Chao (EntityClass, 7)
From Compile Worlds
Chao, not to be confused with the awesome Kumizonian Chao, are cute little virtual pets in the Sonic series. They are raised by the characters and are needed to collect several emblems in Sonic Adventure and its sequel.
Usually though, they just end up being distracting and time-consuming, and you may end up spending more time with them than you think.
Now a days though, they play a very minimal role in the games, which sucks because these guys are the one of the most awesome things in the Sonic Adventure games.
Attributes and Allegiance
There are many different kinds of Chao. What kind of Chao it matures into is dependent on how the character raises it. For example, the Chao may become a Power Chao if the character gives the Chao a lot of red Chaos Drives or small animals. The five types are Normal, Power, Swim, Run, and Fly. There are 3 Chao Allegiances, and these depend on who raises the Chao, or in some cases, who abuses it. The Chao can be come either a Hero, Dark, or Netural Chao depending on it's care taker. When identifying what kind of Chao a particular member is, the Allegiance is listed first, followed by the Attribute. Diamønd, for example, is a Dark/Fly type Chao. Some combinations have common names based on their appearance.
Attribute Rank
When the Chao is born, each of its 5 stats are given a ranking from E, D, C, B, A, or S, with E being the worst and S being the best. These ranks determine how quickly a Chao's stat will grow when influenced by items of a matching attribute. A Chao with a B in Run and a D in Swim will learn how to run faster than it will learn how to swim, for example. If a Chao is evolved according to a certain attribute, the corresponding stat will gain a rank upon it's evolution. Upgrading the Stamina stat rank requires the Chao to evolve into a normal type that doesn't specialize in one particular stat.
Life Cycle
All Chao begin life inside Chao Eggs. These eggs take up to a minute or so to hatch, depending on how they are treated. What type of Chao is inside the egg is determined when the Egg is layed or generated. When it hatches, the Chao is finally assigned all of it's stat ranks and favorite fruit. After this Chao live for about 5 to 6 years, with a Chao year being approximately three hours spent in the Chao Garden. Near their first year, the Chao will go into a cocoon and evolve, the resulting appearance and stat bonus dependent on how the Chao was raised, as described above. When it reaches about age 2, the Chao may naturally go into a mating season, signified by flowers that randomly bloom around the Chao. After this, the Chao's appearance can be slowly influenced by even further use of animals or Chaos Drives. At the end of it's life, the Chao will go into a second cocoon; if the Chao is happy, it will go into a pink cocoon and reincarnate as an Egg. If it was not happy enough, it will go into a grey cocoon and die. Reincarnated Chao keep their rankings, achievements, and facial expressions from their previous life, and also have slightly elevated stats when they are re-hatched. After a Chao has reincarnated in this manner twice, it can be evolved into a Chaos Chao. Chaos Chao are immortal, but their appearance can no longer be influenced and they lose their unique facial expressions.
In Sonic Advance 3
Chao make a small appearance in Sonic Advance 3. There is a Chao Garden in each zone, and there are 10 Chao lost in each zone as well. All of them must be found before keys to the Special Stages will begin appearing. The Chao cannot be interacted with, however.
In Sonic Chronicles
Chao are also in Sonic Chronicles. They are equipable as weapons for Cream the Rabbit, as well as serving as their own special equipment category. Each of the 40 Chao in the game can be found within a Chao Egg on the overworld. In the stupidest use of Nintendo WiFi ever, Chao can be traded internationally with other game carts over Wifi.
