Deku Scrub

A Deku Scrub from Ocarina of Time.
Deku Scrub
Type	Wood creature
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Deku Scrub is a creature with a wooden body that was introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Information

The Deku Scrubs are race of creatures that have small and delicate bodies made out of wood, and they usually have hair that resembles some type of foliage. Deku Scrubs usually hide within the ground, in grass or large flower buds. They peek out from their hiding places and spit nuts at anyone whom approaches it. The Scrubs are most commonly stunned by deflecting the seeds back at them with a shield. Deku Scrubs have an expanded set of abilities in Majora's Mask. They the ability to fire themselves out from flower buds and then temporarily glide through the air by using some type of flowers as propellers. They can drop Deku Seeds from the sky in the manner of bombs. Deku Scrubs can also alternately follow bubbles by using magic power. A Deku Scrub can skip across bodies of water and are light enough to use lilypads as platforms, but they can only pull off a limited amount of skip at which point they will fall into the water. Deku Scrubs cannot swim, and because of their wooden bodies, they are particularly vulnerable to fire and extreme cold.

Throughout the games, there are two different subtypes of Deku Scrubs that appear. Business Scrubs are merchants who usually have rounder bodies. They will still attack others in most appearances, but after having a seed deflected at them, they will quickly surrender and try selling something to the person. Mad Scrubs are usually shorter and with more raggedy hair, and they are known to be openly hostile. Stunning it with a deflected seed leaves it open to be finished off with a direct attack, and they can also be defeated by projectiles. Little is known about Deku Scrub society, as the only actual Deku Scrub civilization to appear has been in the parallel world of Termina, where it was a monarchy located within a swamp. Deku Scrubs most commonly appear in forest or swamp locales as well as some caves. Business Scrubs usually show up in a wide variety of areas. Four Swords Adventures had a notably different take on the Deku Scrubs where they claimed that people who were lost in the woods could eventually become Deku Scrubs (similar to the implied origins of Skull Kids and Stalfos) and implied that they could only thrive within Lost Woods. They also referred to the Lost Woods as their birthplace.

Appearances

In Ocarina of Time, Deku Scrubs are first encountered within the Deku Tree, where four Deku Scrub Brothers act as underlings of Queen Gohma. When the first one is beaten, it reveals the proper order to beat the other three in to reach Queen Gohma's lair. After they were beaten in the right order, one of the latter three brothers bargained with Link by telling him Gohma's weakness. Deku Scrubs had a widespread presence in the game, with Mad Scrubs and normal Deku Scrubs inhabiting the Lost Woods. There were also Business Scrubs located in various caves and dungeons.

In Majora's Mask, the Deku Scrubs had a palace in Termina's Southern Swamp, and guards were constantly patrolling for outsiders. They rejected outsiders and feuded with their neighboring monkeys, but the Deku Princess was friendlier to them. The Deku Princess was captured by Odolwa, and her monkey friend was framed, but Link was able to clear the monkey's name by rescuing the her, and the two races were able to find peace. The Deku Butler also had his own son that had gone missing. What appeared to be this son was found in the passage between Termina and Hyrule, petrified in wood. It was implied that the Skull Kid was responsible for the Scrub's fate and used his spirit when he cursed Link into a Deku Scrub form. When Link was healed of this curse, its remains became the Deku Mask which could transform Link into a Deku Scrub at will. When in Deku form, the Deku Butler would note the resemblance to his missing son. Beyond that, Business Scrubs were found in various areas of Termina and could be involved in a trading sidequest where they all traded properties through Link, which also gave him access to more Pieces of Heart.

In Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, more Deku Scrubs were shown living in Holodrum and Labrynna, within various caves. Many of them would give advice after being beaten, while others acted as Business Scrubs. One was part of the trading sidequest in Seasons and accepted a Phonograph due to its love of music. In exchange, the Scrub gave Link directions through the Lost Woods to where he could find the Noble Sword or Master Sword. Deku Scrubs were also involved in the post-game password exchanges in both games. Business Scrubs also appeared in several caves of The Minish Cap, and one played a role in the beginning of the game. It was spitting seeds near Hyrule Castle that were bothering everyone nearby, including Princess Zelda. After being defeated by Link with his new shield, the Scrub explained that he had been spitting seeds accidentally while he was trying to speak, and he then left to move his business back to his cave, as he was upset with being treated this way at the festival.

The Deku Scrubs were found inhabiting the Lost Woods in Four Swords Adventures. They did not attack Link, but they were openly evil and worshiped Ganon. They considered Vaati to be "old news" and did not like the Dark Links because of the way that they disrespected them. Ganon had apparently awakened these Deku Scrubs from their slumber, and the Deku Scrubs hoped that Ganon would change all of Hyrule's forests into Lost Woods so that they could roam freely. In the meantime, the Deku Scrubs built their own underground road and hid all of the shovels to prevent others from disrupting it, as they were under orders to prevent anyone entering the woods from leaving. A pair of Deku Scrubs named Deppi and Dekki were in charge of hiding items that were bad for Deku Scrubs and gave Link a Power Bracelet if he performed their tasks well enough. Several Deku Scrubs were also found at the Temple of Darkness, where they worked on a statue of Ganon and were supposed to look out for intruders, but they let the Links through because they seemed too young to be threats. One more Deku Scrub appeared at Frozen Hyrule, where he constructed the Frozen Wall, while another ran the Terrorpin Hockey minigame, which he conceived as "a gentlemen's game for Deku Scrubs".

They also appeared as enemies in areas of Tri Force Heroes. As this was the only game of the Zelda series to lack any type of shield item, Deku Scrubs had to be defeated by projectile items. Many of the Deku Scrubs had segmented forms that caused them to be raised higher in the air. They were known as Totem Dekus, and Links could only attack them by assuming a matching Totem formation.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Cadence of Hyrule, Deku Scrubs appear as enemies that have to be beaten to earn Deku Seeds. This game also features a Deku Scrub named Yves who starts off as an NPC and can be unlocked as a playable character by giving twenty Deku Seeds to Tingle. Yves is a difficult character, as he has only one heart and cannot wield swords or any items that require hands, although he also comes with a ranged attack and a hiding ability.

Trivia

• The word "deku" is a Japanese word for a type of wooden doll. Within the Zelda series, it is also used for the names of various other characters, creatures and items that mostly relate to forests such as the Deku Tree, Deku Baba, Deku Sticks and Deku Seeds.
• The only time a Deku Scrub has been playable (aside from Cadence of Hyrule) is in Majora's Mask when Link is in Deku Scrub form. This is particularly notable as Link is forced to spend the entire first three-day cycle (at the least) in the form of Deku Link. The Deku Mask also makes its only appearance within this game as the transformation mask.
• In Majora's Mask, a set of pipes are shown to be the Deku Scrub's instrument.
• A sticker of Deku Link appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.