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Intro: Why Bottles Are Essential
Okay, let’s dive into the Empty Bottles in Ocarina of Time. These are incredibly useful items. Forget just holding potions; you can carry fairies, bugs, spirits – all sorts of helpful things that will save you more times than you can count during your journey. There are four total bottles hidden around Hyrule, and finding them all will definitely make your adventure way smoother. Let’s get into the lowdown on where to snag each one.
Bottle #1: Lon Lon Ranch Chicken Challenge
First up is the bottle from Lon Lon Ranch. You’ll need to be Young Link for this, but only after you’ve woken up Talon sleeping outside Hyrule Castle using that Cucco egg Zelda gave you. Head over to the ranch during the daytime and find Talon near the big horse corral. Talk to him, pony up 10 Rupees, and accept his “Super Cucco” challenge. He’ll toss three specific chickens into the general flock, and you’ve got just 30 seconds to pick out those exact three. It can feel a bit random, so just start grabbing! If you manage to find the right ones before time runs out, he’ll reward you with Bottle #1, which conveniently comes already filled with some Lon Lon Milk – a nice little bonus with two 5-heart servings.
Resource: Ocarina of Time Walkthrough: Exploring the Land of Hyrule
Bottle #2: Kakariko’s Cucco Roundup
Next, make your way to Kakariko Village as Young Link. Look for Anju, often called the “Cucco Lady,” usually found near the chicken pen close to the village entrance. Have a chat with her; she’s lost her flock again, a classic Kakariko problem. Agree to help her round them up. Now you’ll need to hunt down 7 runaway Cuccos scattered throughout the village. Check near the pen itself, look by the stairs leading up to the higher parts of the village, scope out the area near the Skulltula House, and remember to roll into that wooden crate to break it open and find one inside. One tricky Cucco requires you to grab another Cucco, throw it over the fence near the path to the windmill, jump over yourself, then use that Cucco to glide across a gap to reach the lost one. Another involves some careful gliding near the windmill entrance from the ledge above. Don’t forget to search around the bazaar and potion shop area too! Once you’ve wrangled all seven and tossed them safely back into the pen, talk to Anju again, and she’ll gratefully hand over an Empty Bottle.
Resource: Ocarina of Time Walkthrough: Kakariko Village & Hyrule Market.
Bottle #3: Lake Hylia’s Underwater Find
For the third bottle, you’ll need to be Young Link again, and crucially, you must have obtained the Silver Scale first. You win this from the diving minigame inside Zora’s Domain (the Golden Scale works too, if you happen to get that). Once you have the necessary scale, make your way down to Lake Hylia. Swim over towards the underwater gate structure that connects to Zora’s Domain and dive deep. Look around on the lakebed near that gate – you should spot a bottle just sitting there. Swim down and grab it. Just a heads up, this one contains Princess Ruto’s SOS letter. You absolutely have to take that letter and show it to King Zora (the large Zora blocking the path up in their domain) before the bottle actually becomes empty and usable for carrying other things.
Resource: Ocarina of Time Walkthrough: Zora’s River & Domain
Bottle #4: The Big Poe Hunt on Hyrule Field
The last bottle requires a bit more effort and you need to be Adult Link. You’ll also definitely need Epona (after winning her from Ingo at Lon Lon Ranch) and the Fairy Bow (which you get from completing the Forest Temple). This task involves hunting down ten specific Big Poes. These larger ghosts only appear in certain spots across Hyrule Field when you’re riding Epona near them. When one of these Big Poes materializes, you need to quickly target it and shoot it twice with arrows, while still mounted on Epona. Then, jump off your horse fast and use an empty bottle to capture its lingering spirit before it completely fades away. You’ll need at least one bottle free just to start collecting these! You’ll need to find and bottle all ten (their locations are fixed, so checking a map or guide for their spawn points can save some time if you’re having trouble). Once you’ve successfully bagged all ten Big Poe souls, take your collection to the mysterious Poe Collector who hangs out in the Ghost Shop – the building that used to be the Guard House near the Hyrule Market ruins. He buys the Big Poes for points, giving 50 for each. Turn in the tenth one to reach 500 points, and he’ll finally reward your dedicated ghostbusting efforts with the fourth and final Empty Bottle.
Resource: Ocarina of Time Big Poe Guide
What Can You Carry in Bottles?
So, what kind of useful stuff can you put into these bottles once they’re empty? They offer a ton of versatility! You can carry:
- Red Potion: Restores health.
- Green Potion: Restores magic power.
- Blue Potion: Restores both health and magic power fully.
- Fairy: Automatically revives you with some health if you run out of hearts – incredibly useful!
- Lon Lon Milk: Restores 5 hearts per serving (provides 2 servings per bottle).
- Bugs: Use them on soft soil patches to find hidden holes or Gold Skulltulas, or drop them near Gossip Stones.
- Fish: Needed to feed Lord Jabu-Jabu; extras can sometimes be sold.
- Blue Fire: Melts red ice. Found mainly in the Ice Cavern, but some shops sell it later too.
- Poe Souls: Regular Poe souls have random effects (healing or damage) when consumed, or can be sold to the Poe Collector.
- Big Poe Souls: These 10 specific souls are needed for the fourth bottle quest and give 50 points each from the Collector.
- Water: Essential for growing Magic Bean sprouts, can also douse small flames.
- Ruto’s Letter: (Temporary!) This occupies Bottle #3 until you deliver it to King Zora.
There you have it – how to find all four bottles and why they’re so incredibly useful. Seriously, tracking these down makes navigating Hyrule and surviving its challenges much more manageable. Good luck finding them!