Groose

Groose as seen in Skyward Sword.
Groose
Species	Hylian
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Yellow
Origin	Skyloft
Voiced by	Hisao Egawa
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Groose is a supporting character from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. He starts off as Link's rival, but he grows into becoming his friend and an ally in the fight against Demise over the course of the game.

Background

Groose was a student at Skyloft's Knight Academy who was known for his larger-than-life personality. He constantly worked out to improve his muscles and also prided himself for his red hair, as he bragged that he had "the slickest pompadour in town". He has been described by Fi as being "somewhat vain and stubborn", but at the same time being "pure of heart". A more accurate description would probably be a child-like mind, as Groose initially tried to intimidate those he did not like. He spent most of his friends with Strich and Cawlin, his two best friends who often acted as his lackeys. The three of them had a habit of hanging out near Skyloft's waterfall. Groose was actually driven by his obsessive crush on Zelda, the daughter of Headmaster Gaepora. He often deluded himself into believing that they were closer than they were, and although he treated his crush like a secret, he had a habit of blurting out thoughts relating to his feelings and intentions for Zelda, and occasionally he would even burst out into giggles.

While he was enthusiastic to please Zelda, he took an opposing position towards her friend Link. Groose was jealous of Link for having such a close bond with Zelda and for having been childhood friends with her. He accused Link of dragging the school down and bullied him consistently. Most of the time, Zelda stood up for Link and forced Groose to back down. Eventually, the day came when Groose was to take part in the Wing Ceremony. The winner of the Loftwing race would get to participate in the ceremony with Zelda, an idea which left Groose desperate to win. Groose's competitors were Cawlin, Strich and Link. With two of them on his side, they worked together to sabotage Link by kidnapping his Loftwing and hiding it in a pen near their hangout place. They hoped that Link would be disqualified, which would ensure Groose's victory, but Gaepora had the race postponed until Link found his Loftwing. Link eventually succeeded, and the race proceeded. Groose still had other tricks on his sleeve, as he and his friends tried bombarding Link with eggs to keep him from winning. Link still won, much to Groose's dismay. Soon afterwards, Zelda went missing after going on a ride with Link. Groose knew enough of the story to know that Zelda was missing, and blamed Link at first. Zelda's absence caused Groose to fall into a depression, and he spent most of his time sulking around his room while Cawlin was forced to spend late hours of the night comforting him.

As time went on, Groose slowly began to gain the idea that he should try to find Zelda himself. He began to notice the lights appearing in the sky, which marked holes in the cloud barrier leading to the surface. Groose did not know what they were and came to the conclusion that they were signals that Zelda was sending to him. He also grew suspicious of how Link was suddenly leaving and returning to Skyloft all the time. Eventually, Groose decided to try tailing Link and followed him through a hole in the cloud barrier. He was then horrified as he wound up dropping down towards the surface just above Link. A shocked Link was quickly able to seize control of the situation quickly enough to ensure that they both landed safely at the Sealed Grounds within the Faron Province. Groose was overwhelmed by his surroundings and panicked as he tried to comprehend it all, from the massive volume of trees to the tiny birds that perched on him. Groose had considered the surface to be just a myth and demanded answers from Link. Link explained things the best way he could, and Groose understood the general gist of it, or at least just that Zelda was okay. This helped Groose to feel relieved, and as he grew adjusted to the surface world, he realized that this "rugged, adventurous wilderness" needed a name. Groose's immediate suggestion, Grooseland, did not seem to stick.

His next step was to barge into the Sealed Temple and inquire about Zelda's location from the old lady within, whom he came to know as Grannie. He was ready to relieve Link as the one questing to save Zelda, and he felt that when he was successful, Zelda would make their "relationship" official. Grannie dismissed Groose's claims and assured him that Link was actually the hero destined to save Zelda. Groose was unable to see Link as anything other than a shrimp and fumed about this while Grannie talked with Link about his quest. They were soon interrupted when Demise's seal at the bottom of the Sealed Grounds's pit began to weaken, and he emerged in his form as The Imprisoned. Groose watched in shock as Link took the behemoth down, and seeing Link in action caused Groose to realize a sort of epiphany about Link's skill. He admitted that Grannie was right and he was useless. Grannie told Groose that he was selling himself short and still had his own part to play in these events. Groose was grateful towards Grannie for breaking him out of his self-pitying funk and decided to do his part to help Zelda in "the Groose way" by working on a new device. Groose got to work on tearing down the fences surrounding the top of the Sealed Grounds and instead built a rail track running around the perimeter of the area. Upon this track, Groose built his superweapon, a large catapult which he dubbed the Groosenator. The last ingredient was a set of giant Bomb Flowers that he grew in a nearby alcove, and these served as the Groosenator's ammunition. He did not know he was capable of such talent and had no idea what he was doing as he constructed this.

