Ash looked around him. There was a large dark castle in front of him. He curiously walked up to it. When he walked in he found that it was like a maze. Strangely enough, he was able to find his way around. When he reached the center there was darkness, and then two red eyes appeared.

Ash woke up with a start. He looked around and saw Pikachu sleeping beside him. He smiled and patted the Pokémon, careful not to wake him up. He sat up and looked around. Nurse Joy and Chansey were probably asleep, or treating Pokémon, because they weren't at the front desk. His Pokémon were all asleep and so was Raichu.

He smile faded as he looked out the window again. He sighed and got up, walking over to the window and looking out into the darkness. That was a strange dream. He looked at the windowsill and thought. Maybe he should contact Ho-oh, this was a dangerous situation. He started to concentrate when he saw a huge figure in the sky. He shook his head and took a closer look. It was Ho-oh!

Even in the darkness Ash could see it's rainbow coloured wings surrounded by a strange goldish glow. He smiled and ran towards the Pokémon Center door. He ran out and skidded to a stop at the edge of the beach.

Ho-oh glided down and landed in front of Ash. It bowed it's head. "Good to see you again Ash"

"Right back at ya" Ash said as he walked down and patted the giant birds beak. He noticed something glimmer by Ho-oh's talon. "What's that?"

Ho-oh lifted it's talon and showed Ash what it was carrying. It was a sword, one that looked like it was very old, but still very well made and looked had a red jewel on the hilt of it. It held the sword in front of Ash, who took it. "Your going to need this" Ash looked up from the sword at Ho-oh. "What do you mean?"

"The reason the world is covered in darkness is because the Dark Legendaries have returned. Centuries ago, there was a war, now forgotten by all humans and Pokémon, all except the legendaries. The Dark Legendaries craved power so much they made an attempt to take over the world. But the normal legendaries, myself and the others, banished them to another realm by combining our powers. A portal opened and they were sucked in. When it closed up behind them, this sword was in the portals place. I have discovered that it is the only way to defeat the Dark Legendary leader is if it is slain by this sword. But this sword must be given to the right person. I have reasons to believe that you are that person, but I can't be sure. To get rid of this darkness, the leader has to be defeated, but it's also a Ho-oh. Right now their HQ is at Red Rock Isle" Ho-oh jerked it's head up and saw Nurse Joy in the Pokémon Center. "I better find a hiding spot for now, away from the Pokémon Center. There is a cave up the mountain a little, I'll be up there most of the time" And with that Ho-oh spread it's wings and took off.

Ash watched Ho-oh leave and then looked at the sword. He walked into the Pokémon Center and found Pikachu was now awake. He sat beside his friend and placed the sword on his lap. That castle in his dream...it must have been the Dark Legendaries HQ.

Rick walked over to him. "Um, what the heck are you doing with a sword?"

"Ho-oh gave it to me" Ash explained the whole thing about the Dark Legendaries. He looked outside. "I'm gonna tell Ho-oh to call the other Legendary birds"

Rick looked up at him, "Why?"

"Because we attack the castle at Red Rock Isle the next time the clock reaches 12 something" Ash said.

"Red Rock Isle? Castle?" Rick asked.

"Just trust me" Ash said and closed his eyes. "Ho-oh, call Lugia, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, we attack the Dark Legendaries in three hours" There was no reply but a few moments later they saw Ho-oh flying quite low to the Pokémon Center and heading towards the Orange Islands.

Nurse Joy came running out. "What was that?!"

"Uh....A Golbat?" Ash said looking at Rick for help.

"A Golbat?" Nurse Joy said.

"Ya" Rick said. "And it was a big one"

Nurse Joy looked from one to the other and shrugged. She yawned and headed around back.

At around 10pm/am, Ho-oh landed on the beach again, accompanied by a normal Lugia. Ash grabbed the sword and his stuff and ran out, followed by Rick, who was tripping over his untied shoelaces. They knew Nurse Joy was suspicious so they wanted to come and go as fast as they could. Ash jumped onto Ho-oh's back while Rick jumped onto Lugia's. The two Pokémon took off at high speed to get away from the Pokémon Center, both of their riders clinging on for dear life.

After they were high in the air they flew towards the Whirl Islands, Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno joining them as they flew quietly over the sea. They reached Blue Rock Isle and Ho-oh landed. The whole place was deserted since the Dark Legendaries arrived. Ash got off and looked around. The whole place was destroyed, buildings in ruins, land burnt and blasted, leaving nothing but a bare wasteland. Ash looked back and saw Lugia land a little more roughly than Ho-oh, causing Rick to fall off. He shook his head, "Come on, we gotta decide what we're gonna do, we can't just rush in there"

They spent the next hour or so planning their battle strategies and it was decided that Ash, Rick and Ho-oh would look for the leader while the others fought off the other Dark Legendaries.

It was now 11:45pm/am. They flying Pokémon allowed Ash and Rick to climb on before they headed for Red Rock Isle.

Ash gripped the sword tightly by the hilt and sighed. "Well, here we go" He said as the Pokémon swooped down towards Red Rock Isle that lay below.