Location: Fire Cavern
Scan Info: Fire GF; uses fire magic. It's a strong opponent, but as it is a part of Garden's exam, not impossible to defeat.
HP: 1068
Very weak against: None
Weak against: Ice
Strong against: None
Very strong against: None
Has no effect: None
Absorbs: Fire
Draw Possibilities: Fire, Scan, Cure
AP Gained: 20
Items Gained: G-Returner (6), Ifrit's Card (1)
My tips: The first boss in the game, and it's a GF to boot!
First thing's first. Make sure Shiva (Ice GF) knows Boost (10 AP). Have one person use Shiva while the other uses Blizzard (Ice magic) along with physical attacks. You could use Quezacotl (Thunder GF), but it'll do less damage. You can cause more damage yourself in the time it takes to summon Quezacotl and wait for it to finish its animation. You're better off with Blizzard. Ice magic will cause more damage, but unless you have a vast amount, you'll eventually have to go with your weapon. You can draw Blizzard from Glacial Eyes that hang around the mountains near Garden.
Keep damaging him, and at around half his health, he'll shout 'Impudent humans!', leap into the air, and come
down to punch one of your party.
Use Cure if your health gets too low. Speaking of which, I recommend drawing extreme amounts of HP raising magic early in the game. It'll be worth it in the long run. You never can have too many Cures!
Now that Ifrit has used his 'Flying Drop Punch' (as I don't call it), he'll start doing it along with burning you with his Fire magic.
Continue to freeze him to death until he gives up and joins you. You now have the 3 basic GFs. That's enough for all active party members (that is, the ones who are going to be fighting battles).
One last thing, don't use Fire on him. This will raise his HP. However, I believe that if you manage to beat him with around 7 seconds left on your timer, it will go towards your SeeD rank, using Fire to keep his health up. I've never tried this and I don't know if it works. Just thought I'd mention it.