Basics of Battling: Pet Battle Trainers
To start participating in the pet battle mini-game, first you need to visit a Pet Battle Trainer in your respective faction’s capital: Orgrimmar (Horde) or Stormwind City (Alliance). The Horde character will need to visit Varzok near the zeppelin towers in Orgrimmar.
Alliance characters will need to visit Audrey Burnhep near the Eastern Earthshrine right outside the Dwarven District in Stormwind City.
In order to get the trainers to teach you Battle Pet Training, the skill needed to allow pet battling, your character must be at least level 5. The cost to learn Battle Pet Training is 9 silver and 50 copper, and once you’ve learned it on one of your characters, all current and future characters on your account will also have the skill. They will also teach you the skill Track Pets, which is included with the Battle Pet Training skill. Finally, they will also teach you the Revive Battle Pets spell. More on that later.
If you learn the skill to pet battle, but currently have no pet companions, the Pet Battle Trainers can teach you a race-specific pet at a cost of 4 silver and 75 copper. These are a one-time only transaction, so be sure to hold on to the pet once you’ve bought it. Even though you can only purchase one from the Pet Battle Trainer, you can always find them for sale on your realm’s auction house for pretty cheap. (The Gilnean Raven is perhaps the only exception, with rare breeds going for high rates as they are no longer obtainable.)
The list of race-specific pets is as follows:
Horde:
Golden Dragonhawk Hatchling – Blood Elf
Shore Crawler – Goblin
Black Kingsnake – Orc & Troll
Brown Prairie Dog – Tauren
Undercity Cockroach – Undead
Alliance:
Blue Moth – Draenei
Snowshoe Rabbit – Dwarf & Gnome
Orange Tabby Cat – Human
Great Horned Owl – Night Elf
Gilnean Raven – Worgen
Neutral:
Jade Crane Chick – Pandaren
The Pet Battle Trainers can only teach you the pet for your race, so if you wish to have one of each pet, you’ll need to create a character of each race and take them to your respective faction capital to purchase the pet. In the case of Goblins and Worgen, you will need to complete the starting areas before you’ll be able to purchase the pet. Warlocks cannot summon you out of those zones. In the case of Pandaren, you’ll be able to purchase the pet after you’ve completed the starting area and have chosen a faction. As in the case of the Goblins and Worgen, warlocks won’t be able to help you out of that zone.
If you happen to create your character, purchase the pet, then delete your character, your pet will still be in your pet journal. To rid yourself of the pet, you will have to manually delete it from your pet journal.
Before going out into the world and pet battling, the Pet Battle Trainer will also give you a quest, Learning the Ropes, where you will need to complete and win a pet battle. Later, you will also get the Battle Pet Master quests from the Pet Battle Trainers, but more on that in a little bit.
Pet Persuasion 