Groose got his chance to test it when Link returned with the Master Sword, and The Imprisoned broke free again. Groose was excited at an opportunity to the Groosenator, but at the same the attack had come before he had put the finishing touches on, so the Groosenator's movement was limited. Groose called to Link whenever the Groosenator was ready, at which point the player could temporarily shift control to Groose in the Groosenator. His giant bombs were able to slow The Imprisoned down so that Link could reseal it. Groose congratulated both himself and Link for their good work in the battle afterwards. He still displayed newfound humility in front of Grannie and credited her for his transformation into someone who put his energy into helping others. At this point, Link activated the Gate of Time so he could pass through it to meet with Zelda in the past version of the temple. Groose decided to hang back in case of another Imprisoned outbreak and simply asked Link to tell Zelda that he said, "What's up?". Once Link returned, Groose received an update on Zelda's condition and reacted differently depending on what Link said. At this point, Groose finalized his decision to stay at the Sealed Temple with Grannie instead of returning to Skyloft. He saw that someone needed to watch over the sealed behemoth while Link was traveling, and he wanted to make sure that Grannie was alright. Groose felt that this as what he wanted to do, and he had a feeling in his belly that there was work to be done there. It was not as action-packed as Link's journey, but Groose was starting to feel that this was his destiny. He also had grown to appreciate life on the surface, but he wanted Link to make sure that Skyloft, especially Strich and Cawlin, knew that he was alright.

He also noticed how fertile the area was due to the efforts of Zelda and Grannie, which gave him the desire to plant something. Link eventually solved the problem by planting one in the past which grew to full size in the present. Groose was impressed by the tree and considered it to be a symbol for the temple. Groose and Link teamed up for one more battle against The Imprisoned when it broke free around another time that Link visited. The Groosenator was fully mobilized this time, and Groose had full confidence in its abilities, as he came to see defending the land as his purpose. During the battle, Groose ran into trouble when the path to his ammunition was cut off by collapsed rubble. They quickly put together a back-up plan: Link loaded himself into the Groosenator, and Groose fired him at The Imprisoned's head so that Link could directly attack the sealing spike, finally sealing the beast away again. The battle made Groose think of other uses for the Groosenator, and Groose soon used it to launch Link safely into the flooded area of Faron Woods when he had no other way in. The time eventually came when the Imprisoned was destroyed for good by Link's wish to the Triforce, which lowered Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess into the Sealed Grounds. The time finally came for Zelda to awaken from her crystal. Groose was overwhelmed with emotion to the point where he cried. He shook Link lovingly and even hugged Grannie. However, this was cut short by the coming of Ghirahim, who kidnapped Zelda and took her to the past so that he could sacrifice her to rescue Demise. Groose and Grannie both tried to bar Ghirahim's path to the Gate of Time, but he effortlessly knocked them both to the side.

At some point, Groose decided to pass through the Gate himself. At the past version of the Sealed Grounds, he witnessed from the sidelines as Demise was revived and used a tornado to try to toss Zelda to her death. Groose was able to catch her in the nick of time and brought her to the back room of the temple to recuperate. Groose still made time to cheer Link on and voiced his faith in Link's ability to slay the Demon King. Link was successful in destroying Demise, and Zelda soon recovered. Groose commended Link, Zelda and Impa for how well they did and decided to call their adventure the "Legend of Groose", but he quickly recanted this as a joke. Impa made sure to genuinely thank Groose for his help, and Groose was glad that he could make himself useful. Groose soon returned to the present with Link and Zelda, and Impa remained behind. They were all overjoyed to see Grannie again, partially due to realizing that she was actually a very aged Impa. However, within moments Impa passed on by dissipating in a cloud of golden dust. Groose fell to his knees and was visibly devastated by this loss. Their spirits were raised somewhat by the sight of the Master Sword surrounded by sunlight. In the aftermath, Groose was last seen waving goodbye to Link and Zelda before flying off with Cawlin and Strich on their respective Loftwings to parts unknown, with the cloud barrier gone.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Groose has been represented by a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and as an Advanced Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When fought in a Spirit battle, Groose's Spirit would possess Wario and start the battle equipped with a Bomber. Explosive items would appear commonly during the battle, and the Groose-possessed Wario had an improved throwing ability while focusing on jumping around.

Trivia

• Groose's English name was formed by combining "goose" with the name "Bruce", due to the naming scheme of Skyloft characters being named after birds and "Bruce" being a name associated with jock-like characters. Coincidentally, the name is also a similar to a different type of bird, the "grouse".
• Groose's Loftwing is purple and has a pompadour matching Groose's.
• Groose does not appear in Hyrule Warriors, but he is indirectly referenced through the Groosenator name being used for the catapults at the Sealed Grounds, and his clothes are also available for fairies in My Fairy mode.