Ache

The Ache are bat enemies appearing in The Adventure of Link. They are blue or purple bats similar to Keese, although they are more resilient in combat and are sometimes shown to have magical abilities and even the ability to talk.

In The Adventure of Link, Aches usually appear in a blue variety found commonly in caves, and sometimes in trees. Their method of attack is to hang from the branches or ceiling, and swoop down in a pointed arc towards Link, returning to their roosting point. This makes them hard to hit and avoid, but they are thankfully rather weak and more of an annoyance than a real threat.

Purple Ache are slightly different from their more common counterparts. Called "Eyes of Ganon" by townsfolk, Ache can disguise themselves in the villages of Hyrule as ordinary Hylians. Almost anyone Link meets in the towns of Saria or Darunia may be an Ache in disguise, and they often reveal themselves and attack if Link talks to them, striking unexpectedly. Not only this, but purple Ache can vary wildly in strength; usually they do minor damage and take a single strike to defeat, but sometimes they may be much stronger and able to withstand a huge number of hits, similar to a Bubble.

In the town of Nabooru, a lone red Ache (or potentially an Acheman) roosts on the ceiling of one building. It will not attack, and if Link uses the Jump magic he can speak to it, but it will not say anything. If Link is persistent, it will break its silence and reveal a secret to him.

The Acheman is a close relative to the Ache.

Animated series
An Ache makes a brief appearance in "The Ringer" episode of the Zelda animated series. Like the rest of Ganon's minions, the Ache is capable of speech. When Ganon arrives disguised to the Magician's Contest being held in North Castle, he turns a bird into an Ache and orders it to go see who is guarding the Triforce of Wisdom. The Ache then flies off to the tower where the Triforce and Link are located and sees that Link and Spryte are next to the sacred relic. The flying foe then returns to Ganon and informs him that the young hero is guarding the Triforce.