Back in the room, Xinhai set the cardboard box on the coffee table in the living room, then went to wash his hands.
Eevee was already squatting impatiently beside the coffee table, staring unblinkingly at the cardboard box with big brown eyes, fluffy tail swaying gently behind her.
Charmander and Axew also came over, the two little ones squatting on either side of Eevee, all six eyes fixed on the box.
"Eevee!" (Xinhai, hurry up and open it!)
Seeing how anxious Eevee was, Xinhai smiled, dried the water from his hands, and sat down in front of the coffee table.
He took a deep breath, sliced through the seal on the cardboard box with a small knife, then lifted the lid.
Inside the cardboard box was a dark brown wooden case. Its surface had been polished smooth and fine, its edges reinforced with metal corner guards. It looked exquisitely made.
The League emblem was carved into the lid, with a line of small words beneath it—"Hoenn League · Lavaridge Gym · Special Resources."
Xinhai took the wooden case out of the cardboard box and placed it on the coffee table.
He laid a hand on the lid, feeling the warm, smooth wood beneath his palm, and his heartbeat unconsciously quickened.
The instant he opened the lid, a faint scent mixed with the energy of various Types washed over him.
The inside of the wooden case was divided into more than a dozen grooves of varying sizes. Every groove held a clear, gleaming crystal or mineral, each reflecting a different-colored sheen beneath the light.
Xinhai's gaze swept over the resources one by one, his fingers unconsciously tightening.
The first row of grooves held more than a dozen Type Crystals arranged neatly in place.
The two on the far left were a