Smash ✧ Chao Garden Info

[bluestreaker]

Welcome to Smash Academy's Chao reference!

Disclaimer: 99% of the following text is taken from here.
I will also be making adjustments to the Chao system
because it's actually pretty complex!
I hope I can simplify this enough.



A. So, what are Chao?

"Chao are described as creatures not possessing the ability to decide its own course of evolution. They are fragile, fleeting, and consequently a pure and lovable life form. Typically they live by clear water. They adapt to survive in various environments by being able to capture features of other life forms that they touch. Watching their exceedingly cute behavior is relaxing.

"Chao hatch from eggs and grow through infancy into maturity. However, the way you care for your Chao will determine its physical characteristics, behaviour, personality, and way of life.

"These Chao create a very unique ecosystem and learn and breed according to what you do. You must help your Chao to live by providing it with the necessary things such as food and attention."


B. Cuuuute! So, how do we raise Chao?

Just like you would any pet! You feed it, pet it, train it to do ALL SORTS OF STUFF (this could be amazing or disastrous), and generally show it all the love in the world. However, you can take another route and be a Chao abuser, but you can imagine how this would make your Chao feel. And mun, you will cry yourself to sleep, but do what your muse would...! sobs

The treatment of Chao, however, is what encourages its various forms of evolution. There are many types of Chao one can wind up with, and it's a fun chance to take into consideration certain aspects of your character's personality and strengths!


C. Sweet! Sign me up! So, tell me about these Chao types!



Chao Evolution Cycle
The main cycles occur every 1-2 months IC time.

1. Chao eggs

Length of time: <1 day

There's little to say about a Chao egg! You can shake it/cradle it, throw it enough to break it open (Your Chao might dislike the rude awakening, however), or just wait patiently for it to hatch.

2. Infancy

Length of time: 1-2 mo.

The most basic form of a Chao is its neutral form in infancy.


Neutral Chao

During this stage, how you treat your Chao will make a huge difference in what it will evolve into. As it gets near its evolution, it will begin to shift in colors depending on your treatment and what you're exposing it to. (I will get more into this later in "First Evolution"; a link will be provided).

What is also relevant is your muse's alignment.
It's a difficult question to ask yourself sometimes, but is your character more a "hero", "dark", or "neutral" character?

3. First Evolution

Length of time: 1-2 mo.

I will try to make this as simple as possible for RP purposes! Too late, Sonic-mun.

When your Chao is ready to evolve, it will turn into a cute little cocoon in the shape of its head for about a day or so. When it emerges, you will have yourself either a Hero, Dark, or Neutral Chao!


Hero Chao (left) & Dark Chao (right)

If you treat your Chao super kindly, it will evolve into your muse's alignment.

If you treat your Chao super badly, it will evolve into your muse's opposite alignment.

If your treat your Chao with balance, it will remain neutral.

Note: If your character is neutral, it should work well enough to assume nice treatment equates to a "Hero" Chao and bad treatment is a "Dark" Chao.

Next, depending on what you expose your Chao to, it will also take on a certain type.

There are five types: Normal, Run, Swim, Fly, and Power.

So, for example, if your muse is a POWERHOUSE RAWR-type character but you treat your Chao badly and your muse is a "Hero" type, your Chao will likely evolve into a Dark/Power Chao for its first evolution. (Bad treatment + Hero alignment = Dark; Powerhouse = Power-type Chao)

Or, equally, if you're a "Hero" character and expose your Chao to a lot of water/swimming while treating it kindly, it will evolve into a Hero/Swim Chao! (Good treatment + Hero = Hero; Swimming Lessons = Swim)

It's all about what you expose them to just before their evolution!

This chart can serve as a visual guide for how your Chao will look JUST BEFORE it evolves (so you can imagine how its colors and shape will change from infant neutral to pre-cocoon) and how it will look when it does evolve!

4. Second Evolution

Length of time: 1-2 mo.

When your Chao is ready to evolve again, there is no cocoon process this time. It is a far slower and gradual change, and at this point, your Chao's alignment is fixed. This means if it's a "Hero" Chao, it will remain that way. The second evolution simply includes a secondary type from the original five types listed above, so, again, it's about exposure.

Here is another reference chart for your Chao's second evolution. Select your Chao's alignment, then select the primary type, then click "filter". It will then show you what your Chao will look like once its secondary type settles in. (Disregard anything beyond the first five rows.)

5. Death & Rebirth

Life, unfortunately, must come to an end, even for the cute little Chao.

Prior to their death, Chao tend to get very lethargic. They may not eat or want to do much of anything with you anymore.

There are three ways this can end.

Reincarnation

Length of time: 1 day

You treated your Chao well during most of its days. It lived a fulfilling, happy life with you, but now it must go. Your Chao swallows itself into a lovely pink cocoon and disappears, leaving an egg in its wake.

a. When the egg hatches again, it will still know its name and all that you taught it, but it's a child nevertheless, so if its treatment and exposure changes from its last life cycle, your Chao could actually grow up to look very different and know much more! This could give it advantages if you ever decide to go into Chao competitions and the likes.

b. Character Chao

Note: This can only occur after it's gone through one life cycle. So this will not occur during Life 1, Second Evolution. It will only occur when Life 2 and beyond occurs.

Here is something different we're going to do for those familiar with the Chao system.

When your Chao is reborn, you may notice it... definitely doesn't look the same. In fact, that kinda looks like your hair style, doesn't it? And those markings? Hmmmm!

Note: Here is that opportunity to design your own Chao. In SA2, a Hero/Run/Run Chao actually winds up looking like Sonic, while a Dark/Run/Run looks like Shadow. Building upon this for a fun idea, if you decide you feel creative, why not make the Chao look more like your muse?

For a character Chao, you can totally skip the Neutral Infancy process and when it reincarnates, it will already start lookin' like your muse. It will, however, still face reincarnation,


Death

Length of time: ETERNITY. JERKASS.

If you treated your Chao poorly through its life and it lived a miserable existence, it will curl into a grey cocoon, which will disappear in time, along with any trace of your Chao. You will never see your Chao again, and you will have to find a new companion back at the lake. AND SONIC WILL BEAT THE ABUSIVE SNOT OUTTA YOU.



And that, my friends, is that! THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, I know, but if you have any questions, please leave them for me below and I will answer them to the best of my abilities!

Some other stuff!
Chao Expressions | More Faces | Caring Info

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[bluestreaker]