Spinda and how it kept popping up, to Brock's dismay. Wishing all of you a very happy holiday ahead and thank you for reading!