A while back, I made this thread here, and the forum group added SO MUCH great advice and lovely suggestions. For someone just trying to get started in pet battling, a list like this can be very helpful…and don’t just stop with my OP on this one. The advice in this thread for “first pets you should level” is pretty great.
I also found this thread exceptional. I wrote down my WoD circuit for daily leveling in a step-by-step way that you can use to start building up your pet collection of 25’s and rare pets for battling without the long, grindy method of pet leveling. Amayita also put in a link to the wowpets power-level guide and several people gave excellent advice.
I cannot stress enough how wonderful the following links will be for helping you when you hit questions.
I highly recommend getting familiar with both sites and joining the WarcraftPets Discord server which has pet battle people discussing things and very helpful tips and daily notifications you can choose to sign up for.
Pet battling for achievements and collections is a massive new world to add in the WoW experience, especially if it’s still brand new to you. Don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged. There is enough pet content and there are enough pet goals out there to keep you happily engaged for a long, long time…and if you hit something that seems too grindy to be real, there is probably a better or shorter way to get it done or a strategy that will make it easier or more fun, and someone on this forum will likely have a suggestion for you.