Beedle

Beedle is a small-time businessman, seen working on the high seas with his Shop Ship in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, within the gates of Hyrule Castle Town in The Minish Cap, and in the skies of Hyrule with his Air Shop in Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword. Like other shops and Business Scrubs, Beedle sells, and sometimes even buys back, quest-specific items, such as All-Purpose Bait and Picolyte, both of which are not plot-required, but add extra interest to the games. Unlike the other entrepreneurial businesses in the Zelda universe, Beedle incorporates memberships into his line of work, rewarding Link with increased price discounts if he becomes a frequent, repeat customer.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Beedle is a local sea merchant who travels the Great Sea in search of profit. Although his sales pitch is unmatched, he unfortunately never seems to get any luck. His dangerous travels accommodate the perceptibility of his business, so there is certainly some point in Link's quest that he will come across this merchant. He sells a wide range of products, from Arrows and Bombs to Bait for fish and Hyoi Pears. As Link progresses and acquires different weapons, Beedle will provide him with the necessary ammunition to replenish that certain weapon. Most of his products are of important significance, such as the Bait Bag, which can purchased at the very beginning, and allows Link to collect various types of bait. His appearance and attitude may shock some, but he is a generous person who will give his customers affordable prices compared to other shops. Beedle often sends Link things through the mail system used throughout The Great Sea, including his very own chart to help the young hero locate Beedle.

Beedle dreams of opening a chain of trading posts where people can buy, sell, or trade anything. He currently owns and operates many shop ships across the Great Sea, and he will gladly buy anything Link happens to have in his Spoils Bag. He entices his customers with Silver and Gold Memberships in order to guarantee that they stay regular patrons. One of the rewards for these memberships is the Complimentary ID. When used, Beedle merely compliments Link, although most of his other rewards are useful. Beedle's favorite things are bugs, especially beetles. There is also a Masked Beedle, who appears to be the same person but with a gold-colored plate helmet on. He claims to not be Beedle at all. He owns rarer items that cost much more to buy. In The Wind Waker, Masked Beedle sells one of the four Empty Bottles, a Piece of Heart, and a Treasure Chart that leads to another Piece of Heart. They are all sold for at least 500 Rupees.

The Minish Cap
Beedle appears in The Minish Cap after Link has cleared the dust off with the Gust Jar and he has obtained the Fire Element from the Cave of Flames. For some reason the townsfolk are expecting him to show up, which is odd considering he sounds rather excited when he makes a sale. He sells all kinds of Picolyte, but only in Hyrule Town.

Phantom Hourglass
In Phantom Hourglass, Beedle acts just like in The Wind Waker, he sells various items in his boat. This time, he doesn't buy items, only sells. He sells different ship parts and treasures.

In contrast to The Wind Waker, Beedle only has one ship in Phantom Hourglass, although the Masked Beedle can also be found in his absence. Once Link enters another area, Beedle will soon follow. As seen early in the game, Beedle's ship is not affected by cyclones.

The concept of memberships was expanded to include two more levels of membership and member discounts. A Silver Membership gives a ten percent discount on all items, a Gold Membership gives a twenty percent discount, Platinum Membership gives thirty percent and the VIP Membership forty percent. Discounts or points do not apply to the Masked Beedle's items.

Along with Link, Tetra and Salvatore, as well as Tetra's Pirate Crew to some extent, Beedle is one of the few characters from The Wind Waker to actually reappear in Phantom Hourglass.

Spirit Tracks
A possible descendant of Beedle's, sharing the name of his ancestor, runs a hot-air balloon shop during the events of Spirit Tracks. Link can see Beedle's balloon flying around the overworld prior to actually being able to shop in it. At a certain point in the game, Link will receive a letter stating that Beedle's shop is now open. The player can get Beedle's attention from then on when they see him by blowing the Spirit Train's whistle when he is nearby. He will land by the tracks, allowing the player to stop by it like any other outpost on the tracks to visit his shop. Similarly to previous appearances, Beedle offers the player a membership at his shop. The membership allow Link to save up a point for every ten Rupees he spends in the store, which lends itself to certain rewards (including membership upgrades) after Link passes point milestones. Interestingly, the reward for saving up 500 points in Beedle's Shop via his Membership Card is the Heart Container sitting at the back of the store.

Skyward Sword
Beedle appears again in Skyward Sword, this time selling wares in a flying ship. He operates this ship by pedaling a bicycle which powers an electric generator that drives some gears. He sells Medals, additional wallets, and his most valuable item, a Piece of Heart. Should Link look at something of Beedle's and attempt to leave without purchasing anything, Beedle will rant that, due to Link's weight, he has to pedal "extra hard", and concludes by activating a trap door under Link's feet.

During the night, Beedle and his ship retire to an island in the sky called Beedle's Island. Falling asleep in his ship will allow Link to visit the shopkeeper on his island during the night, and if the young hero falls asleep in his ship during the night will return him to Skyloft. While resting on his island, Beedle will sit and talk with Link whilst admiring the Horned Colossus Beetle caged in his lap. Here his diction makes a dramatic change with an above average vocabulary and without the joyful yells he's known for. Link can ask about his foreign accent, but Beedle doesn't appear to notice any difference, and will dismiss the question as unimportant.

After Strich settles in the Bug Rock, Beedle will inform Link that his Horned Colussus Beetle has gone missing and asks the young hero to help him look for his prized possession. If Link flies to Bug Rock, he will find out that Strich has discovered a Horned Colossus Beetle. Upon learning that the bug belongs to Beedle, he states that he will only let Link have the legendary bug after he plays Bug Heaven, which requires the young hero to catch 10 bugs in under 3 minutes. If Link succeeds, he will obtain the rare beetle from Strich, and can return the Horned Colossus Beetle to Beedle to recieve 5 Gratitude Crystals. As an additional reward, the shopkeeper allows the hero to buy any item from his airship at half price.

Trivia

 * Along with Navi, Beedle is one of the few Zelda characters that utilizes a basic level of voice acting.
 * The shorts Beedle wears have a picture that resemble a bug from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
 * In Twilight Princess, the dolls lying on the second floor of Jaggle and Pergie's house bear resemblance to Beedle. Coro, from the same game, may also be a reference to Beedle, characterized by his similar merchant-like appearance and his grateful, friendly attitude towards Link.
 * In Spirit Tracks, if Link hits Beedle's hot air balloon while he is landed, he rises up into the air.
 * In Skyward Sword, asking Beedle about his Piece of Heart before buying it will yield the response that he does not actually know what it is, and picked it up from somewhere nearby and decided to sell it. This may indicate that ordinary characters besides Link do not actually understand what Pieces of Heart are or what they do, and presumably cannot use them (or have not figured out how).
 * Beedle's name may come from his hairstyle: a Beatles haircut. It may alternatively come from his love of beetles, demonstrated both in Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. This may also explain the bug logo on his shorts.