How to upgrade my pet?

[Orchid]

I got first Animal perk and it says "Upgrade pet cards via Relaxing in the Park",
but it never happens when I relax in the Park.

I tried it with the Hopeye equipped, and unequipped,
but both of them didn't have special event nor upgrade.

Anyone knows why?

[Elkian Lionblood]

Yeah, it's not really a reliable trigger? Afaik having a high Animals rating increases the likelihood of it happening, but even when I don't have any Events happening in the Park it doesn't always give me a chance. I think you have to have max Animals Skill to get the final upgrade but you should be able to at least get the second level. Note that you will have to pass an Animals skill check for at least one stage on every pet, sometimes more? It's not entirely clear to me.

Had a weird thing where I went to the park with 98 Animals skill and got the Stage 2 and Stage 3 of both pets I had, all in one sitting. Also got to 100 Animals Skill thanks to that xD

But yeah, best bet is to crank your Animals skill rating just in case. I don't know if you have to have the pet in question equipped but it's probably safe to do so just in case.

[Elkian Lionblood]

Oh yeah, I just remembered that there's Events that can affect at least two pets (separate events, based on species) when out exploring. I don't remember if that gets the "?" relationship up popup but I wouldn't be surprised if it had an effect, since I was exploring all the time on the run where I got like 4 upgrades in one rest period. Might be worth keeping an eye out for Exploration events that visibly have a match for the pet in question!