Garuda ( Final Fantasy IX ) The Garuda is a bird type enemy from " Final Fantasy IX " found in Oeilvert and Esto Gaza , and early in the game in Popos Heights where the player can exit from Gizamaluke ' s Grotto . Single Garuda attacks in the " bridge " area of Oeilvert containing the first unlockable hologram generator . In Esto Gaza they appear in pairs in the front plaza , and on the path to Mount Gulug . At Popos Heights they only appear in the forest ed areas on the world map , but can be found alone or in pairs ; this is also where the friendly Garuda can spawn . Battle . Garuda ' s Maelstrom , reduces a targeted party member ' s health to a single digit without fail and ignores Reflect . It uses the Stop spell . Its Firaga can target one or multiple party members . Aerial Slash will target all party members , but occasionally misses . Garuda is weak against Wind and Shadow attacks . Strategy . The Garuda at Popos Heights can be encountered early , during passage through Gizamaluke ' s Grotto . Compared to what players have faced thus far , the 3 , 521 HP of these level 35 Garuda eclipses any boss yet encountered , including Gizamaluke in the next chamber of the grotto . A fight against a single Garuda may be considered an optional boss , and one may want to soft reset until a lone Garuda is encountered . The real trophy from this fight is the Blue Magic spell White Wind . Garuda is the first enemy Quina can eat to learn the spell until the climb up Cleyra ' s Trunk on Disc 2 . This early in the game Freya is the only party member who can possibly access Locomotion , learning it from an Anklet , an extremely rare treasure from the Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame in Chocobo ' s Forest ( a 1 in 1 , 024 or ~ 0 . 1 % chance ) . Locomotion negates Stop . Garuda are weak to the Wind and Shadow elements , but the party cannot exploit these weaknesses at this stage . The party also cannot mitigate the Fire - elemental damage from its Firaga . It is advised to equip the Bird Killer support ability to Zidane and Freya , who can learn it from Yellow Scarf or Bronze Armor , respectively . Yellow Scarves can be synthesized in Lindblum and Bronze Armor may be purchased in the Dali weapon shop or taken from Steiner , who begins the game wearing one . Another way of dealing with these enemies is to have Quina use Mustard Bomb as the Garuda is not immune to the Heat status ailment , and will die upon acting once afflicted with Heat . Another method is to attempt to inflict the Sleep status on Garuda and have Quina utilize Matra Magic to lower Garuda ' s HP to 1 digit , which can be learned from eating a Trick Sparrow . Quina can then successfully eat Garuda to learn White Wind . Vivi can also cast Slow on Garuda whilst it is asleep . Maelstrom leaves party members near death so they may be easily picked - off by Aerial Slash or Firaga on Garuda ' s next turn . Players will have to rely on Potions for healing . Having Vivi cast Slow will reduce Garuda ' s potential damage over time . Because Quina will eat to end the fight , Garuda ' s HP only needs to be reduced to 880 . If Quina Trances , Garuda can be Cooked with 1 , 760 HP remaining . Friendly Garuda . A friendly Garuda can be found in Popo ' s Heights on the Mist Continent as part of a sidequest . It requests a Lapis Lazuli and will reward the party with 40 AP if obliged .