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Budclaw and Burrowing Aniimo: Tunneling and Tremor Counters
A tunneling Aniimo shrugs off ranged attacks, but Tremor skills knock it out. Learn which attacks still land, and where to catch Budclaw.
The short version
- Aniimo that tunnel underground, such as Minespine, Geodeback and Pebbling, are immune to ranged attacks but vulnerable to Tremor skills, which can knock them out.
- A burrowed Budclaw is immune or highly resistant to most attacks. Stomps and ground-pound attacks are the exception.
- Minespine keeps attacking and casting skills while underground, and deals 20% extra break damage while tunneling.
- You need an Aniimo with the tunnel ability, such as Budclaw, to pass beneath the boulder that blocks the Alpha Minespine cavern.
- Budclaw spawns in Nimbus Fields and at Zephyrus Landbridge, where it appears in large numbers next to the sand.
Burrowing Aniimo play by different rules from everything else on the field. Once one goes underground, most of what you throw at it stops working, and the fight turns on whether you brought the right kind of skill.
This guide covers how tunnelers avoid attacks, which skills knock them out, and why Budclaw is worth catching early even if you never put it in a fight. It also covers Minespine, the burrower that attacks from below instead of just hiding.
How tunneling protects an Aniimo
Aniimo that tunnel underground become immune to ranged attacks. Minespine, Geodeback and Pebbling all work this way. If your team leans on ranged damage, a tunneler simply waits it out.
Budclaw is the clearest example. Burrowing hides it and makes it immune or highly resistant to most attacks. It has a tunneling mechanic that permits subterranean movement, so it is not just sitting in a hole; it moves around down there.
Minespine goes further. While it tunnels during combat it avoids enemy targeting altogether, except by specific unearthing attacks. You cannot hit what you cannot select.
Which skills knock tunnelers out
The counter is anything that hits the ground rather than the target. Tremor skills are the general answer: tunnelers are vulnerable to them, and a Tremor skill can knock a tunneling Aniimo out.
For Budclaw specifically, stomps and ground-pound attacks are what get through its burrow. Minespine is the strictest case, since only specific unearthing attacks can reach it underground.
The practical rule is simple. Before you take on an area full of burrowers, make sure at least one Aniimo on your team carries a skill built to hit the ground. Ranged damage alone leaves you waiting for them to surface.
Minespine: the burrower that fights back
Most burrowers go underground to hide. Minespine goes underground to work. It is an Earth-element Aniimo with a breaker role, and it can attack and use abilities while tunneling, casting skills from below as well as above ground.
Tunneling also makes it hit harder where it counts for its role: Minespine deals 20% extra break damage while tunneling. That pairs safety with its best damage, which is why it is a problem to face without an unearthing attack and a strong pick to own.
20%
Minespine extra break damage while tunneling
Budclaw outside combat: hiding, travel and cavern access
Budclaw is a shy Aniimo. Like some others, it burrows underground to hide when startled, and it also burrows to travel. Hummin behave the same way: they can dig into the ground and burrow when startled. Approach either carelessly and it disappears.
The tunnel ability matters for exploration too. Twining with certain Aniimo grants a burrowing ability that lets you tunnel underground and interact with field objects. That is not a side feature. Reaching the Alpha Minespine cavern requires an Aniimo with the tunnel ability, such as Budclaw, to pass beneath a boulder. If you want that Alpha, a Budclaw is your way in.
Where to find Budclaw and what it becomes
Budclaw spawns in Nimbus Fields and at Zephyrus Landbridge. It lives in specific habitat areas, and at Zephyrus Landbridge it spawns in large numbers next to the sand, which makes that the easiest place to pick one up.
There is also a coastal mud flat regional form of Budclaw that is pure Rock type.
Its evolution is not settled. Budclaw is given as evolving into both Shrubclaw and Geoclaw, and which of the two it becomes has not been pinned down. Budclaw earns its place on your team through its tunnel ability whichever way that goes.
Where to start
Bring at least one Tremor, stomp or ground-pound skill into any area with burrowers, because ranged attacks will not touch them. Catch a Budclaw early at Zephyrus Landbridge: its tunnel ability gets you under the boulder to the Alpha Minespine cavern.
Most of this page was re-checked against the released game on 4 October 2026. The rest has not been re-confirmed since release.
