>>54687514there are several elements that go into Houndoom
it's specifically a Doberman Pinscher, which look dark and are vicious dogs
it substitutes the cropped bat-like ears for horns, which conveys a culturally similar idea
there is nothing about its design which suggests Fire, not even the normal reddish-orange coloring of a Dobermann; you have to have the concept of a hellhound and thus *hellfire* to understand why it's a Fire type
along with the horns, it's lined with bones, even a skull amulet, to further emphasize the hell theme via the obvious association with death
then there's the arrow-tipped tail, which of course is another cultural symbol of devilry, but also the extreme thinness of it is a reference to the Dobermans' abnormally thin tails
lastly, we don't have any particular dog breeds we associate with "hellhounds"; it could have been a pitbull, a cane corso mastiff, a german shephard, plenty of other breeds---that they chose a doberman isn't particularly creatively bankrupt, as there is no standard, but their particular appearance is quite easy for the audience to pick up on the desired conveyed themes
in short, houndoom is an above average design for the series; it is not an animal + element, and although it is clearly just an animal, they did incorporate the intended concepts in a compelling way
