Fine green seeds rained down on Manectric like a barrage of bullets, accurately predicting the direction of its movement.
The seeds struck Manectric and burst into tiny vines that tried to entangle it, but the moment they touched the golden sparks dancing across its body, they were instantly burned to ash, falling in fine black flakes.
Manectric's speed did not slow in the slightest after being hit. It pushed off the gray stone slab with all four paws, and before the afterimage of its Quick Attack had faded, crimson light had already begun gathering in its mouth.
"Flamethrower!"
"Awroo!" Manectric turned its head just before landing, and a thick crimson pillar of fire surged from its mouth, carrying searing heat as it swept toward the charging Sceptile.
The air warped and twisted wherever the flames passed.
"Sceptile, jump!" Xinhai's voice did not hesitate in the slightest.
Sceptile, which had been watching its opponent closely, had already prepared to evade the instant Manectric launched its attack.
It kicked off the ground hard, sending its lean body soaring high into the air. The crimson fire pillar howled beneath its feet, heating the gray stone slabs below until they glowed faintly red.
While airborne, Sceptile twisted its body. Its golden eyes precisely fixed on Manectric below, while the Leaf Blade on its right wrist gleamed with a sharp emerald edge beneath the sunlight—Leaf Blade!
Emerald energy rapidly gathered and extended along the leaf, forming an energy blade over half a meter long. With enough sharpness to cleave steel, it came crashing down at Manectric's head.
Mentor Uehara's brow tightened almost imperceptibly. "Manectric, dodge!"
Manectric reacted just as quickly. At the instant the Leaf Blade was about to fall, its body was once more wrapped in the milky-white energy of Quick Attack as it