diff --git a/packages/pokemon/src/index.ts b/packages/pokemon/src/index.ts
index 94eedab8a..d1c4f17c8 100644
--- a/packages/pokemon/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/pokemon/src/index.ts
@@ -46,3 +46,4 @@ export { EggView } from './ui/EggView'
 export { EvolutionAnim } from './ui/EvolutionAnim'
 export { StatBar } from './ui/StatBar'
 export { SpeciesDetail } from './ui/SpeciesDetail'
+export { SpriteAnimator } from './ui/SpriteAnimator'
diff --git a/packages/pokemon/src/sprites/renderer.ts b/packages/pokemon/src/sprites/renderer.ts
index 1ebdee02c..83eaf6059 100644
--- a/packages/pokemon/src/sprites/renderer.ts
+++ b/packages/pokemon/src/sprites/renderer.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,107 @@
 import type { AnimMode } from '../types'
 
+// ─── Idle Sequence ────────────────────────────────────
+// Natural-looking idle: mostly still with occasional breathe/blink/bounce/fidget
+const IDLE_SEQUENCE: AnimMode[] = [
+	'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
+	'breathe',
+	'idle', 'idle',
+	'blink',
+	'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
+	'bounce',
+	'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
+	'fidget',
+	'idle', 'idle',
+]
+
+export function getIdleAnimMode(tick: number): AnimMode {
+	return IDLE_SEQUENCE[tick % IDLE_SEQUENCE.length]
+}
+
+// ─── Main Render ──────────────────────────────────────
+
+export function renderAnimatedSprite(lines: string[], tick: number, mode: AnimMode): string[] {
+	switch (mode) {
+		case 'idle':
+			return lines
+		case 'breathe':
+			return breathe(lines, tick)
+		case 'blink':
+			return blinkEyes(lines)
+		case 'fidget':
+			return shiftLines(lines, tick % 2 === 0 ? 0 : 1)
+		case 'bounce':
+			return bounce(lines, tick)
+		case 'walkLeft':
+			return walkLeft(lines, tick)
+		case 'walkRight':
+			return walkRight(lines, tick)
+		case 'flip':
+			return flipHorizontal(lines)
+		case 'excited':
+			return shiftLines(lines, tick % 2 === 0 ? -1 : 1)
+		case 'pet':
+			return addPetParticles(lines, tick)
+		default:
+			return lines
+	}
+}
+
+// ─── Animation Transforms ─────────────────────────────
+
+/** Subtle horizontal oscillation — shift right 1px on even ticks */
+function breathe(lines: string[], tick: number): string[] {
+	return tick % 4 < 2 ? shiftLines(lines, 1) : lines
+}
+
+/** Parabolic bounce — sprite hops up and back down */
+function bounce(lines: string[], tick: number): string[] {
+	const PATTERN = [0, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0]
+	const h = PATTERN[tick % PATTERN.length]
+	if (h === 0 || lines.length === 0) return lines
+	return [
+		...Array(h).fill(''),
+		...lines.slice(0, lines.length - h),
+	]
+}
+
+/** Walk left — shift left a few steps then reset */
+function walkLeft(lines: string[], tick: number): string[] {
+	const phase = tick % 8
+	if (phase >= 4) return lines
+	return shiftLines(lines, -(phase + 1))
+}
+
+/** Walk right — shift right a few steps then reset */
+function walkRight(lines: string[], tick: number): string[] {
+	const phase = tick % 8
+	if (phase >= 4) return lines
+	return shiftLines(lines, phase + 1)
+}
+
+/** Flip sprite horizontally — reverse each line's characters */
+function flipHorizontal(lines: string[]): string[] {
+	return lines.map(reverseLine)
+}
+
+// ─── Helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/** Shift all lines left (negative) or right (positive) by offset columns */
+function shiftLines(lines: string[], offset: number): string[] {
+	if (offset === 0) return lines
+	if (offset > 0) {
+		const pad = ' '.repeat(offset)
+		return lines.map(line => pad + line)
+	}
+	const abs = Math.abs(offset)
+	return lines.map(line => line.slice(abs))
+}
+
+/** Replace eye characters with blink indicator */
+function blinkEyes(lines: string[]): string[] {
+	return lines.map(line => line.replace(/[·✦×◉@°oO]/g, '—'))
+}
+
 /** Heart particle frames for pet animation */
 const PET_HEARTS = [
 	['   ♥    ', '        '],
@@ -9,68 +111,20 @@ const PET_HEARTS = [
 	['   ♥    ', '  ♥ ♥   '],
 ]
 
