I’ve never been a fan of the pet battling mechanic. Until now, I’ve not run into an instance where Blizzard had made pet battling a requirement for a mount (I avoided the ones in legion). I have done most of the chain quest towards Shadowbarb drone and just reached the point where pet battling is required for progression. If I knew it involved pet battling, I would not have started the chain quest.
Yes, I could have looked it up. But Blizzard also has the responsibility to label its quests accurately and I feel baited that this quest started as a regular daily, and how has turned into something I refuse to do.
I refuse to do pet battles partly because it has the worst mechanics from Pokémon, but even more so because I dislike that my pets visibly dues during some battles. They are labeled as pets and companions, not battle monsters. They are cute babies of warcraft animals or mounts which I have an attachment to, seeing them die is not something I want to do. I see it as the same level of messed up as rooster or dog fighting.
Blizzard, please label your quests, which require pet battling and have an alternative method to achieve mounts that are locked behind pet battling. I get that some people enjoy it, but not having a way for those who do not is exclusionary.