Thornblade, the sword-wielding final stage of the Budsquire line, is a melee Grass DPS that rushes in, builds a buff, then spends it through basic attacks. The Aniilog lists it at No. 34, and its home is the Sea of Flowers in Breezy Plains. You can obtain one by catching it in the wild, evolving a Budsquire, or changing a variant back to its basic appearance.
Quick answer: Catch a wild Thornblade in the Sea of Flowers, or evolve a Level 27 Budsquire after it defeats any Thornblade while alone in your party.
Catch the basic Thornblade in the Sea of Flowers
The first Thornblade you can encounter is rooted in the ground beside a chest in the Sea of Flowers, with three Budsquires on guard. It can appear at either of two spots in the area; weather and time of day determine which location is active. If neither spot is occupied, you may simply be checking at the wrong time. Sunny conditions are generally the safest bet for finding the basic form.
A wild Thornblade has a 25% base catch chance. Landing a BREAK or attacking from behind boosts that chance by 1.5. Since it sleeps at night, darkness offers the easiest opening for a backstab. A successful capture unlocks its Aniilog entry and, the first time you record this form, grants 100 Research Points and 300 Safaris.
If you accidentally defeat it before catching it, fast-travel away, then advance the time to make it reappear. Time-of-day control becomes available through the Ceremony Preparations main quest.
Sparkling and Umbral odds
- In the wild, the Sparkling Thornblade chance is 1 in 20,000.
- Capturing a Sparkling result is certain when you use a Sparkling Cube.
- Use Sparkling Sigils to change a Thornblade already in your collection.
- An Umbral roll has a 1 in 3,000 chance, comes with Perfect Innate Potential, and its appearance vanishes if you evolve or transform it.
The Custom Egg Box calls the item a “Shining Thornblade Egg,” but that name is a translation error. Hatching it produces a Perfect Potential Thornblade rather than a Sparkling one.
Get the Thunderstorm Form during rain
A rarer variant, the Thunderstorm Form, can be found in the same region when the weather differs. It appears only in rainy or thunderstorm conditions; just one can be present at once, and a defeat or capture prevents another spawn for that weather cycle. Capturing it earns the Pale Thorn, proof that you defeated the Thunderstorm Thornblade.
Evolve a Budsquire into Thornblade
Budsquire splits into two evolutions at Level 27, and Thornblade is one of them. To unlock the path, you must defeat a Thornblade using a party that holds nothing but a single Budsquire. Only that specific Budsquire earns the evolution; it does not permanently open the branch for every Budsquire you own. Evolving also costs Sprout Stone x3, which drops from the Alpha Leafy.
The lone Towerwood Thornblade in the Rosetower Woods Maze of Thorns, at coordinates 0561, 0745, makes the cleanest target. It always stands by itself, so you avoid the Budsquire followers that swarm around most other Thornblades.
Reach the guarded Thornblade in Rosetower Wood
Thornblade also appears as a scripted patrol in Rosetower Wood, standing over a Crying Budsquire as part of the Journey: Flowers and Thorns quest. Walking up to the Budsquire only produces a prompt you cannot read until you twine with an Aniimo from the Budsquire family. Clearing this area sets up the fight against the First Lethal Thorn.
Convert a variant Thornblade to the basic form
If you own a regional or alternate Thornblade — Towerwood, Thunderstorm, or Prismana — you can turn it back into the basic look with a Morph Orb, as long as a Basic Form Thornblade is already registered in your Aniilog.
In the Aniimo Management box, open the variant’s entry and select the exclamation-mark tab, third from the top of the context menu. Choose Change Form, then confirm the prompt to apply it immediately. Each Morph Orb costs 300 Glimmer at the Glimmer Shop, and you can buy at most 10 weekly. Find them in the pause menu at Shop → Items → Glimmer.
Thornblade stats and profile
| Stat | Value | Stat | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
 HP | 96 | M.DEF | 73 |
 ATK | 121 | BREAK | 53 |
| P.DEF | 74 | REGEN | 92 |
| M.ATK | 121 | Total | 509 |
A Grass-type melee fighter, Thornblade focuses almost all its power on 121 ATK. It is 1.6m tall and weighs 6kg; Budsquire evolves into it, while Melloblum occupies the other branch of their shared family. With just 53 BREAK, Thornblade cannot create stagger windows by itself and needs a dedicated Break partner. It has four forms: Basic, Thunderstorm, Prismana, and Towerwood.
