Friendly monsters

The Friendly Mu thanks the party.

Friendly monsters, also known as friendly creatures, phantom monsters (精霊モンスター, seirei monsutā?, lit. spirit monsters), or simply phantoms, is a sidequest and group of monsters the party can randomly encounter while traversing the world map in Final Fantasy IX. The player will know they have encountered one from the battle music, which is much more cheery and sweet than the normal battle music. The friendly monsters request a jewel and in return give the party a large amount of AP, as well as the jewel for the next encounter when the next offering is something other than Ore.

Completing the quest earns the Mister Nice Guy achievement/trophy in the newest versions of Final Fantasy IX.

Types

Name	Image	Location	Request	Prize
Mu		Forests and plains between the Ice Cavern and Dali. (No longer appears in forests after getting the Invincible.)	1 Ore	10 AP, Potion
Ghost		Grassy plains or forests of Bentini Heights around Treno (before getting the Invincible), or grassy plains of Bohden Heights outside the South Gate (after getting the Invincible).	1 Ore	10 AP, Hi-Potion
Ladybug		Forests and plains around Conde Petie and Black Mage Village (always), or plains between Lindblum and Gizamaluke's Grotto (after defeating Soulcage).	2 Ore	20 AP, Ether
Yeti		Forest and plains near Madain Sari (always), or plains between Gizamaluke's Grotto and Burmecia (after defeating Soulcage).	2 Ore	20 AP, Elixir
Nymph		Forest and plains near the Iifa Tree (always), or plains near Cleyra (after defeating Soulcage).	3 Ore	30 AP, Emerald
Jabberwock		Forests and plains in evening areas north of Oeilvert. It can be tricky to find, but should appear in areas bathed in dusk on the grassland terrain, or on the chocobo tracks on the dirt, or in the forests.	Emerald	40 AP, Moonstone
Feather Circle		Any snow-covered area on the Lost Continent.	Moonstone	30 AP, Lapis Lazuli
Garuda		Forest on Popos Heights, plateau above Gizamaluke's Grotto.	Lapis Lazuli	40 AP, Diamond
Yan		Forest on Vile Island, just next to Iifa Tree with large mountain.	Diamond	50 AP, Rosetta Ring

Mechanics

It is best to encounter the friendly monsters when a party member needs to master a skill, although these encounters are random. If the player encounters a friendly enemy and does not want to "waste the AP" they can escape or attack it to make it flee.

The order of friendly creatures above is the order the player would find (or be able to satisfy the requests of) them in the game when playing through the main quest. It, however, does not have to be completed in this order. As long as all eight have been encountered previously, the Friendly Yan encounter should be a success. Once the player has an airship, seeking the monsters out in any order becomes easy.

If the other eight friendly monsters have not been encountered and pleased with their requested gems, Yan will ask the party, "Have you met the others?" before running away. Caution must be taken when searching for Yan because its less-than-friendly cousins are quite powerful. Yan wants the Diamond obtained from the Garuda.

After finding all nine friendly monsters, Yan will say, "Thanks a lot! Now you can reach the round guy!". This means Ozma can now be hit with physical attacks. Additionally, Ozma will be weak to shadow-elemental attacks instead of absorbing them.

Alternatively, the player can choose to defeat the Friendly Yan, as it is the only friendly enemy that does not run away when being attacked. If the player chooses to defeat the Yan they can claim its spoils of 50 AP and a Rosetta Ring. This can be done repeatedly for the Yan will reappear until it is given the Diamond it asks for. This leaves the possibility of farming Friendly Yans for the AP drop to learn abilities at incredible speed. However, Friendly Yan is among the toughest opponents in the game to defeat.

The quest becomes impossible to finish if the player uses up all of their limited gems prior to giving them to the monsters (Emerald, Moonstone, and Diamond). There being nine friendly monsters in the sidequest is likely one of the many allusions to the number 9 found in the game.

Gimme Cat

Outside Daguerreo and its surrounding islands, the player might run into a Gimme Cat that requests the player give it a Diamond. Gimme Cat is not part of the friendly monsters sidequest, and will give nothing in return if given a Diamond. Gimme Cat also does not use the track "Faerie Battle" unlike the actual friendly monsters, which is a clue to the deception attempt.

Ragtime Mouse

The player may encounter Ragtime Mouse in various forests on the world map. It behaves like a friendly monster, as attacking it will cause it to flee and the encounter theme is "Faerie Battle". Answering its question correctly will make it reward the player, and while answering incorrectly will make it attack the character, there is no HP deduction.