Origin

After dragging their feet for years, the developers finally released the mobile version. I was lucky enough to get into the second closed beta. After slogging through the lengthy storyline, I instantly became hooked on the newly designed Shining Tournament—essentially a fancy name for ranked PvP. The rules are: bring six pets, and the first to knock out four of the opponent’s wins. After three days of trial and error, I made it to Middle Rank 1 and secured the exclusive beta rewards. Now, let’s talk about my winning team.

Analysis

Overall, various team compositions have been popping up lately, each with its own merits. Hyper-carry setups focusing on protection and stat boosting are particularly common—it feels great to nurture a late-game monster that can sweep entire teams. However, if your core gets baited out and burst down, a comeback becomes nearly impossible. My philosophy is: survival equals damage output. Relying on synergy and coordinated defense between pets is the key to consistent wins.

Team Composition

Lead Slot

Thornhelm is chosen as the lead to stack Poison marks as much as possible. Switch immediately against Electric teams. Against Plant, Martial, or Ice teams, transition to damage dealing based on the situation. If the opponent’s Sansan or Snowshadow doesn’t have full Special Defense, one Poisonous Permeation can KO them—a guaranteed profit. Against Martial teams, predict their moves. If Thornhelm drops to half health, switch to another pet for damage output; don’t let it get burst down.

Stats: Focus on Speed, recommend Sp. Atk & Sp. Def. Nature: Jolly

Synergy Slot

Use Glass Jellyfish’s trait to stack Poison. Switch it in and out as much as possible. Spam Bubble Phantom and output damage situationally. A full Sp. Atk Hydro Pump can halve an opponent’s HP. Jellyfish’s main role is roaming, with damage as secondary. If you stack eight Poison layers, the game is practically won. If the opponent has a Dump user, prioritize killing it before stacking more Poison.

Stats: Focus on Sp. Atk, recommend Def. & HP. Nature: Modest

Interception Slot

It’s best to use a third-stage Eel Hound. The missing half HP can be recovered via Enzyme Concentration Adjustment and Draining Branch. Base stats are definitely prioritized over raw HP. Besides countering Electric teams, it can also check Queen Chess. Ensure its Energy is seven or higher before switching out. Light Gather is really effective for pressuring Queen Chess’s HP.

Stats: Focus on Sp. Atk, recommend HP & Atk. Nature: Quiet

Damage Slot

Both Skyflood Branch and Gathering Echidna can use the Water Bloodline for zero-energy initiation. Against Martial teams, focus on Branch, forgoing Soak. Two Skyfloods can leave the opponent critically low. Echidna is the most straightforward: switch in against a pet that can’t interrupt, use Gathering, then spam Pursuit. Getting one KO is breaking even; getting two is a huge profit.

Water Bloodline. Stats: Focus on Speed, recommend both Defenses. Nature: Naive

Water Bloodline. Stats: Focus on Atk, recommend both Defenses. Nature: Brave

Support Slot

Morphing Butterfly uses Sunbathe to clear enemy stat boosts and Scavenge to remove marks. Most importantly, it counters Queen Chess, reliably hitting two Popcorns.

Stats: Focus on Speed, recommend Atk & Def. Nature: Jolly

Scouting Slot

Handsome Puppet is the most suitable lead. Thanks to its energy cost reduction trait and skill set that can steal from both allies and foes, it can suss out about 70-80% of the opponent’s strategy early on. How you play it depends entirely on the skills you roll. With Soak/Store, you can boost stats, stay in, and wear down the opponent. With Wet Mark/Pestilent Breath, just stack layers mindlessly. While scouting and chipping away HP, try to stack buffs for your team. A good start means you’re already more than halfway to victory. Especially against enemy Storage Puppets, directly turning their Storage to your advantage works wonders.

Stats: Recommend HP & both Defenses. Nature: Any that boosts Defense. Skill Set: Borrow, Borrow, Mind Take, Mind Take.

Damage Slot

Sea Branch Emperor’s strength is undeniable. Despite the many Electric Deer leads, even the trump card of type advantage can barely shake its position. Its trait reduces energy cost when switching, paired with Surging Spring, making it stronger as the fight goes on. A successful prediction can lead to a zero wind-up sweep. Its weakness is a frail body. Soak relies on the Water Bloodline, and it fears various interrupts and Dark Ambush upon entry. Thus, the timing of activating the bloodline and using Soak is crucial.

Water Bloodline. Stats: Recommend Speed & both Defenses. Nature: Speed-boosting, Atk-reducing is preferred. Skill Set: Interrupt, Soak, Surging Spring, Wet Mark.

Interception Slot

Chess Rampart, with its god-tier skill Listen Bridge and Earth Spike interrupt, uses its Ground typing to also check Electric Deer. After taking multiple hits and being at low HP, it can use Rock-Earth Blast at low energy cost, taking someone down with it—making the most of its life, haha.

Bloodline: Any. Stats: Recommend Speed, Atk, and one of the Defenses. Nature: Can reduce Sp. Atk to increase Speed or Atk. Skill Set: Listen Bridge, Rock-Earth Blast, Lacerate, Earth Spike.

Utility Slot

I chose the two stars of the Poison team: Thornhelm and Glass Jellyfish. Thornhelm’s trait makes the opponent suffer multiple instances of regular poison, forcing switches. Stack Poison marks and Wet Marks whenever possible—the more, the better, as long as it survives. Glass Jellyfish doubles Poison marks with its attacks, making it highly effective. It can also supplement damage with its high Sp. Atk. With Wet Mark active, one Surging Spring can also KO Electric Deer, and Poisonous Permeation can mindlessly KO Grass types. This creates an information gap, catching the opponent’s core off guard.

Thornhelm - Bloodline: Any. Stats: Recommend Speed & both Defenses. Nature: Speed-boosting, Atk-reducing preferred. Skill Set: Pestilent Breath, Infect, Soak, Wet Mark.

Glass Jellyfish - Bloodline: Any. Stats: Recommend Sp. Atk, Speed, HP, or Defenses. Nature: Sp. Atk-boosting, Atk-reducing preferred. Skill Set: Water Fling, Poisonous Permeation, Bubble Phantom, Surging Spring.

Support Slot

Morphing Butterfly is undoubtedly the undisputed all-rounder. Its trait granting two extra lives allows it to shine in any team. I mainly use it to Scavenge enemy marks and Sunbathe to clear stat boosts. Paired with Borrow, it can even find time to stack marks or deal some damage for the team. When facing unfamiliar pets, you can use it to drain energy and figure out their strategy. It’s handy no matter how you use it.

Bloodline: Any. Stats: Recommend Speed & both Defenses. Nature: Speed-boosting, Atk-reducing preferred. Skill Set: Borrow, Scavenge, Lullaby, Sunbathe.

Summary

My match experience tells me: type advantage is paramount. Be less greedy, engage in more prediction. If you don’t know how to handle a situation, switch pets. Losing a turn is better than getting burst down. Poison dominates Plant and Bug. Against Ice, stack Poison frantically and see who wins the race—them freezing you or you stacking poison. Against Electric, rely on Eel Hound to tank and kite, with Echidna dealing damage. Against Martial, wait for them to use Listen Bridge (a defensive skill); once they do, punish them hard. The faster you get kills early, the easier Queen Chess is to handle later. If Queen Chess stacks over 20 buff layers, it becomes very hard to deal with. I hope that as pets and skill combinations become more diverse, more fun and viable team compositions will emerge.