Where should my pets stats be before I begin my first battle? Any advice?

As a general rule of thumb, your stats should be around the opponent's speed. That's not always the case, but it's what the battle staff said is the best indication right now.

If you're looking for general battling advice, check out this thread:

have u ever seen a bug wear clothes? [5/21]

You can start battling any time! Aboxalypse doesn't fight back, so you can always win. But he has quite some health points, so it might take a while to end the fight. Buttwing Bomber and Angry Arnold (I think you have to unlock Angry Arnold with the fishing game) aren't so powerfull either, and I think your pet can beat them several times! But you'll need some weapons to start battling with. A Red Rreign Staff of Lore is nice to heal up with during a fight, the Pumpkin Wand is a cheap attacker, while the Happy Bomb and Feathered Bomb are some bombs you can use to decimate your opponent (maybe a one hit kill even). You can win your own Feathered Bomb by beating Buttwing Bomber 5 times.

Thank you so much! !