Joe (Final Fantasy VII)

Joe is an NPC in Final Fantasy VII. A master Chocobo jockey, Joe randomly appears in Chocobo races at the Gold Saucer when the player enters them. In contrast to the other NPC jockeys, which appear indistinguishable from each other and ride randomly-colored Chocobos, Joe is immediately recognizable by his red coat, white pants and black hat. He is also the only NPC jockey to ride a black Chocobo, named Teioh.

Joe is notable as an opponent in that his Chocobo's stats are always higher than the player's Chocobo, making it difficult to win. Exactly when he appears is random, but the higher the player's rank is, the more likely it is that Joe will appear. Once the race begins, Joe immediately teleports behind the player's Chocobo. For the rest of the race, Joe will eventually rise to the head of the pack - if the player is in the lead, Joe will surely be in second. As a black Chocobo, Joe is unaffected by the slow-down areas, so maintaining/gaining a lead on him is difficult, especially since, as mentioned, he will always have higher stats than the player.

Is is possible to beat Joe - with a black or gold Chocobo on their own, the player can rob Joe's advantage and beat him. Even lower-ranked blue and green Chocobos, or exceptionally well-bred normal Chocobos, can beat him, although it is still difficult. Once the player has won 10 straight races at "S" rank, Ester mentions they're the best jockey she's seen since Joe, and gives them a variety of prizes for their feat.