With what we've said in mind, it’s rather simple why any person, anywhere mortal, immortal, or otherwise, would take a creature like this under their wing and use it to battle others. In each culture in every realm, to understand life you should also understand conflict. These creatures are echoes of life, so really by using them to spar, or to teach, a culture is teaching life lessons; that makes sense.

In locations like Stormwind or Orgrimmar, it’s a way to settle smaller arguments without bloodshed. You can teach your young about strategy, aggression, resiliency, patience, and how to think three steps ahead; oftentimes training with the same battle pet your father used to teach you. ‘Grand Master Hyuna’, a trainer we encounter says "It will strengthen me to better protect the sacred sites of my people." To her, pet battles aren’t sport, they are sacred practice, a communion with the land’s energy. In Pandaria training with battle pets is a spiritual practice to understand all forms of life which is done as much as it is a game for learning. In farmlands or smaller villages a well-trained battle pet can scare off bigger predators. On Dreanor, taming and training a creature born from the land’s own memory is a way of bonding with the land itself, a way of proving your worth to the spirit worlds. The shadowlands trainers use them as a tool for souls to work through echoes of their former lives.

We have many examples of characters we find that support this idea. One such character is Lydia Accoste who we find as a ghost just outside Kharazaan in Deadwind Pass. She understands the teaching nature of battle pets and their longevity instinctively when she says “I have an eternity to train. I will defeat you!’" This illustrates that to her, eternity isn’t a curse, but just another cycle of learning. Even the Val’kyr acknowledge the strange resilience of these unique creatures. In Stormheim there exist one such Val’kyr referenced as ‘The Envoy of the Hunt’ they say ‘"Your beasts are not yet destined to join our ranks. They are destined to enjoy many more glorious battles.’" This statement serves to make known that even death doesn’t claim them. They are quite literally preserved eidolons.

Whether it’s a noble pastime, a teaching tool, or a way to commune with the echoes of creation, battle pets give the people of Azeroth and beyond a mirror to themselves, a smaller reflection of what it means to struggle and overcome. So as long as the concept of battle exists in World of Warcraft so too should battle pets.

If there are any errors or faults in my logic please let me know. This theory has taken me a while to craft and I am very proud to present it to the community. What do you think?

**For fun, we can call this the Preserved Eidolon Theory (P.E.T.) and the creatures can be Preserved Eidolon Tames (P.E.T.)*

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