-/**
- * Render animated sprite by applying mode-specific transformations.
- * All species share the same animation logic - only the base sprite differs.
- */
-export function renderAnimatedSprite(lines: string[], tick: number, mode: AnimMode): string[] {
-	switch (mode) {
-		case 'idle':
-			return lines
-		case 'fidget':
-			return shiftLines(lines, tick % 2 === 0 ? 0 : 1)
-		case 'blink':
-			return blinkEyes(lines)
-		case 'excited':
-			return shiftLines(lines, tick % 2 === 0 ? -1 : 1)
-		case 'pet':
-			return addPetParticles(lines, tick)
-		default:
-			return lines
-	}
-}
-
-/**
- * Shift all lines left or right by offset columns.
- */
-function shiftLines(lines: string[], offset: number): string[] {
-	if (offset === 0) return lines
-	if (offset > 0) {
-		return lines.map((line) => ' '.repeat(offset) + line)
-	}
-	// Shift left: remove leading characters
-	const absOffset = Math.abs(offset)
-	return lines.map((line) => line.slice(absOffset))
-}
-
-/**
- * Replace eye characters with blink indicator.
- */
-function blinkEyes(lines: string[]): string[] {
-	// Eye characters that should be replaced for blink
-	return lines.map((line) =>
-		line.replace(/[·✦×◉@°oO]/g, '—'),
-	)
-}
-
-/**
- * Add heart particle frames above the sprite for pet animation.
- */
+/** Add heart particle frames above the sprite */
 function addPetParticles(lines: string[], tick: number): string[] {
 	const hearts = PET_HEARTS[tick % PET_HEARTS.length]
 	return [...hearts, ...lines]
 }
 
 /**
- * Get the animation mode for a given tick in the idle sequence.
- * IDLE_SEQUENCE replicates the original buddy design pattern.
+ * Reverse a line's visible characters while preserving leading ANSI codes.
+ * Handles simple cases: ANSI at start + visible text.
  */
-const IDLE_SEQUENCE: AnimMode[] = [
-	'idle', 'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
-	'fidget', 'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
-	'blink', 'idle', 'idle', 'idle', 'idle',
-]
-
-export function getIdleAnimMode(tick: number): AnimMode {
-	return IDLE_SEQUENCE[tick % IDLE_SEQUENCE.length]
+function reverseLine(line: string): string {
+	// eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
+	const ansiMatch = line.match(/^(\x1b\[[0-9;]*m)+/)
+	const stripped = line.replace(/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m/g, '')
+	const reversed = stripped.split('').reverse().join('')
+	return ansiMatch ? ansiMatch[0] + reversed : reversed
 }
diff --git a/packages/pokemon/src/types.ts b/packages/pokemon/src/types.ts
index 9f6f96215..293d581e9 100644
--- a/packages/pokemon/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/pokemon/src/types.ts
@@ -140,4 +140,14 @@ export type SpriteCache = {
 }
 
