Budsquire is a Grass-element DPS found in the Breezy Plains, and it is the only Aniimo in its family that can still change shape. At level 27 it splits into two completely different creatures, and the conditions for each one are unrelated, so the path you prepare for is the path you get.
Quick answer: Raise a Budsquire to level 27, then commit to one branch — beat a Thornblade with a Budsquire-only party, or use a Faithful Budsquire after completing Journey: Flowers and Thorns.
The Budsquire evolution line branches, it does not chain
Budsquire evolves into either Thornblade or Melloblum. These are parallel options from the same stage-1 creature, not two steps of one chain, so a Budsquire that becomes Thornblade can never become Melloblum later, and the reverse is equally true. If you want both in your Aniilog, you need two Budsquires and two separate sets of materials.
Neither result evolves again. Thornblade and Melloblum are both stage 3, and no further evolution exists for them.
Where to catch Budsquire
Budsquire lives in two Breezy Plains habitats, and both are reachable early.
- Sea of Flowers
- Rosetower Woods
Because one Budsquire only takes one branch, catch a spare before you start levelling. Budsquire is a melee Grass attacker with the Sword Dance trait, which stacks from skill use and makes its next basic attacks hit far harder, so it is useful in the party while you work toward the requirements.
Thornblade evolution requirements
The Thornblade branch is the combat one. The in-game prompt frames it as defeating your ideal self alone, and the literal condition is exactly that.
- Aniimo level 27
- Defeat a Thornblade using a party that only has a Budsquire in it
- Sprout Stone x1
Thornblade can also be caught straight out of the wild in the same two areas. If you only want the creature and not the Aniilog evolution record, an Aniipod throw skips the whole requirement.
Melloblum evolution requirements
The Melloblum branch has nothing to do with fighting. It is gated behind a story unlock and a personality check, described in-game as a solitary journey along the Path of Growth.
- Complete Journey: Flowers and Thorns to unlock the branch
- Aniimo level 27
- Personality contains Faithful
- Sprout Stone x1
- Stamen of Cubbo’s Rose x1
The personality requirement is the one that catches people out. Check a Budsquire for Faithful before you invest levels in it, because a Budsquire without that personality cannot take this branch no matter how many materials you hold.
Melloblum itself also appears in the world once the branch is in play. It spawns deep in the thorn maze in Rosetower Woods after you learn the secret of its Dance of Blissful Bloom, and it respawns as you push the Flowers and Thorns quest forward in that area.
Thornblade vs Melloblum: stats and role
| Stat | Budsquire | Thornblade | Melloblum |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 82 | 96 | 95 |
| Attack | 107 | 121 | 113 |
| Magic Attack | 107 | 121 | 113 |
| Defense | 59 | 74 | 70 |
| Magic Defense | 59 | 73 | 70 |
| Break | 43 | 53 | 91 |
| EP Regen | 78 | 92 | 78 |
Thornblade keeps the DPS role and pushes it harder, with the best attack, defense and EP regeneration in the family. It is a melee fighter built around Thorny Defense, a stance that cuts incoming damage by 20% and counters attackers, with a 30% crit rate boost for 15 seconds if you time the cast against an incoming hit.
Melloblum switches to the support role and nearly doubles Budsquire’s Break value. Its trait, Phantom Opening, builds Rose Mark stacks whenever a party member lands basic attack damage, up to ten stacks, and each stack shaves 3 off Melloblum’s EP costs. That makes it cheap to keep its team buffs running in a party that attacks often.
Thornblade skills
| Skill | Element | EP | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elegant Waltz | Grass | 0 | 172 |
| Thorny Defense | Grass | 20 | 75 |
| Thorny Impact | Grass | 20 | 57 |
| Thorny Rain | Grass | 10 | 30 |
| ATK | Grass | 0 | 6 |
Elegant Waltz is the innate finisher, a repeated stab sequence that carries by far the highest power in the family. Thorny Impact is the opener, a thrust that adds 15% crit rate for 15 seconds on hit, and Thorny Rain chains up to three times in a row for quick follow-up damage.
Melloblum skills
| Skill | Element | EP | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blasting Roses | Grass | 20 | 40 |
| Healing Rose | Grass | 20 | 40 |
| Thorny Blessing | Grass | 30 | 25 |
| Rose Garden | Grass | 0 | — |
| ATK | Grass | 0 | 6 |
Rose Garden deals no damage at all. It drops a magic circle under Melloblum that gives allies inside it 70% extra Grass crit damage for 30 seconds, which feeds directly into Thorny Blessing. That team buff makes Grass critical hits spawn thorns under the target, triggering up to once every half second. Healing Rose applies a Rose Mark that blooms after the target takes three critical hits, healing nearby allies for 5% of Melloblum’s HP, and Blasting Roses is the tracking attack, with 35% bonus crit rate baked in.
Alternate forms in the Budsquire family
Several family members have variant forms with their own elements and spawn rules. Only one of them evolves: Budsquire (Towerwood Form) becomes Thornblade under the same conditions as the standard form, producing Thornblade (Towerwood Form). The rest are catch-only.
| Form | Elements | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
 Budsquire (Towerwood Form) | Grass | Rosetower Woods |
 Thornblade (Towerwood Form) | Grass | Rosetower Woods |
 Thornblade (Thunderstorm) | Grass, Electric | Sea of Flowers |
 Thornblade (Prismana) | Grass, Water | Sea of Flowers |
 Melloblum (Prismana) | Grass, Holy | Season 1 Keepsakes |
The variants also carry skills the base creatures never learn. Lightning Impact, an Electric thrust that grants 15% crit rate for 15 seconds, belongs only to Thornblade (Thunderstorm). Aqua Defense, the Water counter-stance, belongs only to Thornblade (Prismana). Sparkling Rose, which clears the team’s negative effects and fires a Light element rose at the target, belongs only to Melloblum (Prismana).
How to confirm the evolution went through
A successful evolution moves the Aniimo from Lumin stage to Nova stage and fills a new Aniilog slot — No. 34 for Thornblade, No. 35 for Melloblum. The creature also grows from 0.7m to 1.6m, and its skill list changes: Thornblade gains Elegant Waltz and Thorny Rain, while Melloblum drops the melee kit entirely for Rose Garden, Thorny Blessing, Healing Rose and Blasting Roses.
If the evolution option is still greyed out, the blocking condition is one of the listed requirements rather than anything hidden. For Thornblade that is usually the party check, since the kill only counts when the Budsquire you are evolving is alone in the roster. For Melloblum it is either the Faithful personality or the Journey: Flowers and Thorns completion that unlocks the branch in the first place.
