You do have to wait until unlocking pets becomes available. It won’t be a viable route for you to explore until you’ve completed Chapter 5: Ma-non Maneuvers. You must also finish the Renewed Will Affinity Mission and reach level 19. After you do, the Affinity Mission Nine Lives is ready for you to grab. You can find it in the north section of the Commercial District.

When you acquire the Nine Lives Affinity mission, you’ll learn that the quest giver, Mathias, needs help locating his lost cat. The cat’s name is Aisha, but you’ve promised to go looking for her. You’ll need to go to the Lower Administration District to learn more about where she might have gone.

You have a large radius to search for information about Aisha in this area. To advance the quest, head to the southwest section of this area and look for the BLADE character lounging on the crates. Stand close to him and learn that Aisha was spotted at Cliffside Beach. Before you go there, return to the Industrial District to speak with Mathias and update him on the situation.

When you’ve finished a brief cutscene talking to Mathias about Aisha, you can now rescue her at Cliffside Beach. Use the FN Site 116 fast travel point if you’ve unlocked it.

As you reach the location, Mathias is fighting with a Shallows Grex. A short cutscene plays out before a fight against your party and the Grex. When you dispatch it, another cutscene shows Aisha is fine and hiding behind the rocks.

Even though Aisha is fine, Mathias still needs your help and wants you to find Kiran catnip to lure her from the rocks. You can do this by searching to the west of Talon Rock Second Tererane. Using the Follow Ball should lead you to each location where you need to acquire the catnip.

You pick up these items off the ground, so if you search one of the objective markers and don’t find any, try at a different location. You only need three.

After you have all three Kiran catnip, return to Cliffside Beach to give to Mathias and Aisha. The trap does work in luring Aisha from the rocks, but a Greedy Forex appears, and you’ll have to fight it. Thankfully, after it’s defeated, your distraction gives Mathias and Aisha enough time to return to New Los Angeles. You can find them in the northern area of the Administrative District. Your following conversation with Mathias completes the quest, unlocking pets for the rest of your XCX playthrough.

How to Get More Pets in Xenoblade Chronicles X

There are more pets for you to unlock as you progress through Xenoblade Chronicles X. They appear as basic quest rewards, which means you’ll need to regularly visit the Mission Control console across from the BLADE Barracks to earn them.

Additional basic quests unlock as you progress through the story. You’ll want to visit the Mission Control console occasionally after you complete a new chapter or in between any side quest that brings you back to New Los Angeles.