Denise
"..." *She used one of her paws to try and wipe it down, little-by-little, eventually trying to stumble and roll over to get the Rattata off of her.* "Dude. Cool it. This may be a weird concept, but you could just, y'know— *Not* Do half of the shit you were doing. You *Could* Just talk it out, man..." *Eventually, she had managed to wipe it down enough for it to be hardly noticeable, but poking around the inside of a 'mon's mouth with a needle? Probably not the safest thing, especially when attempting to strike true in that regard.*

"So, relax and just talk me through the process here- You decided: Let me attack this Lycanroc, *Why?* Because-?" *It's clear she was waiting on an answer from the rodent 'mon, her legs kicking off to the side as she laid flatly on her side, paws scratching against the surface of what ground they stood upon at that moment...*
"It's like, you have any method t'use, dude-? You could just... Cool it? Cool ya jets and just... Talk-?"
Paul
*Reaper, feeling a little bit deflated by her choice to talk things out* Now *Of all times- after he went too harsh on the needle strike- decided to forgoe his ambushing strike and drop down behind her, walking 'twixt her legs to make himself visible to her. His needle tapped the dock rather lethargically, his posture still flowing- as if he were ready to strike at a moment's notice.* "But I am not *Here* To talk."

*After making a bit of distance, he twirled the needle, pirouetting to face the Lycanroc.* "Hm." *He eased his posture, moving more calmly-* I aught to let her hit me back, perhaps, although that may not result in an equivocal exchange. Then again, why should I feel guilty? *He tilted his head, deciding whether or not he aught to explain any of this. Not that he hadn't been asked this sort of thing before, but...*

"... You *Do* Realize I've just stolen someone's bag, yes? I suppose you're uninterested in intervening?" *The last statement was given with a disharmonious look of disgust.*
Denise
"Dude, what's your *Damage?* First you borderline assault me to get me t'hit you, and *Then* You tell me that you stole someone's bag-? Dude. Look, I don't even get you. You're just weird." *She waits. And then waits, and waits a little more before pulling herself up and standing on her feet, staring Reaper down.*

*He practically was egging her on to face him. From twirling and flourishing his utensil, to not easing his stance at all. This dude meant business, and was definitely doing most of this to get her to react in a way that'd be expected—*
"Why steal a bag? What use do you have for it-? What even justifies it-!?" *And now, her feet smashed and stomped against the ground, doing nothing at first- it was like she was dancing...*
*And then... From the fact that her previous move hadn't struck... And... Failed...*

*The docks felt like they were breaking and getting rickety after each paw of hers stomped against the ground-* 
*Her attack was* ***Stomping Tantrum*** *And if it hit? Its damage would be amplified from her previous move being stopped due to Reaper striking her and stunning her in the middle of her attack.*
"You're a bummer. A complete and utter bummer."
Paul
*Of all the times being light was a boon, this was not one of them. Stomping, prodding, shattering the dock and breaking it from beneath.* "... Good." *He smirked, although this was ill-earned bravado as the shaking suddenly tossed his feet from beneath him- causing him to fall upon a now-shattered floorboard and strike his head from behind as he went tumbling into the water below.*

*Of course, with his float stone, he was hyper-bouyant, instead slipping and sliding upon the surface of the wavering water as he kicked water up left and right- before faceplanting into it. After a bit, he managed to balance upon the water on four legs, similar to a surskit.* "... Huh. I've never done that before." *His head was ringing, but he somewhat relished the challenge that this brought.*

*He concentrated himself to balance for just a moment, using a `Quick Attack` to dart across the surface of a water. As one moves faster and faster, water acts more and more solid- an explanation as to why freefalling into the ocean is a fatal endeavor. By kicking off with this speed, bit by bit, he regained his footing and treaded along its surface before jumping up the length of a dock beam, gracefully landing upon its surface.*

She might attack again. *He was preparing to use an evasive Quick Attack next turn...* "Not bad. Not bad at all," *He stated, twirling his needle at his side.* "Any more tricks?" *His breaths were heavier- he couldn't really take hits like that and shrug them off.*
Denise
*And unfortunately for him... She wasn't slowing her roll, either. Although he may be fast, she was fast, too. That evasive Quick Attack usage was smart, but she was seeing him do it over and over again— and it wasn't like she was gullible, either.*

*He only managed to see her peak up her speed once, but her? She was feeling out the waters, getting a good idea of how much and often he was using it. And eventually, by now? She was more than prepared to bring down the hurt on him...* "...You're about to get *Stomped.*" *And then, she shot forward, her speed just as blinding as before, and then she stood in front of the Rattata, waiting to see if there was an instinctual reaction—*

*Of course, she was travelling at the speed of a bullet-train herself, considering she would net the use of* ***Accelerock*** *Herself so that she could not only get him to react at a moment's notice, but to also get a good idea of what he was looking for from an opponent when he was to react- Was it how fast they were? What he saw? Would him not seeing her do anything when she was in practical breathing distance not be enough-?*

*Who knew?*
Paul
*What was Reaper looking for? Well, mostly his own opportunity to act. There was a hasty, messy, brutal improvisation to how he fought, forgoing all expectations and battle plans formulated beforehand in favor of addressing situations as they arose.* 

*His reaction was a little less instinctual and a little more intentional. He was aware she had one of those fast moves, although whether his Quick Attack was enough to challenge it was up for debate.* Guh. I hate this. *He relished having an absurdly fast card to play over his foes. This felt debilitating. Like he was short a move, almost.*

*Still, as she stopped before him, she may have noticed his own `Quick Attack` go off, the rat dragging himself back down the pole and towards the water- kicking off the ocean surface and taking a jagged path beneath the dock before hopping straight up to the underside of a floorboard. He suspended himself from the wood with a burrowing of his needle and hanging upside down, looking through the cracks above.* Look for me above, look for me above... *He was hoping she'd look for him to resurface- if she kept her eyes away from the ground, he could strike through with something like a Super Fang...*