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Non-elemental short range horizontal attack, combos up to four hits
Ellen's Pouke is the same as Keats', a low-cost attack useful for stunning enemies singly or in small groups. It's considerably more useful for Ellen in later chapters because she doesn't get a similar attack for a long time, and its final Karma can be unlocked early in chapter 2 if you want to put in the time.
How to fight it: It would be hard to find a technique that doesn't work. Pouke telegraphs its attacks enough that dodging them should be easy, and when fighting a large group, they'll be flung far and wide by nearly any attack with a sufficient area of effect. They're also vulnerable to Sleep, Bond, and Charm, if you've got decent attacks that use them. But if you do, why are you still fighting Poukes?
Omnidirectional shield
Killmoulis is a solid shield throughout the game. All three of its Karmas can be unlocked in the first chapter, reducing its MC to a very low cost for a shield, and it will block any single attack in the game, as well as some short combos. Its only weakness is that the shield will be destroyed by the attack, and you will have to wait for Killmoulis to fade before you can use the shield again. Great for buying time to dodge further attacks, though.
How to fight it: Another simple Folk to fight. It telegraphs its attacks a bit, but they're short-range, so you should be able to keep your distance. Killmoulis occasionally raises its shield, but if you're patient, you can catch it when its shield drops. As far as I can tell, it's immune to all status conditions.
Water elemental rising attack, chargeable, slight homing capability
Henky is the first water elemental attack in the game and the only one you'll get in chapter 1. It can be quite useful against airborne opponents, but nearly useless against enemies on the ground because you'll need to be at close range. Charging the attack is almost required, both to give the bubble time to hit its target and because you'll need to time its release when the enemy is directly overhead. To its credit, all four of its Karmas can be unlocked in this chapter - you can find plenty of Impets and Browneys to defeat, and Impets drop Cold Tree Nuts.
How to fight it: A Henky is basically a Pouke whose attack moves a bit slower. Short of wearing a Cloak that protects from Water damage, there's not much you need to do.
Non-elemental medium-range attack with area effect, chargeable
Bug-a-boo is a situational attack - it's great for clusters of enemies at a distance, but the more enemies you fight, the more chances for one of them to hit Bug-a-boo before it extends its spines. The charge is really only useful against stunned Folks, but when fully charged, Bug-a-boo covers about as much ground as Bargest's spine attack - pretty impressive for a Folk otherwise half its size. It's hard to make a case for letting Bug-a-boo occupy an attack slot in general, but it can be handy against groups of Folks.
How to fight it: If all you want to do is defeat it, ranged attacks are your best bet - keep your distance when it charges its spine attack, and if you have an attack that can reach past the spines, it's free damage time. It can also swipe its claws, but that's a very short range attack that it mostly uses against your summoned Folks. If you want to capture its Id, though, you'll need a Sleep elemental attack. Your best window of opportunity is just after it retracts its spines, especially if it hit a Folk with that attack - it tends to celebrate, which gives you time to get in an attack or two.
Wind elemental long-range wave attack, can hit multiple enemies in its range
Boobrie is your Wind elemental attack for the first chapter, and it's a pretty good one. The powerful wind from its wings will send enemies flying and do a fair amount of damage, although it's got one of the worst damage-to-cost ratios in the chapter, and its final Karma can't be unlocked until chapter 5. It also suffers a bit from the size of the Folk being summoned - enemies closer to you than Boobrie's length will be inside the arc of its attack and won't be affected. You'll want to use it from a distance anyway, though, since the arc of wind widens as it goes. Fortunately, there's nothing weak to Wind in the chapter except the Folklore, so you don't need to use it much unless you want to unlock the Karmas.
How to fight it: Boobrie is Ellen's first mini-boss Folk, and since it comes before most of the elemental Folks, there isn't much strategy possible for the first fight. Boobrie attacks very quickly with its beak and is so light on its feet that keeping your distance is impossible - be prepared to block with Killmoulis and counter with Pouke. It can also use its wind attack - you'll want to dodge that, since it comes in several waves and Killmoulis will have a hard time blocking them all. If it flies across the room, keep your distance, because its tail will hit you even after it's landed. Once you advance in the game a bit, Sleep attacks will knock Boobrie out for a short while and let you get in some hits. Capture it with the Timing method.
Sleep elemental short-range attack
Cait Sidhe is the only Sleep elemental attack in the first chapter, and it's pretty bad. It takes a long time to go off and only hits enemies in front of it - the range is wide enough to hit most moving targets, but moving targets tend to be attacking targets, and that will cancel the attack. Cait Sidhe is too expensive to throw around freely this early in the game, so you'll want to aim for your opponent's unguarded side or wait for a moment of reprieve. The good news is that most Folks vulnerable to Sleep will instantly give up their red Ids from one attack.
How to fight it: Cait Sidhe sprays one burst of Sleep powder when it sees you, then runs away. To capture it effectively, you'll need to be wearing a Cloak that protects you from Sleep (such as the Faery Cloak), and you'll need to use a Bond attack to hold it in place. Then beat it into submission before it escapes.
