What does a Legendary Aniipod do to a Sparkling Aniimo?

Only a Legendary Aniipod adds anything extra at hatch. Regular, Pursuit and Pro Anipods show no added effect at all, so if you want a Sparkling Aniimo to look different from every other Sparkling of its kind, the pod is the only lever you have.

The effect belongs to the pod, not the creature. Each Legendary Aniipod carries its own exclusive look, and the Aniimo you use it on takes that look. Wind Chaser's Departure (also called Departure of the Wind or Windchaser Departure) is the clearest example. It works like a Sparkling Cube, but it gives a multi-coloured, season-exclusive flower petal effect in place of ordinary sparkles.

Getting a Legendary Aniipod

You craft them from the event menu using Irisalis Petals (also called Iris Petals). The first one is the Irisalis Aniipod, which you use to summon and capture Irisalis. With more petals you can then craft Wind Chaser's Departure.

The Irisalis capture is a single scripted encounter. You defeat the Legendary Aniimo and use the crafted Aniipod, and the capture is 100% certain. This replaced the closed beta's repeatable, luck-based legendary capture, and the Legendary Tokens behind it come from world exploration and story progress.