A voice buzzed on the tinny intercom.
"We'll be reaching the Crown Tundra in about an hour," it said. "Please be sure you have all your belongings on your person, as this train will be traveling back to Motostoke. If you're traveling with a Pokemon and they are outside of their ball, either return them to it or ensure that they disembark the train with you when we arrive at our destination."
In a sleeper car near the front, a Rillaboom grunted and reached for a bag.
"Easy boy," his trainer laughed. "Still got time left. And I'm getting coffee ASAP."
Rillaboom set the bag down, a slight frown forming on his face.
Victor stretched his arms and yawned. This was his third time down to the Tundra, and he never slept the entire way. His human companions were a mixed bag.
He passed Alister staring out the window at the snowy landscape as he left his compartment. It was the young gym leader's first trip to the Crown Tundra. He was prone to staring into space like this, and the frozen expanse at the southern edge of Galar was a fine place for it.
"Oi!" Marnie called, wandering out of their shared compartment.
"I thought you were still sleeping!" Victor laughed, waiting for her to catch up to him and taking her hand. "You know how you get when you're woken up early. Come on, let's get coffee."
"Coming?" Marnie asked Allister as Victor led her to the dining car. Allister turned, grunted quietly, and shook his head.
"It's so white. All of it," he muttered. "Looks… empty. I love it."
Victor smiled. The introverted boy had been surprisingly game to join in the expedition. The Crown Tundra was a far cry from the heat of Stow-on-Side, but that had always been an odd location for the shy Ghost-type specialist.
"Come on, I'm getting a bagel," Marnie said, picking up the pace and dragging Victor by the hand. Rillaboom emerged from their compartment, with Marnie's own partner Pokemon, her Morpeko, resting on his head. "And if we don't get something for her, she's going to change."
The rest of the group was waiting in the dining car. Victor waved at his sister Gloria, who was happily pacing in the aisle, a cup of tea in her hand. Her Cinderace followed, mimicking her with a bowl of cream. Bede was at a small table by himself, reading a book and picking at a pastry. Hop was speaking to a waiter, clearly struggling with his order.
"The ghost boy joining us?" Bede asked, taking note of Victor and Marnie's entrance. Marnie rolled her eyes and headed to the counter in the back of the car. Her Morpeko climbed down from Rillaboom's head and hurried behind her.
"He's happy where he is," Victor answered, sitting across from the curly-haired Fairy-type gym leader. "Is that the lum tart? How is that?"
"Eh, overripe and overpriced," Bede said, poking a small bit with his fork and bringing it to his mouth anyway. "Ready to spend a week freezing?"
"You came along," Victor laughed. Bede winced and looked back down at his book. Marnie returned carrying a plastic tray. She handed Victor a steaming paper cup, and set another one down in the space next to him. A bowl of pretzels sat in the middle of the tray, and Marnie's coveted bagel was off to one side.
"You think we don't know you have a new coat or something to show off once we're there?" Marnie said, the slightest teasing lilt in her voice.
"Always," Bede smirked, not looking up. "Where IS Allister? I told him to keep Gengar in his Pokeball until we got off the train."
"Just enjoying the scenery," Victor said. He reached for a pretzel, only to have a hand get in his way, grabbing a few first. He gave the quickest familiar glare to Gloria, who nudged Bede to the side of the table as she set down. "Next one's on you, sis."
Gloria grunted and shoved the pretzels into her mouth. Hop walked over, a plate with a stack of cream puffs in one hand. Gloria grabbed one of those, as well.
"And you wonder why don't travel together more," Marnie quipped.
"So what's the plan when we get there?" Bede asked, still not looking up. "All I know about the Tundra is how cold it is, and that's not exactly a party."
"A friend of mine will be meeting us there," Victor answered. "She's got everything set up for us. We have a cabin on the edge of Freezington booked. Good sized one, nice fireplace, everyone has their own sleeping quarters."
"So you two just need to be quiet," Bede muttered before turning the page in his book. Gloria elbowed him in the ribs. "We have this cabin for a week. Surely we're not just going to sit around the fire and tell stories the entire time. That's not much of a birthday party, is it?"
Victor grinned, and looked to Marnie. She raised her eyebrows in her preferred approximation of a reciprocated grin. He turned his look at his sister.
"Don't look at me," Gloria said. "You never take me along when you come down here. All I knows it's cold, weird Pokemon live there, and you've got like the biggest max raid den down there."
"The heart of the Dynamax phenomenon, you mean," Victor said. "Every one of us is going on a Dynamax adventure. Explore underground caves, meet new Pokemon. Oh, and you go deep enough, you're guaranteed to meet, fight, maybe even catch a bona fide legendary Pokemon." He pulled Marnie in close to him. She looked up, and the two locked eyes. "Happy birthday, babe."