Mechabo, the mechanical chocobo who follows Lid into your party, is wrecked by the time you wake up in the Dwarven Forge in Chapter 2, “Eternal Blue”. The game gives his destruction to Evan, Lid’s older brother, who helped build him. Lid and Evan built him without blueprints, so Lid assumes he can’t be fixed. Verun, a dwarf blacksmith, offers to fix him anyway, and that offer starts the side quest “Arise, Mechabo!”
Quick answer: Ipoohs are brown bears in random battles on the World Map road just north of the Dwarven Forge. Win one Ipooh battle for the dynamo stones, then talk to Verun by the Forge’s north door for a Magicite Shard.
Ipoohs are level 14 with 300 HP. They are weak to Earth and stagger easily. Finishing the repair also unlocks Mechabo upgrades. Verun’s next request, “Mechabo Evolved”, sends you after three dhorme chimeras northeast of Grandport.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Quest | Arise, Mechabo! |
| Giver | Verun, Dwarven Forge |
| When | Chapter 2, right after the Forge choice that follows Adrastea |
| Objective 1 | “Defeat two Ipoohs near the Dwarven Forge (0/2)” |
| Objective 2 | “Deliver the Mechabo repair parts to Verun at the Dwarven Forge” |
| Reward | Magicite Shard x1 |
| Unlocks | Mechabo upgrades (side quest “Mechabo Evolved”) |
How to start Arise, Mechabo!
The quest unlocks once the choice scene at the Dwarven Forge is over. Before that, you must make the go after them or rest up choice; the Dwarven Forge walkthrough has the complete route through the area. After choosing, head to the top of the long stairs that run north to south. No conversation is required—the scene triggers automatically.
Lasswell opens with “It just occurred to me… Maybe we could ask the dwarves to repair Mechabo for us?” Lid doubts it can be done. “Well, when my brother and I built Mechabo, we didn’t draft up any blueprints… We pretty much freestyled his design. I think it’d be too tricky to fix him.” Verun cuts in with “‘Tricky,’ huh? Sounds like a job for me, then.” Lid recognizes him. “He’s one of the most popular blacksmiths around—I hear he’s booked out with custom orders for years to come.” Then Verun makes his offer: “Would you mind if I repaired your mech for you?”
His only condition is materials. “I’ll need some dynamo stones, though. I can start work as soon as I have some.” He also tells you where to get them. “You can get them off an Ipooh. I usually see them around the forge. Defeating two of them should get you enough.” Lid signs off with “You just rest for a little longer, Mechabo. I’ll go get them in a jiffy.”
The “Arise, Mechabo! QUEST ACCEPTED” banner appears.
The first objective, “Defeat two Ipoohs near the Dwarven Forge (0/2)”, then appears, and the game autosaves.
Where to find Ipoohs
Exit the Forge through the north door. Random encounters with Ipoohs take place on the World Map road between that exit and the signpost marked “← Mobliz Shipyard / → Wind Shrine”. These large brown bears are easy to spot.
Several other enemy combinations patrol this road: Wild Nakks with Iron Bats, White Peaks with bats, and a solitary Metal Minituar (level 18), which shrugs off most plain attacks. These encounters don’t count toward the task, so flee and continue along the route until Ipoohs show up. They appear in groups of two or three, sometimes joined by Wild Nakks, an Osprey, or a Medusa. One fight containing at least two Ipoohs completes the objective. See the enemies list for the area’s other monsters.
How to beat the Ipoohs
- Level 14, 300 HP
- Weak to Earth
- Enemy note: “Easily staggered.”
- Drops Potion
Plain attacks are enough to stagger them. Once the last Ipooh is staggered, Fina’s SELECT RESONANCE prompt appears, and Hibernal Fury finishes the fight for a total of 667.
A three-Ipooh battle pays out 63 EXP, 175 Gil and 11 MRP, with the Gil including the Overkill Bonus and the Stagger Finish Bonus.
Rain confirms that you have the stones with “That should be everything we need to get Mechabo repaired!” Lid follows with “Thanks for helping out, everyone. Just hold tight a little longer, Mechabo!”
