Prologue - Start
"I asked you what your name was, young lady!" he shouted, shining the torch into her face.
"And I told you, my name is Cadence!" she shouted back. Her black hair was shoved under a hat right now; there was nothing worse than bed hair, and she had slept at her friend's.
"Where are you from?" he asked, all but pushing her with every word. She couldn't see much with the bright light flashing in her eyes, but she could make out that he wasn't wearing a police hat.
"I'm from Twinleaf Town, just over the ridge," she replied, not rising to his arrogance. He switched the torch off, and the streetlight once again lit Cadence's view. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, "You're not a policeman at all. What's the big idea, shoving a torch in my face!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to his face.
"I never said I was a policeman!" he shouted, and she recognised the face almost instantly.
"Mr. Berry? What are you doing here?" she asked. The burly man was Frederick Berry, a friend of her mother's, and he was widely renowned as the "Berry Master". Although he completely detested the name, it was something he had to come to terms with, running a small Berry shipping company throughout the whole of Sinnoh.
"I'm here to see your mother about you, actually," he let his grip on her go. "What are you doing out so late at night anyway?"
"I just came from Frankie's," she said, matter-of-factly. "He lives over in Sandgem."
"I suppose we'd better get you back home quickly then," the old man said, looking down, "You'll catch your death in that short skirt." She sighed, pulling it down slightly. Him and his prissy granddaughter always knew exactly how to put her clothing down.
"How's Valerie?" she asked, as they walked further up, despite Twinleaf Town, Cadence's hometown, being further down. She had learned the hard way not to try and go into the tall grass without her own Pokémon. It wasn't that Pokémon didn't venture out of the fields, but most preferred it in there.
"She's fine," he said, smiling, "She's not long turned thirteen either. I expect the two of you will probably become Contest Rivals in a short time. Of course, we live just outside Hearthome City, so she'll probably have a head start."
"I bet she will," Cadence grinned, trying to hide her sarcasm. They came to a stop.
"Alright," Frederick said, "I'll jump down there first, then I'll help you down. I'm not that old you know!" He shouted, seeing the girl snigger.
"Okay then, you get down there first," she smiled. Watching the old man struggle almost made her smile, before she remembered her manners. She jumped down just before he had landed. "Shit!" she shouted as she realised it was a bigger drop than she had anticipated. She fell to the floor and hit her head.
Everything went black.