In this guide, you will learn how to breed, raise, and take care of the little bubbly creatures known as Chao in Sonic Adventure 2.
- Read more: Sonic Adventure 2 – Unlockables & Cheats
The Chao Garden is a game mechanic originally introduced in Sonic Adventure, designed to add replayability to the levels and give you a reason to continue the game after finishing the main stories.
Overview
The three types of Chao include Hero, Dark, and Neutral.
Each Chao goes through three development stages including Egg, Child, and Adult.
Chao can live in one of three different gardens, including Heaven, Earth, and Hell.
Up to 6 Chao can be kept in each garden before they begin to run away due to overcrowding.
Chao Lifecycle
A Chao is born from an egg. However, it eventually can pass through a second stage of life via a cocoon known as reincarnation.
If the cocoon is pink, the Chao will reincarnate. If the cocoon is white/gray, the Chao will die.
The choice for your Chao to either die or reincarnate depends on the status of its happiness at the time of death. Even if you treat the Chao well during its lifespan, but have it angry near the time of evolution, it will likely die.
How to Hatch Chao Eggs
The three main ways to hatch chao eggs include:
- Waiting – The egg will soon hatch on its own without you needing to do anything.
- Rocking – Press and hold the B button to pick up the egg and simultaneously push the analog stick in any given direction for about 10 seconds before putting it back down.
- Throwing – Press the B button to pick up the egg, move with the analog stick then press the B button again to throw the egg. This is the fastest way to hatch eggs, but it may rub your Chao the wrong way at the start of its life.
The face of your Chao is determined from the time you get the egg, so if you would prefer a different default appearance, you’ll need to get another one.
Basic Appearance
Chao can have any of five different mouth types and any of four different eye types.
Eyes can be Normal, Lidded, Angry, or Closed.
Mouths can be None, Smile, Frown, Squiggle, or Grin.
Alignment
Chao can have one of three alignments, including Hero, Dark, and Neutral.
Hero Chao
To get a Hero Chao, noted by their white skin with a blue halo over their head, you’ll need to raise them in any of the following ways.
- Feed it yellow-colored Hero Fruit found exclusively in the Hero (Heaven) Chao Garden.
- Raise it well with Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles (Hero characters). You will know the Chao is happy when it begins to run towards and greet your character.
- Raise it poorly with Shadow, Eggman, or Rouge (Dark characters). You will know the Chao is upset when it runs away from your character or sticks its tongue out.
Dark Chao
To get a Dark Chao, noted by their black skin, red overtones, and spiky ball over their head, you’ll need to raise them in any of the following ways.
- Feed it red-colored Dark Fruit found exclusively in the Dark (Hell) Chao Garden.
- Raise it well with Shadow, Eggman, or Rouge (Dark characters). You will know the Chao is happy when it begins to run towards and greet your character.
- Raise it poorly with Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles (Hero characters). You will know the Chao is upset when it runs away from your character or sticks its tongue out.
Neutral
To get a Neutral Chao, you’ll need to raise them in any of the following ways.
- Do not feed it Hero Fruit or Dark Fruit.
- Raise it well with any character.
- Raise it poorly with any character.
Stats
Every Chao comes with seven different stats, two of which are hidden. These include Run, Fly, Swim, Power, Stamina, Luck, and Intelligence.
Stats come in six grades, including S (highest) and E (lowest).
- S
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
Grades are assigned randomly unless the Chao is bred from two adults. In such a case, the baby will inherit a grade from the parent. If two parents have the same grade in a category, the child will inherit the same. Also, the child inherits the stronger grade stat of the two parents.
Maxxing out Chao’s stats to S will take time. The rank can only increase once per lifetime and only for the stat they are good with.
Run
The Run stat determines whether a Chao can stand on its own two feet. A high Run stat will increase the speed that the Chao can move.
For minigames, the Run stat affects the Chao in the following ways:
- Chao Race – Determines how fast it can run.
- Chao Karate – Determines how fast it can attack (Speed).
Fly
The Fly stat determines whether a Chao can fall from certain distances and if it can fly.
For minigames, the Fly stat affects the Chao in the following ways:
- Chao Race – Will not get hurt or confused after falling from great distances. Can fly over certain areas.
- Chao Karate – Determines how easily it can dodge attacks (Stealth).
Swim
The Swim stat determines how well a Chao can maneuver in the water. It needs to reach a certain minimum for your Chao to be able to swim at all.
