Great Deku Tree


 * This article is about the Deku Tree itself. For the eponymous Dungeon in Ocarina of Time, see Inside the Deku Tree.

The Great Deku Tree (pronounced  or   ) is the fatherly guardian of the forest who safeguards not only the dense land around him, but the small population of beings that live in his shadow. In, the famed Kokiri praise and worship the massive tree, sharing a home in the Kokiri Forest, while in , these beings are none other than the Koroks, timid wood creatures who live collaboratively with the talking tree in the arboretum that is the Forest Haven.

Ocarina of Time
The Deku Tree made his first appearance in as the guardian of the Kokiri and of their forest. He protects the Kokiri's Emerald, one of the three Spiritual Stones.

At the beginning of the game, the Deku Tree sends Navi the Fairy to summon Link to him, explaining to the young boy that he has been cursed by Ganondorf. Link is asked to journey Inside the Deku Tree, the first dungeon of the game, and destroy the root of the curse, the parasite known as Queen Gohma. Afterwards, the Great Deku Tree goes into detail about Ganondorf's motives, the Golden Goddesses, and the Triforce they created. The Deku Tree withers and dies soon after due to the effects of the curse. Before passing on, he tasks Link with saving all of Hyrule from Ganondorf, directing him to meet Princess Zelda at Hyrule Castle outside the forest, and entrusting him with the Kokiri's Emerald.

When Link returns to Kokiri Forest seven years later as an adult, he finds that it has been overrun by monsters due to the Deku Tree's absence. After clearing the Forest Temple and awakening Saria as a Sage, the Deku Tree Sprout takes root in the ground before his predecessor, and the monsters plaguing the forest subsequently vanish.

Deku Tree Sprout
The Deku Tree Sprout is the successor to the Great Deku Tree as the protector of the Kokiri Forest. He appears in Ocarina of Time after Link has defeated Phantom Ganon and received the Forest Medallion from Saria. He tells Link the story about his past and how his mother came into the forest and delivered Link into the Deku Tree's care, therefore making him Hylian. He then urges him to complete his quest and defeat Ganondorf.

The Wind Waker
The Great Deku Tree acts as the guardian of the Forest Haven, which is home of the Koroks. To them, the Great Deku Tree is considered a father figure to the children of the forest, for it is him that protects them from evil. One thing that set the Deku Tree of the Great Sea apart from his predecessor was that each year, the Great Deku Tree would send off some of the Koroks to plant trees all throughout the islands. This was done in the hope that, as the forests spread and the trees grew, they would consolidate the remaining land above the Great Sea, and allow some of the land lost during the Great Flood to be reclaimed from the depths. It also rejuvenates his power, for if his power were to wane, the life of the Koroks would fade as well.

When Link first meets the Great Deku Tree, hordes of ChuChus are invading his face. After the young hero eliminates all of them, the Great Deku Tree mistakes him for the legendary Hero of Time due to his clothes, and begins to speak the ancient Hylian language. The Great Deku Tree realizes his error, and it is then that he realizes why Link is there: to receive Farore's Pearl from him. Just as the guardian of the forest is about to begin the annual Korok ceremony in order to give the pearl to Link, Linder informs the Great Deku Tree of Makar's accident, and the ceremony is called off. After Link rescues Makar from the depths of the Forbidden Woods with the help of the Deku Leaf given to him by the Great Deku Tree himself, the ceremony begins, and in return, the Great Deku Tree hands over Farore's Pearl, as promised.

The explicitly states that this Deku Tree descended from his Ocarina of Time counterpart. This, coupled with him recognizing Link's green clothes, implies that he is the matured Deku Tree Sprout, or else his descendant.

Breath of the Wild
In, the Great Deku Tree lives deep within the Lost Woods, at the center of the Korok Forest. The Deku Tree watched over the Master Sword in its pedestal for 100 years prior to the events of Breath of the Wild.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
The story of the Great Deku Tree in is somewhat similar to that of the one from Ocarina of Time. Due to pollution, the Deku Tree Sprout is dying; while at the same time, the Great Deku Tree is also nearing his end. When Tingle met them, the Great Deku Tree asked if he would enter him and retrieve forest water, which could cure the Deku Tree Sprout. Tingle accepted and entered the Deku Temple. After defeating Bana Bana, Tingle obtained the water and rushed back to cure the Deku Tree Sprout. After that, the Great Deku Tree died happily, but not before paying Tingle for his service.

