Pokemon decks (as of now) fall into one of 4 categories: Haymaker Variants,
Beatdown, Stall, and Lockdown.  In this article, I'm going to cover one of
the lesser-played types of deck - the total lockdown deck.
    Total lockdown is precisely what it sounds like.  One way or another, you
deny something vital to your opponent's deck.  It could be evolutions,
pokemon powers, energy, or trainers.  However, these decks do require a lot
of planning and strategy compared to most decks, and are much harder to play,
as they rely on the opponent's deck just as much as they rely on themselves. 
I'll cover the 4 major types of total lockdown and the strategies behind
them, and perhaps a few cards from the upcoming Gym sets that will give these
decks a kick in the right direction.

    AeroMew

    True, AeroMew is an archetype, but it's really died out due to the huge
popularity of Scyther.  AeroMew decks rely on two particular pokemon,
Aerodactyl and Promo (Fossil) Mew.  Both of these pokemon are rather weak,
making this deck useless if you don't open well.  Often this deck includes
psychic haymaker pokemon like MP or NP Mewtwo and Jynx, while sometimes
including Electabuzz or Magmar (F) as well.  The strategy requires that one
get Aerodactyl out ASAP to keep the opponent from evolving, then devolve any
evolved pokemon with Mew, then use Hay pokemon to beat down their weak
basics.  This deck fares well against the average evolving deck, but fares
poorly against the all too common Haymaker variants and the rare Muk lockdown
decks.  AeroMew gets Erica's Dratini from Gym, a little squirt whose pokemon
power fits perfectly in a deck like this.  However, AeroMew will still be
played only in evolution-intensive environments by brave players who aren't
afraid to face the all too common Haymaker Variants.

    Muk Lockdown

    Here's another lockdown type brought in by Fossil.  Muk's Pokemon Power,
Toxic Gas, is particularly useful against Raindance, Damage Swap, and any
other deck reliant on pokemon powers.  Muk is also a reliable pokemon if his
power finds no use against your opponent's deck, as poison is always a good
ailment.  Muk finds itself combo'd with Haymaker pokemon as well as more
developement-intensive pokemon.  Keep at least 1 Muk on the bench, to prevent
an end to his all-encompassing effects.  Muk is, however, losing popularity
due to a large number of MP Mewtwo, which totally shred Muk to pieces.  Gym
will bring a whole new dimension to Muk's use with the large number of good
pokemon with good pokemon powers (if you don't believe me, go look at the
spoilers for yourself), and at least one pokemon power that could use a good
shutting-off.  Yes, Muk combos well with Misty's Gyarados, a combination that
may rise as a new archetype in the future.

    HayFever

    Until April 24, 2000, the only ways to prevent your opponent from using
trainers was to use Fossil Psyduck's Headache or to Lass your opponent (and
yourself) to death.  With the introduction of Rocket, trainer denial stopped
being a dream and became reality.  Dark Vileplume became the center of this
form of lockdown, weak in HP, and a Stage 2, and being countered in many
sorts of decks.  The Stage 2 issue is dealt with using Pokemon Breeders, and
the lack of trainers is countered by using pokemon with special attacks, such
as Dark Golduck or Kangaskahn, and using heavy attacking pokemon.  With a
good opening, there is really no easy way to take out these decks, as you
can't Gust, Switch, Energy Removal, Computer Search, Oak, etc.  These decks
will find all sorts of great additions in Gym, such as Erica's Exeggcutor (an
Oak wannabe), Lt. Surge's Eevee (a wannabe TR Sneak Attack), as well as a
whole plethora of other trainer-type attacks.

    Energy Denial

    Although this type of deck DOES qualify as a total lockdown deck, it has
lost its effectiveness with the extreme popularity of Haymaker Variants and
Raindance.  This deck type got its start with Base Set's Dragonair and
Poliwrath.  Dragonair is still around, but Poliwrath has sort of faded out,
since the introduction of Golduck (F) and Dk. Vaporeon.  These decks pack a
ton of ER and SER and are almost all water type.  These decks are plagued
with pathetic basics (like Poliwag, Dratini, Eevee, or Psyduck) and their
attacks are often very energy-intensive, yet very weak.  These decks do
poorly against low-energy requirement decks like Haymaker Variants and energy
manipulation decks like Raindance.  Gym does some good for these decks, with
a good deal more energy-removing pokemon, and Misty's Tentacool, an odd
little pokemon that, once getting the coinflip, will make other energy
removals more permanent.  However, the new No Energy Removal Stadium really
sets these decks back a LOT, and may bring about the end of these decks.

    Well, these decks are all very situational, as they rely much upon your
opponent's deck as well as your own, but can be great if played in the right
environment and by the right player.  These decks are somewhat slower than
the average deck, and one shouldn't expect to play them like one plays
Raindance, Haymaker, or even Damage Swap.  Although rare in today's
environent, Total Lockdown decks may see more play once the Gym expansions
are released. 

                                                    -FossilMagikarp
                                        email: Edestus360@aol.com