This can be done as soon as you get to the Calm Lands. You’ll have to complete four separate activities to earn the achievement.
First, head to the north-west of the area, just north of Al Bhed Primer XXIII. Speak to the trainer on the Chocobo facing away from you. Tell her you wish to ride a Chocobo, and that you’ll train one. Then you begin the tests.
Edit: If you miss the training whilst playing through the storyline:
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***After you get the airship, the trainer is no longer in the north-west of the area. Instead, she is immediately next to the entrance of Rin’s shop in the centre of the area. This is also where you hire a Chocobo, so it makes it much easier to navigate the area (and return to the monster arena) after you’ve obtained the airship.
Test #1 — Wobbly ChocoboAll you need to do is run your Chocobo in a straight line… But unfortunately it will randomly veer left and right. You need to pass between the trainer and her Chocobo in 12.8 seconds or less. Fairly simple, but it requires a bit of luck with the random movements. Use the
and
to steer – it’s much more responsive than using
.
Pass this first one and you can ride a Chocobo in the Calm Lands! Then select ‘Let’s do something else’.
Test #2 — Dodger ChocoboEasier than the first one. Your Chocobo runs in a straight line, and you have to dodge the balls that fly at you. Again use
. There’s plenty of room for error here — your target time is 16.8 seconds, which will allow you to get by 3 balls and still make it in time.
The balls start off in groups of 3. The first couple don’t require much angle, but you’ll need to steer a bit more away from the third one. It doesn’t matter which direction you choose.
Test #3 — Hyper Dodger ChocoboA bit harder than the second test. Blitzballs come from above and split into a splash area, and seagulls will fly towards you. You need sharper angles than the previous test to avoid the obstacles, and you need to be aware of where the balls are launched so you don’t steer toward them. You can still get hit by three or four obstacles and pass, depending on how much time you spent running sideways. Your goal time is 18.5 seconds, and a bit of luck never goes astray!
Test #4 — Catcher ChocoboThe race! Get to the end, collect balloons, and avoid seagulls. Sounds pretty simple. You’ve got a goal time of 45.0 seconds, and you can see the course before you begin. Don’t stress too much about the balloons. At the beginning, grab the one right in front of you and you should already be ahead of the trainer. The seagulls don’t come until you round the first corner, and then if you stick to the right-hand side, they don’t tend to hit you. Collect as many balloons as you can when there’s no seagulls around, but don’t go for a balloon if you’ll be hit by a gull.
Complete this one with a faster time than the trainer after all balloons and gulls have been counted, and you’ll win the achievement (and a Level 3 Key Sphere).