Thornblade is the sword-carrying branch of the Budsquire line, and it plays exactly like it looks: a melee Grass attacker that wants to dash in, stack a buff, and cash it out on basic attacks. It is No. 34 in the Aniilog, it fills the DPS role, and it lives in the Sea of Flowers region of Breezy Plains.
Quick answer: Thornblade is a Grass DPS that evolves from Budsquire. The earliest one is burrowed beside a chest in the Sea of Flowers, guarded by three Budsquires.
Thornblade location in the Sea of Flowers
Most players first encounter the Thornblade in the Sea of Flowers, where it remains stationary rather than roaming. It is dug into the soil beside a chest, and three Budsquires stand close by. That area has two possible Thornblade spawn sites; its appearance depends on both the weather and the time of day. An empty flower patch therefore does not necessarily indicate the wrong location.
Base catch chance on a wild Thornblade is 25%, and both BREAK and backstabs multiply catch odds by 1.5. It sleeps at night, which makes a night approach the easiest way to line up a backstab. You will know the catch registered when the Aniilog entry opens, paying out 100 Research Points and 300 Safaris the first time you log the form.
If you kill it before capturing it, fast travel away and advance the time of day to respawn it. The time-of-day control unlocks during the Ceremony Preparations main quest.
Sparkling and Umbral odds
- Sparkling Thornblade rolls at 1 in 20,000 in the wild.
- A Sparkling Cube guarantees a Sparkling result on capture.
- Sparkling Sigils convert a Thornblade you already own.
- Umbral is a rarity roll at 1 in 3,000, carries Perfect Innate Potential, and loses the Umbral look after evolution or transformation.
The Custom Egg Box listing labelled “Shining Thornblade Egg” is a translation slip. Hatching it gives a Perfect Potential Thornblade, not a Sparkling one.
The patrolling Thornblade in Rosetower Wood
Thornblade also shows up as a scripted guard in Rosetower Wood, in Breezy Plains, where a patrolling one stands over a Crying Budsquire. Walking up to the Budsquire only produces an on-screen prompt: you cannot understand it until you twine with an Aniimo from the Budsquire family.
Thornblade base stats and profile
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
 HP | 96 |
 ATK | 121 |
| P.DEF | 74 |
 M.DEF | 73 |
 BREAK | 53 |
| REGEN | 92 |
| Total | 509 |
Thornblade is Grass, melee, and built almost entirely around that 121 ATK. Its BREAK value of 53 is low, so it will not open stagger windows on its own and needs a dedicated Break partner. It stands 1.6m tall, evolves from Budsquire, and shares that family with Melloblum on the other evolution branch. Four appearances exist: Basic, Thunderstorm, Prismana, and Towerwood.
Outside combat it carries Artisanship Lv. 3 and Grass Lv. 3 as Homeland abilities. Park it outside your active party and it can plant seeds, gather resources, or produce handcrafted goods.
Sword Dance and Thorny Heart explained
Sword Dance is the trait everything else feeds. Every skill you cast grants one stack, up to four, and each stack lasts 15 seconds. Each basic attack then spends one stack to deal 180% extra damage. Skills are the fuel, basic attacks are the payout, and letting stacks expire unused is where most of Thornblade’s damage goes missing.
The second trait, Thorny Heart, adds a flat 12% to Grass damage. Since Thorny Defense, Thorny Impact, Thorny Rain and Elegant Waltz are all Grass, that bonus applies to almost every button you press on a standard build.
Thornblade skills, EP costs, and unlock requirements
| 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 |
Cooldowns split the kit neatly. Thorny Impact and Thorny Rain sit at 1 second, Thorny Defense at 6, the Elegant Waltz ultimate at 8, and Aqua Defense at 15.
Thorny Impact is a dash that grants +15% Crit Rate for 15 seconds on hit, and Lightning Impact is the Electric version of the same move. Thorny Defense drops Thornblade into a counter stance that cuts incoming damage by 20% and hits back when struck; take the hit at the exact moment you cast it and Crit Rate jumps by 30%. Aqua Defense works the same way defensively but applies Lockdown to the target on a perfectly timed activation instead. Thorny Rain fires up to three rapid stabs in a row, and Elegant Waltz is the free innate ultimate.
Two of those skills are gated behind appearances rather than levels:
- Aqua Defense requires unlocking Thornblade – Prismana Form.
- Lightning Impact requires unlocking Thornblade – Thunderstorm Form.
Best Thornblade build: skills, held item, stats
Run Thorny Defense and Thorny Impact as the equipped pair, with Elegant Waltz as the ultimate. Both skills push Crit Rate while generating Sword Dance stacks, which is the whole engine. Thorny Impact closes distance and Thorny Defense covers the moment you arrive, so the two also solve Thornblade’s biggest weakness, which is standing in melee range with 74 P.DEF.
For the held item, Ferocious Fang is the pick. Its core effect gives 0.7 additional ATK per level, and its Damage Amp main stat scales with rarity: +3% at Rare, +5% at Epic, and +10% at Legendary.
Stat priority runs ATK first, then REGEN, then BREAK, HP, P.DEF and M.DEF last. REGEN matters more than it looks, because the rotation burns 20 EP per cast and stalls without it. The listed personality target is ENTP, and a full match is unlikely, so prioritise E or N for the ATK, Break and Crit Rate they bring.
Thornblade team and skill rotation
| 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 game’s own recommended partner for Thornblade, and the rest of the team exists to widen its crit window. Shrubclaw can replace Tuckin in the Break slot if you do not have one yet, bringing Verdant Beam and Leaf Slash for extra damage.
Against enemy DPS, lead with Thorny Defense or Aqua Defense instead of the dash. The 20% damage reduction plus the counter turns their aggression into your opening.
Thornblade field notes and research rewards
Three field notes are attached to Thornblade, each worth 50 Research Points:
- Sword of Protection — witness a Thornblade fight enemies to protect Budsquires.
- Prismana Form — encounter a Prismana Form Thornblade.
- Unparalleled Swordsmanship — cast Thorny Defense at the moment you take a hit.
Research levels cost 110, 90, 160 and 220 Research Points in order, and each one unlocks an accessory slot. Releasing a Thornblade returns two Growth Flowers, and reporting one pays 100 Credits.
None of that changes the core loop. Thornblade wants skills on cooldown, four stacks up, and basic attacks landing before the 15-second timer runs out. Get that cadence right and the low BREAK and thin defences stop mattering; miss it and you have a 121 ATK melee unit throwing 6-power swings.
