And now for the boring disclaimer: I do not, repeat not, own Pokemon or Samurai Jack.

"To protect the world from devastation--"

"That's Jessie!" exclaimed Ash. "Jessie?" Samurai Jack pondered in confusion.

"No, no, you're saying it wrong," interrupted another voice, "*AHEM* To infect the world with--"

"CUT! CUT! You're saying it terribly wrong!"

"Says who?!"

"ME!"

"Eat fist!"

"Oh yeah?!" Suddenly--

"WOBB-UFFET!" A blue-coloured Pokemon emerged from a nearby bush. "OI!" A Scratchcat Pokemon, Meowth, pushed the Wobbuffet away, revealing Jessie, James, Cassidy and Butch, ready for a huge punch-up. "Meowth! That's right!"

"ARRRRRRGGHH!!" Sammi, Wayne and John screamed. "ZOMBIES!"

"Who are you calling zombies?!" Jessie yelled.

"We're not zombies!" added James angrily.

"I thought you were, were, were--"

"Eliminated." Sammi finished Wayne's sentence.

"You thought so." Cassidy huffed. "Luckily our Pokemon were there to help us, or we would have been *gulp* finished."

"And now you're going to pay for your insolence!" Butch brandished a Rockeball. The other three followed suit.

"we'd better scram. Our Pokemon are exhausted from our previous bout!" Brock suggested. Ash nodded. "Cyndaquil!" Ash threw Cyndaquil's Pokeball on the ground. Out emerged a little Fire Mouse Pokemon with flames out its back. "Use your Smokescreen attack!"

"CYN-DA!" OUt of Cyndaquil's mouth billowed out streams of choking smog. The seven Rockets were caught unawares and began to choke and hack.

"All right." Ash and Jack gingerly clambered on Charizard's back, while Brock and Misty got on Pidgeot. The two huge Pokemon flew high above the cloud of smoke. "Wait a minute. We forgot Falkner and Bugsy!" Ash turned, to find Falkner on Bugsy's Beedrill, and Bugsy on his own Scyther, waving goodbye. Ash smiled, and let Charizard and Pidgeot lead the way to the Pokemon Center. Meanwhile, Ash pondered. It was time to meet up with Professor Oak for their monthly report.

"So? How was this month's progress?" Oak asked. They are all in the meeting room of the nearest Police HQ Office, including Officer Jenny. Misty almost had to put Brock in a straight jacket before he went all lovey-dovey in front of Officer Jenny again.

"We met Jack, which improved our success rates by quantum leaps and bounds," Ash reported with pride. "And about time, too. Aku has launched his most deadly weapon so far -- the Dark Swastikas, which have controlled several species of Pokemon so far, even humans."

"Yeah," said Brock. "We even met up with some old friends today." Oak looked shocked. "You WHAT?"

"Is there something wrong, Professor?" Misty asked. Oak wiped his sweaty brow.

"I haven't had time to tell you this: Jessie, James, Cassidy and Butch were supposed to have been Aberrated."

"Aber-what?"

"Aberration: the worst fate that awaits any unfortunate minions of Aku to step out of line. Some of our undercover agents had reported six months ago that Jessie and company were shut in Aku's prison for months, then sent to be 'Aberrated', never to be heard of since. It appears that by some mere chance they survived, but their activities remain unknown. Where did you last see them?"

"In the Horror Forest," said Jack.

"Hm." A frown creased across Professor Oak's forehead. "It seems that we need tighter surveillance on that creepy quartet. Well, that ends this month's report. Good luck, you four."

Meanwhile, the creepy quartet was away in the local confectionery store, replenishing their doughnut supply and planning their next move.

"I say we bust in on those three losers and teach 'em a lesson they'll never forget!" Butch suggested.

"No, no," James muttered. "I have a better idea."

"Huh?!" "What did you say, James?"

"Now that we've been exposed, we'd better try and get into the Boss' good books before we get sent to that awful chamber again." A glint of light shined in his eye.

"It's time we got ourselves some new Pokemon."

