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Which Aniipod to use on Alphas, Irisalis and eggs
Irisalis never needs luck, perfect-potential eggs hatch fine in a basic Anicube, and a Sparkling Cube's shiny result is still not settled. Spend pods accordingly.
The short version
- Defeat an Alpha in combat before you throw anything. After that, an Aniipod Ultra secures a 100% capture on an Alpha such as Stellarys, while lesser pods can work but are not reliable.
- Irisalis is never a random catch. You throw a Legendary Aniipod (the Irisalis cube) that you crafted yourself, and it always succeeds.
- Eggs that already guarantee perfect class or potential hatch a perfect creature from a basic Anicube, so an Ultra Pod or Ultra Cube on them, or on Umbral eggs, adds nothing.
- A Sparkling Cube is bought with real money and always catches what you throw it at, but whether it guarantees a sparkling Aniimo or perfect stats is not settled. It does not lower quality.
- On a non-Umbral egg, hatching with a sparkling cube gives a 1% chance of a dazzling sparkling style.
Aniimo gives you a ladder of pods, and the top rungs cost either crafting materials or real money. The mistake most new players make is assuming the expensive pod is always the safe choice. On some targets it is the only sensible throw. On others it changes nothing at all.
This page sorts the three cases people ask about most: Alpha bosses, Irisalis, and eggs, including alpha eggs. For each one it says which pod does the job and where the premium pod is wasted.
One warning up front. A few of the strongest claims about the top pods are not settled in the current game, and those are flagged as such below rather than smoothed over.
Alpha bosses: beat it first, then pick the pod
Alpha monsters are caught with an Aniimo Pod, but only after you defeat them in combat. Throwing early is not the plan; the fight comes first.
Once the Alpha is down, the pod matters. An Alpha such as Stellarys can be caught with an Aniipod other than the Aniipod Ultra, though not reliably. Defeating it and then throwing an Aniipod Ultra secures a guaranteed 100% capture. If you only get one good chance at a boss, that is the throw to make. The Alpha capture article on this site covers the attempt limit and Primegy cost in depth.
The catch is that the Ultra's guarantee is not fully settled across the game. The Aniipod Ultra is the top tier of the standard Aniipod line and improves your odds on tougher targets. It is also given as having a 100% capture rate on any Aniimo, Alpha bosses and Umbral Aniimo included, and as having no stated guarantee at all, with the assured catch belonging to the Sparkling Cube instead. The legendary Ultra Anipod (Annipod Ultra) is the one with a firm guarantee: 100% capture, boss and Alpha Aniimo included.
There is one more wrinkle. Using an Ultra Pod or Ultra Cube on Alpha Aniimo is also listed as providing no additional benefit. Put plainly, the Ultra's value on an Alpha is not settled. What is settled is the order: fight, win, then throw.
Irisalis and other legendaries: the pod you craft decides it
Capturing Irisalis is guaranteed, not random. You throw a Legendary Aniipod, the Irisalis cube, which you craft yourself, and the catch always succeeds. No Ultra, no Sparkling Cube, no luck involved.
The same rule holds for other special crafted pods. The Windchaser Departure pod, used on the legendary Iris Aalis encounter, always succeeds too. So the work on a legendary is in making the right pod, not in choosing between expensive ones. The full route to each legendary is in "How to Catch Legendary Aniimo".
Eggs, alpha eggs and Egg Heist eggs: when a basic Anicube is enough
Eggs are where the expensive pod most often adds nothing. An egg that already guarantees perfect class or potential does not need a high-tier pod. A basic Anicube still hatches a perfect creature.
The same goes further up. Using an Ultra Pod or Ultra Cube on Umbral eggs, or on eggs that already guarantee Elite rarity or Perfect potential, provides no additional benefit. If the egg's guarantee is already printed on it, save the Ultra for something that needs it.
The pod choice and hatching process for eggs has its own page on this site, "How to use Anipods and Sparkling Cubes on eggs", which goes through each egg type.
Basic Anicube
- Still hatches a perfect creature from an egg that guarantees perfect class or potential
- No high tier pod needed
Ultra Pod or Ultra Cube
- No additional benefit on eggs that already guarantee Elite rarity or Perfect potential
- No additional benefit on Umbral eggs or Alpha Aniimo
Sparkling Cubes: what you are paying for
The Sparkling Cube is a premium Anipod bought with real money. It goes by a lot of names in the game and among players: Sparkling Pod, Sparkling Aniipod, Gleam Cube, Twinkle Cube, Shiny Cube and Shiny Anicube are all the same item. It has a guaranteed 100% catch rate, so throwing one at a spawned Prismana always captures it, and catching an Aniimo with one applies the sparkling effect to that creature.
Beyond that, the details are not settled, and this is what matters if you are asking whether sparkling eggs are perfect. The cube is given as making any wild Aniimo caught or hatched with it sparkling, including during egg incubation, and as turning an Alpha, including one hatched from an alpha egg such as a Sherro alpha egg, into a Perfect Sparkling Alpha. It is also given as only a 99% chance of a standard gleaming variant, or merely a chance of the sparkling attribute. On a non-Umbral egg specifically, hatching with a sparkling cube gives a 1% chance of a dazzling sparkling style.
Stats are just as unsettled. Perfect potential is given as always guaranteed since the launch update, for any Aniimo captured with the cube, Alpha and Prismana included, even raising an egg's guaranteed elite potential to perfect. It is also given as still able to roll imperfect stats, Alphas included: possibly only elite, possibly only a minimum starting stat value of 8, possibly with no elite guarantee at all. The one firm point is that a Sparkling Cube does not lower quality.
So treat it as a guaranteed catch with a sparkling effect, not as a promise of a perfect creature. On an egg that already guarantees perfect potential, you are paying for the shine and nothing else.
1%
Dazzling sparkling chance on a non-Umbral egg
Where to start
Fight Alphas down before you throw, and keep an Aniipod Ultra for the ones you cannot afford to miss. Craft the Irisalis cube rather than spending premium pods on legendaries. Use a basic Anicube on eggs that already guarantee perfect potential. Only spend real money on a Sparkling Cube when the sparkling effect itself is what you want.
Most of this page was re-checked against the released game on 3 October 2026. The rest has not been re-confirmed since release.