For Homeland abilities, Thornblade has Artisanship Lv. 3 and Grass Lv. 3. Leave it outside your active party to plant seeds, collect resources, or make handcrafted goods.
Traits
Sword Dance is the engine behind Thornblade’s kit. Each skill adds a stack, up to a limit of four, and stacks last 15 seconds; a basic attack consumes one to deal 180% extra damage. Build stacks with skills and cash them in with basic attacks—unused stacks that time out cost you damage. Thorny Heart also provides a flat 12% Grass damage bonus, affecting nearly every ability in a standard setup.
Skills, power, and EP costs
| Skill | Element | Power | EP |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATK (basic) |  Grass | 6 | 0 |
| Thorny Defense | Grass | 75 | 20 |
| Thorny Impact | Grass | 57 | 20 |
| Thorny Rain | Grass | 30 | 10 |
| Aqua Defense |  Water | 75 | 20 |
| Lightning Impact |  Electric | 57 | 20 |
| Elegant Waltz | Grass | 172 | 0 |
The cooldowns are 1 second for Thorny Impact and Thorny Rain, 6 for Thorny Defense, 8 for the Elegant Waltz ultimate, and 15 for Aqua Defense. Hitting with Thorny Impact, a dash, grants +15% Crit Rate for 15 seconds; Lightning Impact performs the same move as an Electric skill. Thorny Defense puts Thornblade in a counter stance, reducing incoming damage by 20% and striking back when hit. If an attack lands precisely as you activate it, the move grants an extra 30% Crit Rate. Two abilities require a form instead of a level: Aqua Defense is exclusive to Prismana Form, while Thunderstorm Form unlocks Lightning Impact.
Best Thornblade build and team
Equip Thorny Defense and Thorny Impact, then set Elegant Waltz as the ultimate. These skills raise Crit Rate and build Sword Dance stacks, forming the core of the setup. They also help cover Thornblade’s main drawback: fighting at close range with just 74 P.DEF. For a held item, choose Ferocious Fang. Its core effect adds 0.7 ATK per level, and the Damage Amp main stat scales by rarity: +3% for Rare, +5% for Epic, and +10% for Legendary.
Prioritise ATK, followed by REGEN, BREAK, HP, and then both defenses. REGEN is important because each cast in the rotation uses 20 EP; without enough, the sequence stalls. Aim for an ENTP personality. Getting the full match is improbable, so focus on E or N for their ATK, Break, and Crit Rate bonuses.
| Aniimo | Role | Key contribution |
|---|---|---|
 Thornblade | DPS | Crit damage, Sword Dance |
 Melloblum | Support | Rose Garden crit damage |
 Leafy | Regen | Grass damage, HP and EP |
 Tuckin | Break | Prank Master break damage |
Melloblum is the partner the game recommends, with the remaining team slots used to extend the crit window. If Tuckin isn’t available, Shrubclaw can take its place in the Break slot and contribute extra damage with Verdant Beam and Leaf Slash.
Skill rotation
When facing an enemy DPS, start with Thorny Defense or Aqua Defense rather than dashing in. Their 20% damage reduction and counter make the enemy’s attack your chance to strike.
Research rewards and field notes
Three field notes attach to Thornblade, each worth 50 Research Points:
- Sword of Protection — see Thornblade battle enemies to defend Budsquires.
- Prismana Form — encounter a Prismana Form Thornblade.
- Unparalleled Swordsmanship — activate Thorny Defense as a hit lands.
In sequence, the Research levels require 110, 90, 160, and 220 Research Points; each opens an accessory slot. Releasing Thornblade yields two Growth Flowers, and filing a report earns 100 Credits. Whichever way you acquire it, stick to the same combat rhythm: use skills when they come off cooldown, maintain four Sword Dance stacks, and land basic attacks within the 15-second limit. With the timing down, its low BREAK and weak defenses are no longer a problem.
