I definitely agree leveling my Chocobo has been a major pain. Whether or not it's optional, it's a feature in the game, and one I want to invest. I don't think it should be incredibly easy to level up the Chocobo since I'm sure you can use it while leveling your other jobs. However, after seeing my Choco gain 98 xp after killing a level 48 on my 50... yeah, I was disheartened lol.