 // Animation mode
-export type AnimMode = 'idle' | 'fidget' | 'blink' | 'excited' | 'pet'
+export type AnimMode =
+	| 'idle'
+	| 'breathe'
+	| 'blink'
+	| 'fidget'
+	| 'bounce'
+	| 'walkLeft'
+	| 'walkRight'
+	| 'flip'
+	| 'excited'
+	| 'pet'
diff --git a/packages/pokemon/src/ui/SpriteAnimator.tsx b/packages/pokemon/src/ui/SpriteAnimator.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cb7203c79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/pokemon/src/ui/SpriteAnimator.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import { Box, Text, type Color, stringWidth } from '@anthropic/ink'
+import type { AnimMode } from '../types'
+import { renderAnimatedSprite, getIdleAnimMode } from '../sprites/renderer'
+
+interface SpriteAnimatorProps {
+	/** Base sprite lines (before animation transforms) */
+	lines: string[]
+	/** Text color for the sprite */
+	color?: Color
+	/** Tick interval in milliseconds (default 500) */
+	tickMs?: number
+	/** Single animation mode. Omit for idle sequence auto-play */
+	mode?: AnimMode
+	/** Whether to center the sprite horizontally (default true) */
+	centered?: boolean
+	/** Extra content to render above the sprite (e.g. hearts) */
+	overlay?: string[] | null
+}
+
+/**
+ * Animated sprite renderer with built-in tick loop.
+ *
+ * Renders base sprite lines with animation transforms applied per-tick.
+ * Uses the idle sequence by default; pass `mode` to force a single animation.
+ *
+ * @example
+ * ```tsx
+ * // Idle animation, auto-centered
+ * <SpriteAnimator lines={spriteLines} color="ansi:blue" />
+ *
+ * // Forced excited mode
+ * <SpriteAnimator lines={spriteLines} mode="excited" />
+ *
+ * // With heart overlay
+ * <SpriteAnimator lines={spriteLines} overlay={heartLines} />
+ * ```
+ */
+export function SpriteAnimator({
+	lines,
+	color,
+	tickMs = 500,
+	mode,
+	centered = true,
+	overlay,
+}: SpriteAnimatorProps) {
+	const [tick, setTick] = useState(0)
+
+	useEffect(() => {
+		const timer = setInterval(() => setTick(t => t + 1), tickMs)
+		return () => clearInterval(timer)
+	}, [tickMs])
+
+	const currentMode = mode ?? getIdleAnimMode(tick)
+	const animated = renderAnimatedSprite(lines, tick, currentMode)
+	const displayLines = overlay ? [...overlay, ...animated] : animated
+
+	const spriteBlock = (
+		<Box flexDirection="column">
+			{displayLines.map((line, i) => (
+				<Text key={i} color={color}>{line}</Text>
+			))}
+		</Box>
+	)
+
+	if (!centered) return spriteBlock
+
+	return (
+		<Box flexDirection="row" justifyContent="center" width="100%">
+			{spriteBlock}
+		</Box>
+	)
+}
diff --git a/src/commands/buddy/BuddyPanel.tsx b/src/commands/buddy/BuddyPanel.tsx
index 12454c04b..f760aeabc 100644
--- a/src/commands/buddy/BuddyPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/commands/buddy/BuddyPanel.tsx
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { calculateStats, getCreatureName, getTotalEV, getActiveCreature } from '
 import { getXpProgress } from '@claude-code-best/pokemon';
 import { getEVSummary } from '@claude-code-best/pokemon';
 import { getGenderSymbol } from '@claude-code-best/pokemon';
-import { StatBar } from '@claude-code-best/pokemon';
+import { StatBar, SpriteAnimator, getFallbackSprite } from '@claude-code-best/pokemon';
 import type { LocalJSXCommandContext, LocalJSXCommandOnDone } from '../../types/command.js';
 
 const CYAN: Color = 'ansi:cyan';
@@ -151,10 +151,12 @@ function BuddyTab({
       </Box>
 
       {spriteLines && (
-        <Box flexDirection="column" alignItems="center" marginY={0}>
-          {spriteLines.map((line, i) => (
-            <Text key={i}>{line}</Text>
-          ))}
+        <Box marginY={0}>
+          <SpriteAnimator
+            lines={spriteLines}
+            color={creature.isShiny ? YELLOW : CYAN}
+            tickMs={500}
+          />
         </Box>
       )}