Basics
“What are Chao? Chao are tiny, cute, and mysterious creatures that are adored by people from all over the world. Chao live in the “Chao Garden.” The Chao Garden is where you can breed and raise Chao.”
Regardless of which Sonic Adventure game you are playing, in order to find Chao to raise, you will need to make your way to a Chao Garden!
There are three Chao Gardens in each Sonic Adventure game. For Sonic Adventure 1/DX, there is one garden located in each adventure field. For Sonic Adventure 2/Battle you need to first find the key to Chao World.
You can start raising your Chao once you have discovered and entered a Chao Garden. Time only passes for the Chao while you are inside the Chao Garden. If you are exploring an adventure field, playing a stage, or are in a different Chao Garden to the one your Chao is in, it will not age.
Chao World [SA2 only]
To gain access to your Chao in Sonic Adventure 2, you must first venture into Chao World. To get to Chao World, you must find a Chao Container in one of the levels. When you break open the Chao Container, you will find a key inside. If you collect this key, you will be warped to Chao World after completing the level.
There are three Chao Containers in each level. The first container that you open, regardless of which one it actually is, will always contain the key to Chao World. The second container that you open will contain four random animals from that stage. In the third (and final) container will be the “special” animal from that stage. See the animals section for more information on this.
Chao Lobby [SA2 only]
Once you successfully find the key and complete the level, you will be placed into the entrance of Chao World - the Chao Lobby. This is a room with a warp pad in the center, and doors that will lead to the different Chao Gardens and the Chao Kindergarten. You can use the warp pad to leave Chao World and return to the main game.
Chao Gardens
When you first start, there will only be one Chao Garden available. Time only passes for the Chao while you are inside the Chao Garden. If you are in the Chao Lobby, playing a stage, or in a different Chao Garden to the one your Chao is in, it will not age. There are three gardens in total, decribed in the Gardens page. For Sonic Adventure[DX], you will need to find the other gardens in the Adventure stages. For Sonic Adventure 2, you have to unlock them by raising certain Chao.
Your First Chao
When you first enter the Chao Garden, you will see two Chao eggs. As you later unlock other Chao Gardens, you will find a single Chao egg in each of them too. These eggs contain regular coloured Chao, which are light blue with yellow highlights. They will change in shape and colour as they grow.
Note: Chao are light blue with green highlights in the Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure 1! You will also find two new eggs rather than one in each new garden you discover!
“Chao are very easy to raise. The big eggs that you will see in the Chao Garden are Chao eggs. Chao eggs hatch on their own, but you can also hatch them yourself.”
Caring for Chao
To make your Chao like you and adore you, you should be nice to them! Pet them and hug them to show your affection. Remember to feed them regularly!
“Chao like to be petted and carried around. Chao do not like it when they are attacked by a spin attack or are punched. Chao like to be given fruits to eat.”