The objective then changes to “Deliver the Mechabo repair parts to Verun at the Dwarven Forge”, and the game autosaves again.
Where to find Verun and the reward
Re-enter the Forge through the north door. Find Verun immediately south of the passage leading to that door; approach him from the south and speak to him.
The repair happens in his workshop. Verun starts with “I’ll get working on Mechabo immediately.” and later lets out a “HAAAAAAH!” Rain comments, “Verun sure is…loud…when he’s working.” Verun finishes with “That should do the trick.” and Lid reacts with “Mechabo!” “You’re kweh-ing! You’re moving!…”
Lid then tries to pay. “I’ll pay you for the repairs! Take my money, please!” Rain can’t believe it. “D-did I hear that right? Lid offering someone money?” Verun turns the money down: “I told you it was on the house…and I intend to keep my word. Just take care of him this time, okay?”
Lid closes the scene with “It’s us against the world again, Mechabo!” and the “Arise, Mechabo! QUEST COMPLETED” banner appears.
Your reward is a Magicite Shard x1. If you’re collecting more, the other sources are covered in where to get Magicite.
Upgrading Mechabo
An “Upgrading Mechabo” tutorial follows the reward. It explains how the system works: “Lid’s partner, Mechabo, can be upgraded to learn a wide variety of skills. To do so, you’ll need to gather materials from monsters and deliver them to Verun. Talk to Verun to see what materials are needed.”
Mechabo Evolved: The dhorme chimeras
Talk to Verun again. He has moved and now stands beside Borin’s platform. He asks for “something that challenges the way we currently do battle”, and then names it: “Chimera talons, to be specific. You’ll probably get enough if you hunt down three dhorme chimeras.”
The “Mechabo Evolved QUEST ACCEPTED” banner appears, followed by the objective “Defeat three dhorme chimeras northeast of Grandport (0/3)”.
You can’t finish this one from the Forge. The quest log puts the chimeras “in the desert northeast of Grandport”, which is back on Grandshelt, so this step has to wait until you can travel back west. The Dhorme Chimera is a level 16 enemy with 6,075 HP, weak to Water. Its enemy notes read “Powerful and difficult to stagger, but rewards handsomely when defeated.” and “Uses powerful magic attacks.” It shows up in random battles in that desert, either alone or with two Desert Sahagins, and each one is worth 300 EXP and 600 Gil.
Every Mechabo upgrade
The Mechabo Evolved quest log lists four upgrade steps. Each step needs materials from three of one monster type.
| Step | Materials | Where | Mechabo gains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chimera talons | Three dhorme chimeras, desert northeast of Grandport | Mechabo Tackle (12 MP) |
| 2 | Gorgon’s mirrors | Three medusae, southwest of the Dwarven Forge | Overclock |
| 3 | Gravi-stones | Three destroyers, western Olderion Federation | Mecha Fat Chocobo |
| 4 | Scorch stones | Three sandworms, southern Zoldaad | Mecha Behemoth, “his ultimate form” |
Mechabo Tackle reads “[Mechabo Skill] Deal Earth physical damage to an enemy. Damage scales with total number of successful escapes from battle.” Overclock reads “Increase the damage and stagger power of Mechabo skills by 150%. Mechabo needs to cooldown for 2 turns after attacking with 3 Mechabo skills.”
Lid already has two Mechabo skills from level 1. Mechabo Kick is “[Mechabo Skill] Deal Earth physical damage to an enemy.” for 5 MP, and Mechabo Escape is “[Mechabo Skill] Escape from battle guaranteed.” for 8 MP. Mechabo Tackle scales with your total successful escapes, so every fight you run from adds to its damage, including the ones you skip while hunting Ipoohs.
Mechabo Evolved grants Magicite x1. Later, in Chapter 5, Verun offers “Mechabo Unleashed”, another quest that advances the upgrades and adds Overclock Zero and Mechamog Scan. Find Lid’s complete skill set on the playable characters page, more of Verun’s work in the side quests list, and the next main-story steps in the walkthrough.
