[Meta thread] Iron's PokeRole Adventure: The Skull Ruins

[Dragonstrike]

And unlike Shiva and Ventus, Nathan has something that is probably going to be a really good deterrent for the rowdy dog:

Hydro Pump. Boosted by a Mystic Water. Failing that, a couple Bubble Beams would still do the trick. The starfish will have no problems in a mechanical sense with KOing Houndour in a single round if it must.

Starmie is Nathan's safety factor for the Houndour, and the metaphorical leash. He's going to make it very clear to Houndour that Starmie is there simply for damage control, and that he doesn't want to have to order it to douse the doggie's flames if it can be avoided. In fact, he's not even going to have Starmie present at all if he feels the situation doesn't require the tight leash, which should help with establishing just a little bit of trust.

And when it's no longer necessary to have that leash, Houndour is likely to be a really loyal companion. A pack bond.

And Nathan's going to stress that Shiva and Ventus are part of that 'pack,' too, which should hopefully alleviate most of the issues with it given enough time.