Chocobo (Final Fantasy XIII)

A Chocobo in Final Fantasy XIII is split between two varieties; one bred in Cocoon and the other being wild chocobos of Gran Pulse.

Datalog
These large, yellow birds are always crowd favorites.

Wild chocobos are almost unheard of on Cocoon, but thanks to the antics of a certain TV program's feathery main character, owning chocobo chicks has become the latest fad among children.

Although the tiny chicks are easy to handle when young, their rapid growth as they approach adulthood has forced an increasing number of families to donate their oversized avian pets to zoos and farms.

Final Fantasy XIII
''These majestic yellow birds allow you to cover greater distances than you could on foot, in only a fraction of the time. There are also locations that only chocobos can reach, indicated by swrling yellow indicators on the ground.''

To mount a chocobo, approach it and press /.

''Chocobos are courageous creatures, but even they have their limits. Come into contact with an enemy, and the chocobo will lose one unit of morale. Should the chocobo lose all of its morale, it will throw its rider and flee. Otherwise, lost morale will gradually return, so long as no more close encounters occur.''

''Chocobos also possess an uncanny knack for detecting buried treasure. When you pass near hidden treasure while riding a chocobo, an icon will appear above the bird's head. The closer you come to this treasure, the faster this icon will bounce. Once you have discerned the treasure's location, press / to dig it up.''

Cocoon
Cocoon chocobos are a little taller than the average human, and they retain the general appearance of chocobos found in other games in the series. In-game, buying young chocobo chicks to be kept as pets are a fad among the younger Cocoon populace, thanks to an entertainment program. One such Chocobo Chick was bought by Sazh Katzroy for his son Dajh at the Euride Gorge. However, chocobos grow to its adult size rather quickly. Families who could not afford to keep the grown chocobos sent them to the Nautilus Park, which provided a spot for these chocobos to live in.

Gran Pulse
The Gran Pulse variety is much larger than the Cocoon variety, with two long ear-like appendages dangling on either side of their heads. They are found in abundance in the Font of Namva area within the Archylte Steppe, however these grounds are constantly invaded by a pack of Sahagins, and it is part of a Cie'th Mission to drive these Sahagins away, which when successful, allows the player to ride the chocobo across the Steppe.

When riding across the Steppe, players have to avoid colliding with any enemies, or risk decreasing the chocobo's morale, which is represented by a feather on the Morale meter. One morale drops with every collision, but it is gradually restored over time. An exception is when the player collides with the gargantuan Oretoises, where the morale drops completely. When this happens, the chocobo drops the rider off its back.

There are certain locations in the Steppe that can only be accessed with a chocobo. This is marked by a yellow circle on the field map. The chocobo can leap over extraordinarily wide gaps or high cliffs which usually hides pathways to hidden ruins scattered across Gran Pulse. They are easily found in these locations as well, marked by a feather on the world map. When the player dismounts, the chocobo usually waits for the player's return.

Each character does specific things when the chocobo stays still; and occasionally so does the chocobo. When Lightning overlooks the horizon, the chocobo will look at every corner ahead of it. Snow will pose with his head up high. Fang sits sideways, and when stopping, she will stretch out her arms and yawn. When stopping, the chocobo Vanille rides will doze off, and she will drop herself softly on the chocobo to wake it up. Both Hope and Sazh will caress the chocobo with care, and the chocobo will return the gesture.

When the player first encounters Gran Pulse chocobos, they are treated to a brief sequence in which Sazh holds his nose and then says that he "knows that smell". Chocobo Chick becomes excited and a group of chocobos is revealed, including a couple of Gran Pulse chocobo chicks. Sazh suggests that maybe Chocobo Chick should stay with them, but the Chocobo Chick flies back to him and he says that he knows he's sticking with him until Dajh wakes up. He then has a conversation with Fang in which he takes responsibility for what happened to Dajh during the incident at the Euride Gorge Power Plant.

Treasure Hunt
Occasionally, an exclamation mark pops up as the player rides the chocobo, indicating a treasure within the location. Players only need to follow the direction the chocobo is facing to find the treasure; which is easier to see if the chocobo stay still. Digging the 20th treasure will always be the one time only Ribbon.

The treasures are on fixed locations on the Steppe, on the brown ground, not on the grass.
 * Treasures
 * Chocobo Plume (upgrade component)
 * Chocobo Feather (upgrade component)
 * Dawnlight Dew (upgrade component)
 * Dusklight Dew (upgrade component)
 * Moogle Doll (can be sold for a premium)
 * Cactuar Doll (can be sold for a premium)
 * Gold Dust (can be sold for a premium)
 * Gold Nugget (can be sold for a premium)
 * Mnar Stone (upgrade catalyst)
 * Rhodochrosite (upgrade catalyst)
 * Cobaltite (upgrade catalyst)
 * Scarletite (upgrade catalyst)
 * Ribbon (accessory)
 * Tetradic Crown (accessory)
 * Tetradic Tiara (accessory)
 * Entite Ring (accessory)

Final Fantasy XIII
There are two music tracks associated with the chocobos in Final Fantasy XIII; "Chocobos of Cocoon - Chasing Dreams" and "Chocobos of Pulse".

"Chocobos of Pulse" is a jazzy and upbeat theme. It was originally titled "Pulse de Chocobo" which serves as a pun. It means "Chocobos of Pulse" but also follows the naming tradition of "Style" de Chocobo, as it is a very rhythmic version, hence the "pulse". It is played as the player mounts the chocobo across the Archylte Steppe. The song is written by Ryo Yamazaki.

"Chocobos of Cocoon - Chasing Dreams" is another upbeat theme, which includes female vocals. It is played during the sequence in Nautilus, as well as the fight sequence in Mission 14: Defender of the Flock. The song is written by Masashi Hamauzu and sung by Frances Maya.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
The chocobo theme for Final Fantasy XIII-2 is named "Groovy Chocobo", and consists of a fast, drum-orientated theme which contains one lyric: "Chocobo". There is also another song, called "Rodeo de Chocobo", which stongly resembles the Wild West music. A heavy metal arrangement of chocobo's theme with Shootie HG's vocals under the name "Crazy Chocobo" appears in the game, as well.