"We must be on our guard. Those seven cronies could strike any moment, even worse, all at the same time!" Brock said. The four were in a local sushi restaurant for lunch (Ash had suggested going to a hamburger joint, but was smashed on the head by Misty's mallet instead), while discussing their future plans.

"Meanwhile, we'd better stay around here. Those losers could be hanging near this area." Ash suggested.

"I agree." Misty chipped in. Samurai Jack just sipped at his green tea.

"Ash!" A female voice sounded from nearby. A familiar figure clad in a blue uniform rushed towards the gang.

"Oo, look it's Office-OW!" Brock grimaced in pain as Misty's left hand grabbed his ear. Her right hand was holding a pencil and making a small notch in her personal notebook. "Three hundred and twenty-seven..."

"What's wrong, Nurse Joy?" Ash asked.

"Four members of Team Rocket are raiding the Pokemon Center right now. All our Growlithe have been knocked out!"

"Really? How?"

"They've all fallen victim of the effects of Toxic!" Toxic, as Ash remembered, was one of the deadliest Poison moves in the Pokemon realm. Once hit, the victim receives more damage as time goes on, making it unable to fight.

Ash twisted his cap on. "Don't worry, Nurse Joy. We're on it! Come on, guys!" "Pika!" Upon his command, Brock, Jack, Pikachu and Misty (and Togepi) ran towards the center, which was surrounded by toxic fumes.

"Noctowl! Use your Whirlwind to blow away the smoke!" Released from its Pokeball, the Owl Pokemon used a powerful twister to blow away the smog and debris, revealing...

"Jessie and company! I should have known!" The four were clad in protective suits and gas masks, and were busily scooping Pokeballs into huge sacks.

"Drat!" Jessie tore off her mask. The rest followed suit. "We would have succeeded if it wasn't for you twerps!" She flung a Pokeball onto the floor. "Wobbuffet, go!" The blue Patient Pokemon was released from its Pokeball. "WOBBU-FFET!"

"YAAAAA!!" Samurai launched himself into the air, sword raised, ready for the kill. Big mistake.

"Wobbuffet, Counter!"

"Jack, look out!" Too late. Wobbuffet tensed, its black tail straightened, and it began to glow a strange aura. WHAM! As soon as the blade touched the blue Pokemon the force of the counter attack sent Jack flying straight into a tree.

"Ah ha ha ha ha!" Jessie cackled like a witch. But...

"KER-RASH!" "WOBBA!" "WHAT THE-"

"Good work, Onix!" Brock shouted. He had sent out Onix secretly and had ordered it to Dig right under Wobbuffet. The strategy worked; Wobbuffet crashed into what was left of a wall of the Pokemon Center.

"Grr, Wobbuffet return!" "Victreebel, attack!" "Primeape, go!"

The two male members of Team Rocket flung their Pokeballs on the floor. "TREEEEE!" "PRIMEAPE!"

"Wow, Victreebel's not even attacking James anymore." Ash thought.

"Victreebel, Giga Drain!" "TREEE!" The huge flytrap Pokemon launched a powerful draining attack that soon sent Onix screeching in pain. "Don't give up Onix! Screech attack!" Onix reared its head, and fired a sonic scream at Victreebel, making it cower in fear. "Primeape!" Butch ordered. "Seismic Toss!" The Pig Monkey Pokemon leapt at Onix, grabbed it, and flew into the air, only to return a few seconds later and fling Onix on the ground. "BOOOOM!"

"Oh no, Onix! Return!" Brock retreated Onix, then growled. "Argh, now I'm MAD! Geodude, attack now!"

"Go, Butterfree!" Ash shouted.

"Poliwhirl, now!" Misty yelled.

"GEO!" "FREEH!" "POLIWHIRL!"

"Mega Punch!" SMACK! BIFF! Victreebel and Primeape soon found themselves flying across the ground. SMASH!

"Victreebel! Vine Whip!" A long vine seared across to hit Geodude. Geodude responded by grabbing the vine, then spinning Victreebel around like a huge bolas, then releasing. Victreebel hit the floor with a hard bang.

