The next morning, you get up well rested, and with a nice meal to boot. Before you set out, you take a moment to check if you need anything before heading to Argenvers.

After getting all his pokemon healed up and a good night sleep -- not camping -- Jake was ready to hit the road.  He had a bit of an extra spring in his step knowing he had some more money. In fact, he had more money now than he ever had before. He wasn't sure what to do with it all. He considered asking Bandy, but it seemed like her hammer didn't need a replacement, so he asked Seymour,
"So, what do people DO with money?"

"Save it. Spend it. Waste it," Seymour replied to Jakey. He had honestly been surprised that there actually had been reward money for catching those goons. "I like to plan my purchases wisely and only buy what I really really want or need. Others... buy the first thing that catches their eye."

It felt good to be on the road again after having been so helpful the day before. Now that they were near the "survival and traps" gym though, Seymour had opted to change up his team again. He picked Pokemon he thought would help them to navigate traps and survive the wilderness.

---

New team: Ditto, Dunsparce, Snom, Pinsir, Castform, Lapimage

The walk is quite relaxed. By your estimation, you should reach Argenvers by mid-afternoon. You keep your eyes open for pokemons, but what draws your attention around noon is a sudden cloud of dust south of your, followed by a low rumble that you feel through the ground more than you hear. It's hard to judge, but going to see this would be a two-hour detour.

"What is that?" Seymour asked Jakey, referring to the rumble and dust cloud. It would be quite a detour to go check it out, but then again, they were not exactly pressed for time at the moment.

"Think we should go check it out?" He was game is Jakey was.

Jake noticed the dust cloud as he pondered what shiny object would first catch his eye. He didn't have a clear schedule for the day, and figured the risk of being caught out and camping for the night wasn't too high even with the diversion, so he was all in,
"Yeah, why not?  Well, if it is more team gaia, I'll blow a gasket"

Jake didn't really know what a gasket was, but he figured next time they encountered team gaia, he would try to interrogate one. Like, why were they so mad that they fight everything? Cadien seemed like a great place to live!

You walk through the wild grass, going more-or-less toward the area of the cloud. Is clear it was a dust cloud, and not smoke, as it was brown, and dissipated quickly.

Eventually, you spot what looks like a brand new dirt road, heading roughly in the same direction as you. Following it, you're lead to what looks like a large camp, with a few jeeps and trucks around. Some distance away from it, you see a group of people wearing khaki clothes, arguing next to a big crater.

The first thing you hear as you get closer, is "SAFE!? YOU CALL THIS..." (one of the men points to the crater) "SAFE!?"

"What do you think happened?" Seymour asked Jakey as the two approached. "An explosion? A meteor impact? An underground structure collapse?" The trainer was curious to find out the answer. He approached as closely as it seemed they would be allowed.

"Looks like someone dropped a geodude!" Jake cheerfully interjected, loud enough that the men in khaki's could likely hear. Still standing at a respectful distance, Jake proceeded to flash his badges at the group of... soldiers?  As if his badges gave him some degree of authority on the situation... or at least made him more privy to the happenings.
"Hey y'all. Everyone OK? Made a big boom we saw all the way from the route," he greeted.

The man who was shouted at just shakes his head, while the loud one turns to you. "Yeah, it turns out this battlefield actually has some LIVE ORDINANCE buried in it. Something our head archeologist forgot to mention!"

"Look, black powder doesn't survive long when exposed to the elements." The older man says. "That any of it managed to survive so long is just an amazing fluke. The chances that it would happen twice are lower than winning the lottery."

"Yeah, except instead of a million dollar, we just lose a limb. Or a companion." One of the woman says. "I'm not risking my Hippopotas on a lottery ticket, no matter how low you say the odds are."

"Can I ask what it is that you are looking for out here anyway? What kind of archeology is there to be done on a battlefield? Or, is it a really old battlefield?" The trainer wondered if they might be able to help these people come up with a viable method of safe exploration. But at the same time wondered if it was worth the potential risk.

"You've never heard of battlefield archeology?" The woman asks. "I'm sure you're heard the expression 'history is written by the victors'. Well, our goal is to get a more accurate, and unbiased, view of historical conflicts.

This plain saw the opening battle of the Chairluire rebellion, when a military division ambushed the royal carriage as it traveled from Levalac to Antoseau. The royal guards fought bravely, sacrificing themselves to allow the king and his daughter to escape."

