*ding ding!*
SATOSHI: Heh. Well, kudos to Spike and PokeLady fer settin' me straight. I
guess I went a little overboard. Still, it sure sounds like half the people
writing "Archtypes Should Be Banned" articles(half, not ALL) think that the
only way to beat them is to ban them.
Think for a second. What will most hard-core players think when they read
the many complaints about how these "cheap"(laugh) decks should be banned?
Well, they're gonna think, "hey, these decks must be good. I think I'll try
one out."
Please, we do not need special "no archtype" rules to defeat these
powerhouse decks. All you need is a simple metagame. Let's take a look at
the first of the "Big Bad Three."(i.e. Raindance)

First, Dependence On Trainers
-Breeder, Bill, Oak, Computer Search, etc., in other words, a fairly high
dependence.
Solution: Lass, duh.

Second, Weakness
-ELECTRIC, duh.
Solution: Base Electrode, Electabuzz, and plenty of PlusPowers *bbbzzz!
crackle! zzzap*

Thrid, Dependence On Certain Cards
-Blastoise, Breeder, Squirtle, and, to an extent, Professor Oak and/or Bill
Solution: Team Rocket Sneak Attack, Muk and, if you're deperate, Imposter
Professor Oak

Well, gee. I think we may have found a weakness to Raindance!!*gasp* LASS!!!
ROCKET SNEAK ATTACK!! BASE ELECTRODE!! ELECTABUZZ!! Are we seeing a trend
here? let's look at a typical Raindance killer, or a Rain-Smash deck.

12 Electric Energy
10 Grass Energy

4 Voltrob(rocket)
3 Electrode(base)
4 Electabuzz(base)
4 Grimer(fossil)
3 Muk(fossil)

4 Lass
4 PlusPower
3 Rocket Sneak attack
2 Imposter Professor Oak
4 Bill
2 Professor Oak
3 Imposter Professor Oak's Revenge
2 Computer Search

Now, that was wayyyy to easy. I know it's sort of situational, but I really
think IT WILL WORK. The only way to find out is to test it yourself.
Come on. I don't know about all the other Raindance players out there, but I
am pretty sick of people insisting that archtypes should be banned. It won't
happen. How many stores do you think will auctually agree to limiting their
customers? Not many. There is usually an entry fee to organized tournaments,
and I'll bet that the store owners wouldn't be too crazy about not letting
people play because of their deck type.
Tune In Next Time For How To Beat Haymaker. Good Night, All.
-Satoshi