Chocobo Forests

Rare Cards: Chicobo
Items: Aura Stone, Protect Stone, Shell Stone, Holy Stone*2, Flare Stone*2, Meteor Stone*3, Ultima Stone*2

This is a rather time-consuming sidequest, and if you're not interested in a complete card collection and don't have a Pocketstation, it doesn't have much to reward you with. Anyways, there are 6 Chocobo Forests that you can get to with Garden or Ragnarok. You'll recognize them easily by their round shape. Their locations are:

1. (Beginner) "The Beginner's Forest". Right next to Shumi Village.
2. (Beginner) "The Basics Forest". A little south of the first forest.
3. (Intermediate) "The Roaming Forest". Northwest of Trabia Garden, on the other side of the mountains.
4. (Intermediate) "Forest of Solitude". A bit Northwest of the Centra Ruins. If you're in Garden, you'll have to get out and walk to get around the mountains.
5. (Expert) "Forest of Fun." In southwest Centra, near the lighthouse.
6. (Expert) "Enclosed Forest". This is the hardest forest to reach without the Ragnarok. In southeast Centra, there's a beach that laeds to a narrow mountain path. Get out of Garden and go through the mountains, then head west to reach the forest.

- The Chocoboy will tell you the forest's name if you buy a hint from him.

The first time you enter one of the forests, the Chocoboy will explain how to catch a Chocobo for 1000 gil. You can't catch Chocobos until you hear the explanation, so pay. I'll skip the full details, since you can get them from the in-game explanation; basically, what you have to do is get only one Chicobo on the screen, then talk to it to get the mother Chocobo to appear. Also, once the mother appears you can find items if you use the Ziner in the right spot. When you do this, you've officially "solved" that forest. Also, the first time you catch a Chocobo, the Chocoboy will give you a Chicobo (which you can name; its default name is Boko) and you'll be able to play the "Chocobo World" minigame if you have a Pocketstation. I don't have a Pocketstation, so I can't provide any details on this, but you can get some good items.

Here are the solutions to the Chocobo Forest puzzles:

The Beginner's Forest:
Chocobo: Just head to the top-center area of the screen. Use the Sonar to find the right spot, then use the Ziner to get one Chicobo to fall. There's a spot further south where three will fall. Ignore it.
Stone: Search the far-right area of the screen and use the Ziner. You'll get an Aura Stone.

The Basics Forest:
Chocobo: Use the Sonar in the upper area to find a good spot. Use the Ziner here and three Chicobos will fall. Use the Sonar near the lower two and use the Ziner in a good spot; this will cause them to go back up, leaving only one Chicobo on the screen.
Stone: Search near the left side of the screen for a Flare Stone.

The Roaming Forest:
Chocobo: Two Chicobos are on the ground at the start. Use the Ziner once in the right place and a third will drop down; then they'll all go back up. Now head towards the entrance and use the Sonar; when you hear the beep, use the Ziner and a lone Chicobo will drop down. Talk to it to get the Chocobo to appear.
Stone: Go up as far as you can and search to find a Shell Stone and a Holy Stone.

Forest of Solitude:
Chocobo: This is tough, since the Sonar beeps everywhere. Select the Sonar, and hold down the button. Walk straight up and a little to the left from Chocoboy; keep walking until your Sonar beeps louder than usual. (Trust me, you'll notice.) Make sure you're in the right spot, then use the Ziner to get the lone Chicobo.
Stone: The trickiest-to find Stone. After getting the Chocobo, challenge Chocoboy to a card game. Don't accept, just tell him to move. Then, use the Ziner on the spot where he was standing to get a Protect Stone and a Meteor Stone.

Forest of Fun:
Chocobo: First, use the Ziner in the lower-right area (checking it with the Sonar first, of course) to get 3 Chicobos to drop down. Now, stand up and to the left of the Chicobo that landed closest to you and use the Ziner in the right spot. A fourth will drop. Stand near the Chocoboy and use the Ziner to get a fifth chocobo. Use the Ziner again and the fifth Chocobo will run through the other four, sending them back up. Now he's alone, so talk to him to find the mother.
Stone: In the upper-right area of the forest. You'll get a Meteor Stone, Flare Stone, and Ultima Stone.

Enclosed Forest:
Chocobo: First, get two Chicobos to fall down. There are a lot of places where you can do this. Now, head to the entrance and use the Ziner in the right spot; one Chicobo will go up and another will fall down. Use the Ziner near the big rock up and to the right of Chocoboy and the one that went up should fall back down. Use the Ziner in the upper-right area and a fourth Chicobo will appear. Now, use the Ziner in the middle area. The four Chicobos will go up, and a fifth will fall down by itself.
Stone: Use the Ziner in the upper-right area for a Meteor Stone, Holy Stone, and Ultima Stone.

- When you're looking for the stones, your Ziner won't be stolen if you use it in the wrong place. So you can just hold down the button and walk around, and you'll get the item eventually. Of course, this won't work with Forest 4. However, it's quite useful in Forests 5 and 6.

Once you've got a Chocobo, you can ride it to the completely forested area south of Trabia. There's a 7th Chocobo Forest here. It's the Chocobo Shrine. If you've solved all six forests, you'll see some Chocobos doing a dance, and a Chicobo will fall down. Talk to it for the Chicobo card. This is one of the cards you need for the Queen of Cards side quest. Talk to the Chicobo again to get Gysahl Greens for 600 gil; same price as the Chocoboy charged you. Talk to Chocoboy and he'll get a Chocobo for you to ride out on, then leave.