Budsquire is the family’s sole shape-changing member, serving as a Grass-element DPS in the Breezy Plains. Reaching level 27 forces a choice between two unrelated creatures, and the branch you set up is locked in permanently.
Quick answer: Catch a Budsquire in the Sea of Flowers or Rosetower Woods, raise it to level 27, then commit to one branch — Thornblade needs a solo-Budsquire kill, Melloblum needs the Faithful personality.
Catching Budsquire in Breezy Plains
Budsquire spawns in two habitats, both inside the Breezy Plains region. The Sea of Flowers is the gentler option, while Rosetower Woods is tuned for Lv. 44–51 and hosts higher-level packs.
The captured Budsquire lands in your Aniimo menu with its own CP, stat sheet and upgrade options. Note that the level it joins at can come in under the level it was roaming at in the field.
One Budsquire only gets one branch
Thornblade and Melloblum are separate outcomes of the same Lumin-stage creature rather than consecutive evolutions. Once Budsquire becomes Thornblade, Melloblum is no longer possible, and the opposite is also true. Completing both Aniilog entries therefore requires two Budsquires and two material sets.
Neither result evolves again — both sit at the Nova stage as the end of the line.
Catch a spare Budsquire before you start pouring levels into one. It is a competent melee Grass attacker in the meantime thanks to Sword Dance, which stacks up to four times from skill use and makes each basic attack hit for 180% extra damage.
Thornblade evolution requirements
The Thornblade branch is the combat one, and the in-game framing about defeating your ideal self is literal.
- Aniimo level 27
- Defeat a Thornblade with a roster that contains only a Budsquire
- Sprout Stone x3
Do not capture the Thornblade. The requirement is a defeat, so throwing an Aniipod at it cancels the credit.
For the creature alone, without adding its evolution entry to the Aniilog, capture Thornblade in either of those two locations. Throwing an Aniipod bypasses the whole requirement.
Melloblum evolution requirements
Melloblum’s route is unrelated to combat. Unlocking it requires a story progression point plus a personality check, presented in-game as a solitary walk on the Path of Growth.
- Complete Journey: Flowers and Thorns to unlock the branch
- Aniimo level 27
- Personality contains Faithful
- Sprout Stone x3
- Stamen of Cubbo’s Rose x1
Confirm that a Budsquire has Faithful before leveling it. No amount of held materials lets one with a different personality use this branch.
After the branch goes live, Melloblum can also be encountered in the world. Once the secret behind its Dance of Blissful Bloom is revealed, it appears deep within Rosetower Woods’ thorn maze, then returns as you advance the Flowers and Thorns quest through that area.
Budsquire family base stats and roles
| Stat | Budsquire | Thornblade | Melloblum |
|---|---|---|---|
 HP | 82 | 96 | 95 |
 Attack | 107 | 121 | 113 |
| Defense | 59 | 74 | 70 |
 Magic defense | 59 | 73 | 70 |
 Break | 43 | 53 | 91 |
| EP regen | 78 | 92 | 78 |
Thornblade stays focused on DPS and intensifies that role, with the family’s top attack, defense, and EP regeneration. Its close-range kit uses Thorny Defense, which reduces damage received by 20% and strikes back at attackers; timing the stance for an incoming hit adds 30% crit rate for 15 seconds.
Melloblum switches to support 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. In a team that attacks often, its buffs stay running for almost nothing.
Thornblade and Melloblum skills
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 |
The innate finisher is Elegant Waltz, a multi-stab sequence with the family’s highest power by a wide margin. Start with Thorny Impact, whose thrust grants 15% crit rate for 15 seconds when it connects, then use Thorny Rain for up to three chained follow-up hits.
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 grants allies inside 70% extra Grass crit damage for 30 seconds, which feeds straight into Thorny Blessing — that 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.
Budsquire family alternate forms
Some members of the family have alternate forms with different elements and spawn conditions. Budsquire (Towerwood Form) is the only alternate that evolves; using the standard form’s requirements turns it into Thornblade (Towerwood Form). Every other variant must be caught.
| 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 |
Towerwood Budsquires are scattered across Rosetower Woods and appear at any time of day and in any weather, so there is no window to wait for. The variants also carry skills the base creatures never learn. Lightning Impact, an Electric thrust granting 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).
Confirming the evolution worked
When the solo-Budsquire kill registers, a pop-up appears on the left side of the screen reading “a remarkable change is about to happen.” That is the cue that the branch has unlocked and the evolution option is ready.
When the evolution succeeds, the Aniimo advances from Lumin to Nova and adds an Aniilog entry: No. 34 for Thornblade, No. 35 for Melloblum. Its height changes from 0.7m to 1.6m as well. Thornblade’s new skills are Elegant Waltz and Thorny Rain; Melloblum abandons the melee kit and instead gains Rose Garden, Thorny Blessing, Healing Rose and Blasting Roses.
A greyed-out evolution option means one of the stated requirements is incomplete; there is no secret blocker. Thornblade most often fails the roster test, because its kill registers only when the Budsquire being evolved is the sole party member. Melloblum requires either the Faithful personality or completion of Journey: Flowers and Thorns, which unlocks that branch.
