Chao

***The Chao*** (チャオ?) are a species from the ***Sonic the Hedgehog*** series. Their role in the games are to be raised by the player in mini-games, similar to many virtual pets. Chao are somewhat complex: they respond to stimuli, have moods, require food and can be loving or fearful. The word Chao is a pun on Chaos, a word commonly used in the ***Sonic*** series and which is why the word remains unchanged when plural. The Chao are the good friends of ***Cream the Rabbit*** and ***Tikal***.

Making their first appearance in ***Sonic Adventure*** for the Dreamcast (both in the plot and in a Chao-raising aspect of the game) and later in ***Sonic Adventure 2***, Chao have recently come to be a large part of the ***Sonic the Hedgehog*** franchise. Chao-raising and the main Sonic games tie together in a number of ways; items which are encountered in the main game can be used to raise Chao, collected Rings can be used to buy things for them, and several unlockable features are related to Chao. During raising, Chao have statistics: Swimming, Flying, Running, Power and Stamina, as well as a number of other properties which aren't quite as obvious. These statistics can be raised through proper raising, and will enable a Chao to do better in their competitions: Chao Racing and Chao Karate. Eggs other than those acquired in visiting a Chao Garden for the first time or mating are colored differently and reflect how the Chao will look. For example, a Gold Egg is solid gold in color and will hatch a solid Gold Chao. Ways of hatching them include snuggling the egg (the kindest way), throwing the egg at a wall (the Chao will obviously not like this) and of course, simply waiting for the egg to hatch on its own. When they hatch, they can be trained to have different attributes and emotional states. The Chao from ***Sonic Adventure 2***, ***Sonic Adventure 2: Battle*** and ***Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut*** can also favor "dark" and "hero" sides as well as the default "neutral" side which can lead to variations in visual evolution. Depending on the game, they take varying times to evolve.

## Description

### **Evolution**

After one Chao year has passed (about two to three hours for GameCube versions, an hour for Dreamcast), a Chao creates a cocoon and evolve into a more mature form. It will mature into a form that relates to the last stat item it has influenced (running, swimming, power, flying or stamina) and its alignment. During this evolution, a Chao raises one grade up in the level of its type, e.g. a swimming Chao who has a grade 'B' in swimming becomes an 'A'.

Alignment is determined by how the Chao was treated before its evolution, and the three alignments are Dark, Hero, and Neutral. There are three Hero characters (Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails) and three Dark characters (Shadow, Rouge, and Dr. Eggman) in ***Sonic Adventure 2***. Petting, holding (in which case if you have separated the characters alignment it will make it worse), or cuddling a Chao with a character makes the Chao favor the character's alignment. Attacking, throwing, stepping on a Chao, or taking its food while it is eating makes it favor the opposite alignment of the character (this also applies if the Chao attempts to eat fruit that it dislikes). Every three times that a heart appears above a Chao's head and replaces the standard emotion, the Chao darkens or lightens a shade, a darker shade coinciding with becoming a Dark Chao, and vice versa; the Chao darkens or lightens a shade every time a heart appears above the Chao's head once when it's petted. A Chao's physical appearance is the chief indicator in understanding the alignment of a Chao. Dark Chao have leathery wings and a devil's tail, and are colored black, brown, and pink with a small spike ball on its head. It also has a symbol on its chest similar to Knuckles'. Hero Chao have feathery wings, a split tail, and a small halo on its head. They are colored white, blue, and gold. Neutral Chao are created by balancing contact by both Hero and Dark characters, or not paying attention to them. They are able to look like a lot of different characters. In ***Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut***, due to only heroic characters being playable, the Chao instead become Hero or Dark depending on the alignment fruits it is given. The alignment feature was nonexistent in the Dreamcast version of ***Sonic Adventure***.

Chao will evolve a second time after one to three Chao years. However, the Chao won't go into a cocoon, and the changes are sometimes very subtle. A Chao will 'evolve' depending on which stat is the highest at the moment. However, it won't change its primary type. Like a child Chao's gradual evolution, the second evolution is not permanent, and can be changed. For example, if you had a Dark/Fly/Fly Chao and gave a lot of green Chaos Drives/Animals it would become a Dark/Fly/Running Chao. However, if you then gave it Red Chaos Drives/Animals, its appearance would change again, and it would become a Dark/Fly/Power Chao.

After about five Chao years have passed, the Chao will either reincarnate or die. If the Chao has lived a happy life, it will be surrounded by a pink cocoon, and will be reborn as an egg and hatch as a Baby Chao. There does not seem to be a limit to how many times a chao can reincarnate itself. However, a Chao that has been ignored and abused during its lifetime will surround itself with a gray cocoon, and vanish with the cocoon.

Besides the normal evolutions, a special Chao called the "Chaos Chao" can be created. This can be done once the selected Chao has transformed at least two times. During that third or higher cycle of its life, if it is happy enough, given at least one of each animal in the game, and all its stats are around equal, it will become a Chaos Chao. Besides looking different than a normal Chao, the Chaos Chao has an endless lifespan, except a death through extreme character abuse (not proven). In Sonic Adventure 2, there's also the "Hero Chaos Chao", also known as the "Angel (Chaos) Chao", and "Dark Chaos Chao", also known as the "Devil (Chaos) Chao", along with the normal "Neutral Chaos Chao", also known as the "Light Chaos Chao" (shaped like Chaos) from the original Sonic Adventure. Evolution works in the same manner, except you give them one animal from either the Hero or Dark characters respectively, and that all of their stats are around equal. Along with their apparent invincibility, Chaos Chao also lack the ability to reproduce. They are probably the most difficult Chao to create. The best way to make sure you've gotten all animals is to make a checklist.

The DS Chao in ***Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood*** do not evolve; they learn to be used as weapons.