Training Your Pet
There are a number of methods for you to train your pet. This guide focuses on where you can train your pet, but you can also check out our Beginner's Guide to Training for a deeper discussion on choosing a training strategy.
Training Schools
Neopia offers three different training schools, where you pay some items to wait a certain amount of time to increase one of your pet's stats. They differ in cost, time required, and level requirements.
Each course raises a chosen stat by one point, although occasionally you can get a training bonus which raises that stat by more than one point.
The Swashbuckling Academy
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Cap'n Threelegs' Swashbuckling Academy is the entry-level training school and is only for pets at or under level 40. Additionally, courses are paid with Dubloons. Also, courses here take a bit longer than those in the Mystery Island Training School.
Mystery Island Training School
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The Mystery Island Training School, is available for pets at or under level 250. Each course is paid with tan codestones. The courses are faster but more expensive than the Swashbuckling Academy courses.
Secret Ninja Training School
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The Secret Ninja Training School is available to pets level 250 or higher. Additionally, instead of paying with normal codestones, you pay with red codestones, which tend to be more expensive.
Training Limits
For all three schools above, you're limited in how you can train your pet. In order to enroll in a course, your pet must have stats less than twice your pet's level. For example, a Level 3 pet with 15 Strength won't be able to train anything because 15 > 3 * 2; your level would need to be 8 before you can train since 15 < 8 * 2.
The exception to this is your pet's HP. At the Mystery Island and Secret Ninja schools you can overtrain your pet's HP to three times their level. (The Swashbuckling Academy makes no such exception.) However, in order to train any other stats, the HP for your pet would need to again be twice your level. Using this knowledge, you can make the most of your NP. For example, if you have a pet at level 20 with 40 HP, strength, and defence, you can train your HP to 60 before continuing training the other stats. That way, you're able to train 20 HP using only one codestone per course, instead of two. Then you can raise your Level from 20 to 30, and continue training your other stats.
Kitchen Quests
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Kitchen Quests offer a chance at increasing a random stat of your active pet as a reward. While there is a limit of ten a day, it can be quick and (possibly) cheap training. Even though you don't always get a stat point, your odds are pretty good on gaining a few stat points per day. Furthermore, can choose not to complete a quest if you find the ingredients are too expensive; you just need to wait for time to run out.
The Secret Lab Ray
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The Lab Ray is a training method acquired through the purchase of all nine pieces of the Secret Laboratory Map. Once you have all nine pieces, you get access to the Lab Ray, where you can zap a pet of your choice once each day. It can change your pet's species, colour, or gender as well as increasing or decreasing your pet's stats. The lab does not give out stats evenly. A pet that solely relies on the lab will most likely stay at a low level (because it lowers level frequently), while having high HP, somewhat high strength, low defence, and somewhat high movement. Because of the uneven stats from lab, it may be a bit tedious to both lab and use training schools simultaneously.
Faerie Quests
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Faerie Quests are randomly given quests where you must fetch an item to make a Faerie happy. As reward, the Faerie will increase one or more of your active pet's stats. This is probably the cheapest method to gain stats, except they're randomly given.
There are several types of Faeries that may give you a quest. You can view our Faerie Quests guide for a list of Faeries that grant rewards affecting your pet's Battledome abilities.
Stat Increasing Items
For those that want to increase stats quickly (but usually expensively), some items exist for that very purpose. Generally, only high level pets should use these items due to the cost.
View All Stat Increasing Items »
Other Dailies
Some dailies give out stats, although it's neither a good nor reliable method of training. If there's any we're missing from this list, please let us know!
- Coltzan's Shrine: a chance to raise any of your active pet's stats.
- Deadly Dice: an opportunity to gamble your pet's levels
- Fruit Machine: the top prize can raise level or strength, but is extremely rare.
- Scratchcards: some higher-tier scratchcards have a chance of raising a random pet's level.
- The Coincidence: can raise any stat by 1-3 or 8-10 points, but can also lower by 1-3 points.
- Turmaculus: a chance to raise your active pet's strength.
- Wheel of Extravagance: a chance to raise any of your active pet's stats by 5 or 10.
- Random Events: several can increase your pet's stats, but several others can decrease them as well.
Free Training
Free training at the Swashbuckling Academy is available twice per year to every eligible pet:
- On each official Pet Day (as listed on the Neopian Calendar, all eligible pets of that species can begin Swashbuckling Academy courses for free (even if the course ends the following day). For example, December 5 is Bruce Day, so all eligible Bruces can begin free training that day!
- On November 15 each year, to celebrate the birthday of Neopets, all species can begin Swashbuckling Academy courses for free for eligible pets (even if the course ends the following day)!
This page was written by in-Depth Battlepedia & Grog and last updated on April 30, 2025.