Ocarina of Time Manga
At the beginning of the Ocarina of Time Manga, the Great Deku Tree, guardian of Kokiri Forest, is telling the story of the Golden Goddesses creating Hyrule. When Mido will not let Link listen to the Great Deku Tree's story, the Deku Tree frightens the bully and his companions away. The Great Deku Tree tries to cheer Link up, but the boy asks why he is so different from the others. The Deku Tree tells Link that he will learn the answer when the time is right. Later on that night, a creature enters Kokiri Forest and the Deku Tree refuses to let the menace past. The creature then recedes from the shadows, revealing itself as the monstrous spider Gohma. The monster then begins to feed on the forest guardian, commenting on the Deku Tree's inability to move. Navi notices the Great Deku Tree's dilemma and asks him what to do. The Deku Tree orders her to find Link and bring him there. Navi brings Link with Mido following as well. Mido comments that the Great Deku tree feels cold, worried that he is dead. The other Kokiri soon arrive to see what the problem is. Gohma then reveals itself and enters the Great Deku Tree with Link, Navi and Mido following after it. The trio defeat Gohma, but soon learn that the Deku Tree is unable to be saved. The Deku Tree explains that as Gohma was devouring him, he read the monster's thoughts. By doing so, the Deku Tree learned about Ganondorf, the Gerudo king of thieves, and his plan to conquer Hyrule. The Deku Tree then tells Link the tale of the Triforce and that he can defeat the evil king, despite Link's own doubts. The Great Deku Tree gives Link the Kokiri Emerald and instructs him to bring it to Princess Zelda. He then tells Link that he believes in him and asks the boy to make a Shield from his remains. He also asks Navi to accompany Link on his journey. The Deku Tree bids farewell to the Kokiri as the children grieve the loss of their guardian.

The Great Deku Tree is mentioned throughout the Ocarina of Time manga. Link tells Princess Zelda that Ganondorf's power killed the Deku Tree. Link also explains to Princess Ruto that she is lucky to have a father, as Link feels that he lost his own when the Deku Tree died. The Deku Tree also makes an appearance when Link dreams of a woman escaping from a burning castle and bringing Link to the Great Deku Tree. The Deku Tree is also seen in a short flashback when Link remembers that the forest guardian believed in him and that he wanted the hero to see the world and grow up. After Ganondorf storms Hyrule Castle, Link faces the sky and exclaims that he is unable to defeat the Gerudo king, asking the Great Deku Tree what he must do. The Deku Tree appears in another flashback as Link remembers the past events of his journey. In part two of the manga, the Great Deku Tree appears in an illusion of Link's when he enters the desert. The hero rushes to the mirage, but it disappears when he gets close. The Deku Tree's heir, the Deku Sprout, appears at the end of the manga.

The Skull Kid and the Mask
In the Ocarina of Time manga's bonus story, which takes place before the events of Ocarina of Time, the Deku Tree appears alongside his evil counterpart, the Baga Tree, who lives in the Lost Woods. The Kokiri are celebrating the annual Deku Festival, a special holiday celebrated when the Deku Nuts turn red and open. However, the Baga Tree is angry with the Great Deku Tree, who used to rule the Lost Woods. In order to prove his strength and get his revenge, the Baga Tree has the Skull Kid capture Saria. When the Skull Kid is wounded, the Deku Tree assures that he will be alright, although he is worried by the parasite that caused the Baga Tree's corruption. Despite this, the Great Deku Tree celebrates with the Kokiri Tribe. Additionally, there is a Gossip Stone in the bonus story that says that the Deku Tree is troubled because he cannot scratch his own back.

Nintendo Land
The Great Deku Tree appears in Nintendo Land for the Wii U, in The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest. Its appearance in this game is substantially different, as beyond being artificial like everything else in the game, it has a magenta color scheme. The Great Deku Tree does not speak in this appearance, having no role beyond that of scenery. It is also one of the 200 prizes that can be won using the coins at the game on the top of the central tower located in the middle of the plaza. Upon touching the prize in the plaza using the touch screen or simply jumping into it, Monita will make the following comment:



Hyrule Warriors
In, when using the Spear weapon, Lana is capable of having it transform into various different forest themed weapons, while also granting her the ability to summon the Great Deku Tree and the Deku Tree Sprout to assist her in battle. The Deku sprout appears in many of Lana's strong attacks, either bouncing around, zig-zaging through enemies, or dashing straight through them. Lana is also capable of summoning three at a time with her sixth strong attack in her standard attack string. Her Focus Spirit Special allows her to summon a Deku Sprout and ride it, and as it rushes forward, she thrusts it forward. The Great Deku Tree appears during her standard special attack, as well as her Spear move sets stage completion animation.

The Great Deku Tree also appears in the Faron Woods stage.

Parallels

 * In Holodrum and Labrynna there are talking trees similar to the Deku Tree, known as the Maku Trees; there is both a male tree and a female tree.
 * Other tree Dungeons can be found in (Level-1),  (Gnarled Root Dungeon),  (Forbidden Woods),  (Forest Temple), and  (Forest Temple).