"Primeape! Dynamicpunch!" "Poliwhirl! Bubblebeam!" As Primeape's fist glowed a dangerous white, Poliwhirl fired a barrage of bubbles at the Fighting Pokemon, making it reel in pain.

"All right Butterfree, finish them off with Psybeam!" Butterfree's eyes fired waves of energy that soon took care of the two opponent Pokemon.

The Rocket gang grimaced. "Are you ready to take on our NEW Pokemon?"

"We're ready to take whatever you losers can throw at us!"

"Okay, then, GOOOOOOOO!" The four released their four strongest Pokemon. "ARBOKING!" "THREEZING!" "VAMPIRAT!" "SLYPNO!"

"Arboking. The King Cobra Pokemon. This powerful snake Pokemon has the poison power of all the snakes combined in the known world. Enemies who fall foul of its vile venom die within a day."

"Threezing. The Atomic Pokemon. Formed by three Koffing fused together, this gas Pokemon is very dangerous because of the internal chemical reactions it witholds."

"Vampirat. The Fang Pokemon. The teeth of this evolved version of Raticate can cut through the hardest diamonds, even the bodies of Steel-type Pokemon. It is also equipped with well developed forelegs."

"Slypno. The Nightmare Pokemon. The crystal ball which it wields is its main centre of energy. Once destroyed, it cannot fight until it recreates another one."

Ash stared. Arboking was exactly like Arbok, except that it was deep purple in colour, had ferocious crimson eyes, four-inch fangs and a spiked tail like a mace. Threezing was a triangle made up of Koffing with frowning, angry faces and three skull-and-crossbone insignias. Vampirat had very long whiskers, mini-sized Golbat wings, furious black eyes and sharp claws, not to mention sharp, blade-like teeth. Slypno was like a Gengar-coloured Hypno, with a levitating crystal ball hovering over its left palm.

"Ready to lose?" Cassidy leered.

"You're the ones who will be losing!"

"We'll see about that! Arboking, Acid!" "Threezing, Smog!" "Vampirat, Hyper Fang!" "Slypno, Psywave!" "Fury Swipes attack!" a voice yelled. It was Meowth, who had just leapt from behind the quartet.

"Cyndaquil, Totodile, Chikorita, Bulbasaur!" Ash sent out another four of his fighters, which launched themselves at their foes upon being released.

Arboking reared its head, and fired a stream of dark, burning acid at Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil immediately used its Quick Attack, allowing it to dodge the acid with extreme swiftness, while tackling Arboking at the same time. Threezing was meanwhile belching thick clouds of poisonous fumes at Totodile, who responded with a fast and furious Water Gun, blowing away the gas and dousing Threezing as well. As Vampirat threw itself at Chikorita, the Leaf Pokemon used its Reflect technique, creating a psychic barrier which Vampirat crashed into. Bulbasaur meanwhile used its vines to constrict Meowth and throw it away, before it could unleash its Fury Swipes. Butterfree used a Confusion attack that collided with the Psywave, which exploded.

"You may have managed to dodge our attacks, but we haven't begun to fight yet!" Meowth snarled. Butch nodded and smiled.

"Our four enhanced Pokemon here are more than what those three losers have thrown at you. Firstly, since they are our own Pokemon, unlike those which those suckers had stolen from others, they retain their evolved powers. Secondly, we have been taking extreme care of them, having given them many power-ups and such, and lastly, their newly learnt techniques are sure to astound you, especially Slypno's.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Ash yelled.

"You'll see." Butch smirked.

"Bulbasaur! Chikorita! Butterfree! Use Whirlwind!" Butterfree immediately beat its wings at a furiously fast pace, while Bulbasaur billowed huge waves of air from its mouth. Chikorita's leaf began to spin at a ferociously sonic speed, and the gusts combined to become one huge tornado.

"Slypno, use Psychic and Barrage!" Slypno used its eyes to reverse the tornado so it changed direction, while it utulised its crystal ball to fire bombs of energy at the tornado. Soon, the tornado was one terrifying tempest, swarming with energy balls. "Everybody run!" Ash, Brock, Misty and their Pokemon dodged the creeping tempest, which exploded upon contact with a nearby park bench.