Bond elemental trap-style attack
Impet is your Bond elemental attack for the chapter, and it's a bit expensive and can be awkward to use. The idea is to place it directly above the enemy, or in a place the enemy will pass under it at a slow enough speed to be hit by the attack. It's also not effective against most Folks.
Chapter 3: Once you obtain Aqua Liquid, you can unlock Impet's Karmas, most notably allowing you to use up to three Impets at once. This potentially makes it useful, but there will be a much better Bond attack by then, so I still don't think Impet is going to be of much help.
How to fight it: Target it and charge up a Henky bubble to knock it out of the sky, then capture it or kill it with pretty much any attack. The Faery Cloak is highly recommended.
Non-elemental medium-range melee attack
Daru's attack is more useful for its range and speed than its strength - it's a quick attack with enough reach to get through, say, Bug-a-boo's spines. It also has a very wide sweep both horizontally and vertically, making it great for hitting out-of-reach enemies and crystals. It's best used in tandem with a combo attack, though, since it takes a while to disappear after attacking.
How to fight it: Staying behind it generally works for avoiding its attacks - if you're in front, watch for rapid attacks and be prepared to dodge out of the way. It's vulnerable to Sleep, so if you can keep it still long enough, you can capture it in a single attack.
Slash elemental short-range vertical attack, can hit several times in succession
Ogma is the Slash attack for this chapter, and isn't at all different from the way it worked for Keats, except that there are enemies in Ellen's first chapter that require Slash attacks. It's not a very useful attack if it's not hitting a weakness, due to poor horizontal coverage.
How to fight it: Staying behind Ogma is a good idea if you can manage it, but it's light on its feet and attacks quickly. The best strategy is probably to block its charge attack, which will knock it off its feet. Keep your distance to lure it into using that attack. It's also vulnerable to Bond, so you can take it down quickly by planting Impet and knocking it out of a charge right under the trap.
Charm elemental trap-style attack
Browney is the Impet of Charm attacks, but since Charm just stuns Folks for a short time and there's nothing in this chapter weak to Charm that can't be beaten in a much easier way, there's little point to using it at all. If there's ever a Folk vulnerable to Charm where a fire-and-forget attack is the best way to go, you've got one.
Chapter 3: Like Impet, Browney has Karmas that allow you to deploy up to three at a time, once you find Purple Liquid. Also like Impet, there will be a much better Charm attack available by then that makes Browney pretty much obsolete. Oh well.
How to fight it: It's just like Impet, except I've never seen it attack Ellen. Take it down with Henky and wonder why they even bothered to put it in the game.
Destroy elemental short-range attack with a wide sweep, chargeable
Bargest will remain a solid choice for Destroy element damage throughout the game. It's surprisingly low-cost, and its wide attack makes it perfect for crowd control while its speed makes it effective against moving targets that fight back. It will stun most enemies that can be stunned and aren't immune to Destroy attacks, and it isn't easily knocked out of its own attack. Ellen can charge Bargest to deliver a second blow, but there aren't many enemies that will stand still for both of them.
Chapter 2: I discovered that charging Bargest long enough at its Chapter 1 level will switch to a single double-armed swipe for massive damage, but that's nothing to what happens when you unlock its final Karma, available in Chapter 2. A fully-charged Bargest will hurl itself at the enemy, sliding quite a distance for plenty of damage. It's only useful for slow-moving enemies, but there are enough Folks that will stand still to deliver area attacks that it's worth having this ability in your arsenal.
How to fight it: Bargest is another mini-boss, so it will take a lot of damage, and it's immune to most status effects - Sleep seems to work, but it will wake up almost immediately and deliver a crushing blow when it does. Stick with Slash attacks. Try to stay behind it as much as possible, since the only attack that can hit you there is its spine attack, which is telegraphed to provide plenty of time to get to a safe distance. At long range, it can hurl itself across the room, but you can dodge or block that attack and get in a few free hits. As for its claws - stay away from the claws. A long-range Slash attack will make this fight almost a joke. Capture it with the Timing method.
Charm elemental short-range attack with area effect
Shefro is a surprisingly useful Charm element attack - that is, if the Charm element were itself useful. It's got a slight delay, like Cait Sidhe, but since it attacks in all directions, that's not usually as much of a problem. It's just such a pain to capture this early in the game that it's not worth the trouble.
How to fight it: Don't. Just don't.
Really how to fight it: Okay, first, you'll need to capture every other Folk on this list. Once you've done that, return to the dead end off the Road of Daru Portal room. Shefro will constantly summon groups of Daru and Ogma to attack you - be sure to leave at least one of them alive or she'll summon more. (It might be worth attacking her during that animation, though.) Trap the Folk of your choice on the far side of the rocks, then try to target Shefro with an attack that will knock her out of the air, such as Henky. You'll need to hit her with a Sleep attack, which in this chapter means Cait Si- look, are you REALLY sure you want to do this? Not only will you have to hit her four times with Sleep before whatever you use to bring her to ground level kills her, but then you'll have to capture her while another Folk tries to path-find its way around the rocks, and this is probably the toughest Timing method capture in the game. If you manage to do all of that, your reward is... well, see my discussion of its usefulness above.