"At least, that's the official story. Some historians claim the king met the rebels here in an attempt to negociate, only for one group to ambush the other. We're hoping to learn the truth of the matter by examining the remnants that were buried here decades ago."

Jake scratched his head. He hadn't heard of archeology before, but the explanation made sense to him... except for the fact that people cared about what happened hundreds of years ago -- that part was weird. Despite his skepticism on the purpose of their dig, he did have some feedback,
"Back where I am from, some pokemon have super cool noses and can smell stuff underground. Its called odour sleuth!" Jake then released growler for reference,
"I don't really care about history and stuff, but I don't want to see y'all blown up, so maybe we can try to help find the boom stuff."

"Ghost Pokemon could also be useful," Seymour suggested. "They tend to be resistant to explosions. At least the move called 'Explosion.' And they can usually move through solid objects as well, so they might be useful for scouting underground a bit. I don't have a ghost with me at the moment, but I could get one if there is a PC handy nearby. Or I could get my Ditto to Transform into one if somebody else has a ghost Pokemon for it to observe."

"An Odour Sleuth?" The younger man says. "That could help... We'd still have to be careful. With all the problems we've had already..."

"Enough about curses, Fred! Every dig has it's problem, and this one is no different." The older man says, before shaking your hand. "I'm Professor Otis. And I would appreciate any help you offer. Unfortunately, we don't have any PC here, so we're stuck with only our companions to help us with our dig."

"And I'm Jodie. Pleasure to meet cha!"

Given the existence ghost, psychic, and dark-type pokemon, Jake wasn't so sure that curses didn't exist. Nevertheless, he was onboard with helping. These nerds might even have some super special pokeballs to hand out. To Jake, all nerds were the same.
"Woah, nice to meet you everyone. Yeah, I also have a Wreckoon that might be able to have a sensitive paw on stuff that could go boom. Only issue is we don't got all day, we gotta get to the next city before it gets too late. I usually have bad experiences sleeping outside in the wild. Oh yeah, I am Faulkner."

Jake then proceeded to let the rest of his pokemon out so they could enjoy the fresh air. After all, most of his pokemon likely did not have an inclination to dig in random places, so it should be safe.

"And I am Seymour. Nice to meet everyone." Taking a cue from Jakey, Seymour released all of his pokemon as well.

"Malley, turn into Growler. Two odor sleuths are better than one." He considered his other Pokemon as well, and how they might be able to assist. "You said you were worried about black powder? That is like gunpowder, right? If we sniff some out, my Castform could probably dampen it and make it less... explodey. My Lapimage can provide light in low-risk areas, my Son can put up protective barriers, and my Pinsir can move or break obstacles that are in the way. And my Dunsparce? Hmmm. I suppose he might be useful if we uncover any traps? He is good at avoiding the effects of such things."

"Oh, well, we don't want to keep you if you have appointments. I'm afraid our search will take a while."

"If it's just the sleeping arrangement that worries you, we can spare a tent for you." Jodie offers.

"I wouldn't mind staying a night," Seymour said to Jakey, tentatively. "I am curious about what they have going on here, and it's not like we have a set schedule. Besides, maybe we'll discover some new Pokemon pals in the process." Since this was an old battlefield, Seymour wondered if there might be some ghost Pokemon about.

"Eeeh, I guess if I get a tent, it will be fine. I mean, its not like we are in a swamp. Ugh."
Jake was also interested if there were going to be any more explosions!

As you agree to help them, they show you the ropes of how they work. The bulk of the work, let's be honest, is quite boring. They pick an square area to examine, plant a bunch of sticks around it, and draw lots of strings to make a grid. Then, they slowly dig through each square slowly, noting anything artificial they find. Thankfully, they spare you from most of the hard work, just asking that you walk around the area with your Growlithe to seek strange scents.

After an hour, Fred stops digging to start preparing the evening meal. Not long after, your pokemons stop. At first, you think the smell of food is distracting them, but then you notice their ears twitching.

Following their gaze, you see a dust cloud heading toward you... Expect there's no real wind. Professor Otis looks at the cloud, and grows pale. "Swarm!"

Indeed, as they come closer, you see the cloud is actually a swarm of Kricketot, racing toward you.