"You see? Slypno is the most powerful of them all, because it has the ability to use mental and physical attacks at the same time. Its crystal is the deadliest weapon, as you'll see." Butch grabbed twenty Pokeballs from their loot sack, then flung them at the floor. "Slypno, use your Mind Control!" As the white silhouettes materialised into Pokemon, the deadly Mind Control took place as Slypno's eyes glowed a mysteriously deep lavender. The materialised Pokemon looked exactly normal, except their eyes were angry and bloodshot.

"See? Slypno has the ability to control the minds of Pokemon, just like it did on Mandarin Island once. It still hasn't the power to control its opponents, but it is able to control Pokemon outside of the battle to help it on its own fight, while it doesn't even lift a muscle!"

"Now Slypno, show those losers what you can do!" "SLYP-NO!" As Slypno responded with a strange murmur, the twenty controlled Pokemon fired themselves at our heroes as if on springs.

"INCOMING!" shouted Ash. The trio (Jack was still out cold, remember?) dodged out of the way of the raging monsters, then sent out their remaining Pokemon. "If that's the way they wanna play, we'll let them have it!" said Ash.

"Everybody use Tackle!" yelled Cassidy. Slypno complied, and its mind-controlled army charged at our heroes.

"Onix, Tackle 'em back! Geodude, use Rollout!" The humongous Rock Snake Pokemon came fast and furious, crashing into the upcoming arsenal. As the angry army tried to get up, Geodude rolled into them, pummeling them onto the ground. "An opening!" shouted Ash. "Charizard, Cyndaquil, fire your Flamethrowers!" The two Fire-type Pokemon reared their heads and spewed out streams of crimson fire, only to be countered by the Ninetales and Rapidash. In anger, Charizard dove down, scooped up the Ninetales, and threw it into the surprised Rapidash. CRASH!

"Poliwhirl! Fire a Bubblebeam attack all over!" "Noctowl, use Confusion!" "Golbat, Supersonic!" The three Pokemon valiantly fired their attacks, but failed. The Slowbro and Mr. Mime had cast their own Reflect attacks, which completely blocked out the attacks. Slypno issued more commands through its crystal ball. Suddenly, the Reflect disappeared, and Slypno's mind- controlled toys fired their various techniques at our heroes.

"Omigosh! DUCK!" Ash yelled. Heracross dodged a Scyther's angry Fury Cutter, while Pidgeot swooped away in time to avoid a Golem's Rock Throw. Bulbasaur and Chikorita were having a hard time avoiding the furious Flamethrowers of the Rapidash, Ninetales and Houndoom. Charizard was trying to wrestle with a mad Machamp and hyped Hitmontop, while dodging the water jets from a savage Starmie and angry Azumarill. Poliwhirl and Staryu were shooting jets of water to counter the Magneton and Sunflora on their trail. Onix and Geodude fought a Exeggutor that shot out psychic waves at them. Butterfree battled with an Ariados, Primeape with a Clefable, and Cyndaquil, Totodile, Pineco and Golbat with their fully evolved counterparts. Even Psyduck was having a hard time countering the psychic auras of the Mr. Mime and Slowbro. Jack, however, had regained consciousness, and saw the mad melee.

"This senseless destruction must stop!"

With his mind set to his goal, Jack lunged forward onto the battlefield.

"YAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Look! Jack's back!" Ash exclaimed. The angry mob of mind-controlled monsters were startled by this sudden outburst, then changed their targets from the gang's Pokemon to Jack himself. The bear pit slugfest had begun. The seven humans and their Pokemon looked on in awe.

"HUHHHH!" Jack gritted his teeth as he hacked through the dome Mr. Mime had created. Eventually, the dome was weakened so much that, when Jack delivered his next blow, it smashed, brittle as glass. The controlled monsters were startled, then grimaced and threw themselves at Jack.

Jack's mind had gone back to his training. For years he had trained to obtain the holy sword that he held in his hand. He had travelled all over the world, fought against more experienced people, slowly mastering their arts, learned to use many different weapons, even battled people blindfolded.

