In the Grasslands you were forced to wrangle a chocobo to advance the main story, but this bird, Piko will only take you so far. Once you enter the Mythril Mines you’ll have to leave your feathered friend behind, and when you reach the Junon Region on the other side you’ll need to acquire a new mount… which is just as well, as the unique chocobo you can wrangle here, Belle, has abilities its northern counterpart lacked. This page will provide a guide that’ll help you catch the Junon Region chocobo and complete Chocobo Intel: Birds of the Mountain.
Catching the Junon Region Chocobo¶
While not strictly necessary, there’s a few World Intel events you won’t be able to reach without catching Belle, the Junon Region chocobo, including this region’s Moogle Intel: Mariner Moogle. This will of course prevent you from upgrading the Moogle Emporium, costing you access to a few [Manuscripts], not to mention the Data Points and Party XP you’d gain for completing the World Intel that’s only accessible with this chocobo. Catching it’s not necessary, but it’s very lucrative in the long run.
Chocobo Intel: Birds of the Mountain Location¶
That just won’t do, and since the Chocobo Intel event is just to the west of this region’s first bastion of civilization - Gabe’s Ranch - it’s pretty clear you’re expected to wrangle it. Make your way west from Gabe’s Ranch and you’ll find an abandoned factory, now swarming with chocobos. Your target is the black beauty, Belle, and if you thought you had this down after catching Piko, you’re in for a rude awakening.
Solving the Minecart Junon Chocobo Puzzle¶
Most of the mechanics from the first Chocobo Wrangling minigame are in effect - you’ll need to sneak around and avoid the stalwart gaze of the many chocobos around, and you can throw rocks to help achieve your goal of catching Belle unawares - but there’s no grass to hide in, a lot more chocobos standing guard, and they’re too keen to be distracted by something as trivial as a rock. You’ll need to secure a different form of cover in order to advance through the factory and reach Belle, and the various minecarts sitting idle on their tracks provide some opportunity…
Minecart Puzzle Cart 1 - Button and Cart¶
The first stage of this puzzle is easy enough. Ahead of you you’ll find a button, which when pressed will slowly move a cart along the nearby track. Keep this cart between you and the nearby chocobo as you advance in step with the cart. If you get spotted you have a short window to get back in cover, and if you’re fully noticed you’ll have to start over… from the beginning or from one of the generous mid-minigame checkpoints. Anyways, follow the first cart forward until it stops, using it to shield you from the snooping chocobo to the right.
Minecart Puzzle Cart 2 - Rock Throw Button and Cart¶
When the first cart stops you’ll be near another button. Press it and it’ll cause the second cart to reverse near you. Head over to the second cart and pick up some rocks on the ground nearby. Now you need to follow the second cart forward, but it’ll take too long to push the button and catch up to the cart… so you’ll need to stand beside the second cart, then throw a rock at the now-distant button to get the cart moving forward again. This is the only real innovation this time around, so pick up some rocks and toss one at the button ( to aim, to throw), then follow the cart forward until it stops near another track.
Minecart Puzzle Cart 3 - Track Loop & Catching Belle¶
Head forward to find the third cart on the track, which forms a complete loop. Belle is tantalizingly close, just to the left, but another bothersome bird stands between you and her and there’s no direct path forward. Instead you’ll need to follow the cart to the right and loop damn near the entire track to reach Belle.
This starts out fairly simply - just toss a stone, at the button, which is in the middle of the track loop, just to the right of the cart. Following the cart around the first bend is easy, just keep the cart between you and the chocobo to the left. The tricky part is when the cart is about to turn a corner, as you must quickly (relatively, anyways) go from one side of the cart to the other, looping around the back while remaining out of sight of the bird ahead of you. This can be tricky, but there’s one saving grace: each of these chocobos has junk stacked near it which should obfuscate their view of the track past them. For example, the first chocobo won’t be able to see you once the cart is past the junk heaped next to it. Creep near the back of the cart, wait until you’ve passed the junk next to the previous bird, and just before the cart starts to turn, swing around to the back of the cart and keep the cart between you and the next bird on the track.
After you turn the second corner, repeat the process again as you approach Belle, who should be the last bird capable of spotting you. Follow the cart to the fourth corner and let the cart pass by without you. Belle should be facing away, allowing you to sneak up on her and tame her. Congrats! You should now have a chocobo who can run up sheer walls. These walls aren’t hard to spot, they’re more like vertical roads than any natural formations, and tend to be adorned with arrows pointing you up.
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