For minigames, the Swim stat affects the Chao in the following ways:
- Chao Race – Determines how fast it can swim.
- Chao Karate – Influences damage reduction/mitigation (Defense).
Power
The Power stat determines how well a Chao can shake trees.
For minigames, the Power stat affects the Chao in the following ways:
- Chao Race – Determines how well it can climb cliffs and shake trees.
- Chao Karate – Determines attack strength and its ability to learn new moves.
Stamina
The Stamina stat determines a Chao’s general endurance. It does not appear in the Garden.
For minigames, the Stamina stat affects the Chao in the following ways:
- Chao Race – Determines how long it can run and how often you can cheer for it.
- Chao Karate – Determines how much damage it can withstand (Health).
Luck & Intelligence
It is unknown how the Luck stat and the Intelligence stat affect Chao Karate. However, in Chao Race, they improve Chao’s puzzle-solving abilities and pick the correct lane.
How to Level Up Stats
The two main methods to improve Chao’s stats include the use of Drives and Animals. You can also use Fruits to influence Stamina.
Raising a Chao to S-Rank after breeding is a long journey. However, you can easily get one by finding one that exists with at least one A-grade stat and is well-balanced in others.
Drives
Drives appear as colored tubes that drop off enemies you defeat in Missions. They come in four different colors that correspond to specific stats that they influence upon consumption by your Chao.
| Icon | Color | Stat |
 | Green | Run |
 | Yellow | Swim |
 | Purple | Fly |
 | Red | Power |
Drives do not affect the appearance of your Chao or its other stats. However, Drives level-up-specific stats by 24%. This means you will need up to five Drives per level.
Animals
Animals drop off enemies and are generally found scattered in levels, pipes, cages, etc.
These Animals will change the appearance of your Chao and negatively impact certain stats while improving others. The stats change depending on which version of the game you own.
Some animal groups will not decrease any Chao stats. You can acquire them by breaking all three Chao Boxes when in a level.
Chao can learn specific behaviors from the Animals they consume. Below is a chart.
| Animal | Stat Group | Behavior |
 Bat | Black (Other) | No Feet |
 Bear | Red (Power) | Roar |
 Cheetah | Green (Run) | Face Lick |
 Condor/Vulture | Purple (Fly) | Flap |
 Dragon | Gold (Other) | Breathe Fire |
 Half Fish | Black (Other) | Fire Head Tip |
 Gorilla | Red (Power) | Chest Pound |
 Otter | Yellow (Swim) | Backstroke Swim |
 Parrot | Purple (Fly) | Sing |
 Peacock | Purple (Fly) | Strut |
 Phoenix | Gold (Other) | Tail Wag |
 Raccoon | Blue (Other) | Spin |
 Seal | Yellow (Swim) | Roll |
 Sheep/Ram | Blue (Other) | Somersault |
 Skeleton Dog | Black (Other) | No Animal Parts |
 Skunk | Blue (Other) | Fart |
 Tiger | Red (Power) | Claw Sharpen |
 Unicorn | Gold (Other) | Feet Buck |
 Warthog/Boar | Green (Run) | Dash |
Fruits
You can improve Chao’s stats through the use of Fruits. However, most Fruits will only influence Stamina, but some can improve other categories. On the last bite of a Fruit, a Chao may receive a larger effect on stats.
Note that Chao won’t always like the type of Fruit that you feed it, and it may change alignment based on the character who gave it the Fruit. A Chao will also reject Fruit it doesn’t like.
The below table shows the various Fruits, what they do, and where to get them.
| Name | Location | Bonus | Last Bite |
| Neutral Garden Fruit | Neutral Garden | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Hero Garden Fruit | Hero Garden | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Dark Garden Fruit | Dark Garden | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Strong Fruit | Black Market | +12% Stamina | +14% Stamina |
| Tasty Fruit | Black Market | +7% Stamina | +9% Stamina |
| Round Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Triangle Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Square Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | N/A |
| Heart Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | Ready to mate |
| Chao Fruit | Black Market | +12% Run +12% Fly +12% Swim +12% Power +12% Stamina | +14% Run +14% Fly +14% Swim +14% Power +14% Stamina |
| Mushroom | Black Market | +12% Stamina | +14% Stamina |
| Hero Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | Hero align |
| Dark Fruit | Black Market | +10% Stamina | Dark align |
Sonic Adventure 2 is an action-platforming game by SEGA initially released for Dreamcast worldwide in 2001. An enhanced version, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, was released worldwide for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2012.