There was no way he was going to let a bunch of mind-controlled droids defeat him.

"YAAAAAAAAAH!" Jack lunged. So did the Pokemon. Jack spun his sword swiftly to counter the psychic shots fired by the Exeggutor, Mr. Mime and Slowbro, while avoiding the fast and furious punches and kicks from Machamp and Hitmontop. Finally, he jabbed the Exeggutor in its chest, kicked the Slowbro on the groin, headbutted the Mr. Mime, and swung his sword fiercely at the Machamp and Hitmontop, making them reel away. Quickly, he leapt onto the crooning Crobat, and conked it on the head with his sheath. The Crobat, dizzy from Jack's whack, dove unto the ground, but not before Jack valiantly leapt off.

Upon landing, Jack was immediately set upon a furious Feraligatr, an angry Ariados, a cranky Clefable and a menacing Magneton. The Ariados fired a String Shot attack, and a string of sticky goo stuck to Jack's sword. Responding quickly, Jack swung his sword like a pair of nunchunks, and whacked the Magneton and Clefable with it. As for the Feraligatr, Jack jabbed it with the handle of his sword.

The Forretress came next, as it fired its deadly Spikes. Jack tugged on the Azumarill's tail, and used Azumarill as a bodyguard, so Azumarill took the damage instead of him. Then, he grabbed the Starmie and swung it back it Forretress. POW! Sunflora attempted to shoot a Solarbeam at him, but Jack's sword simply took in most of the damage, reflecting the rest back to Sunflora.

"Jack!" Brock suddenly yelled. "Aim for the crystal ball!" Jack stared. Slypno's crystal ball was in his view. He soon realised that the crystal ball was the thing controlling the Pokemon, but he didn't know whether his sword was strong enough to destroy it, as he avoided the Scyther's slashes. Just then, Jack heard Butch shout, "Okay you goons! Use Flamethrower!" The Ninetales, Houndoom, Typhlosion and Rapidash reared their heads.

Jack didn't so much as blink. He knew exactly what to do. The sword was lifted...

"UHHHHHH!" Jack threw the sword at Slypno with all his might like he did when he fought Aku. The sword hit home...

"KA-PRIAAAAAAANG!" With a sickening shatter the crystal orb was disintegrated. Butch was horrified.

"OH NO! Slypno, return!" Butch withdrew his remaining Pokemon. Now that Slypno's crystal ball was eliminated, it could no longer fight! And to make matters worse for Team Rocket, the mind-controlled Pokemon began to turn against them!

"Never mind!" shouted Jessie. "We will still defeat them! Arboking! Mass Glare, then use Mace Strike!" Arboking stared at some of the attackers, paralysing them, then knocked them over with its massive tail.

"Threezing! Use Smog, then Toxin Bomb!" Threezing's three faces belched out clouds of thick poisonous fumes, then fired huge bombs of sludge that soon took out some of the attackers.

"Vampirat! Scary Face, followed by Dark Strike!" Equipped with vampiric powers, the evil rat scared the dickens out of its opponents, then fired a stream of darkness that soon took care of them.

"HA! We defeated them, now we'll defeat you!"

"I don't think so!" Jack shouted, and fired himself at the three mutant monsters. Because of the strong stoking it took earlier on, Jack's sword hadn't yet lost its firepower, and it came slashing at the Darkemon.

"CHAAR-BOKING!!!" Arboking screeched as it came down, defeated.

"PIIIIRAT!" Vampirat, being slashed violently, crashed onto the ground.

"Threezing! Quick, use Destiny Bond!" James yelled.

"Oh, gosh! Jack, stop!" Unfortunately, as Ash issued his warning, it was too late...

*SLASH*

"THREE-ZING!"

"WHAT THE-!"

"RUUUUUUN!"

"?!"

"JAAAAACK!"

KAAAAAAABOOOOOOM!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Oh no! Will Samurai Jack fall foul of the effects of Destiny Bond? What will happen to him and our heroes? What about Team Rocket?... Stay tuned, for the next episode of Jack's Pokemon saga...

--Arcanine

Email: achioang@hotmail.com