Gerudo Thief

Gerudo Thieves are skilled warriors of the Gerudo tribe. They wield a pair of scimitars and act as minibosses.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
"Don't take us so lightly!"

- Gerudo Thief

InThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Gerudo Thieves are fought four times within Thieves' Hideout, where each one guards a cell holding one of the imprisoned carpenters. Each battle commences after speaking with a carpenter through the cell bars. Unlike other minibosses, Gerudo Thieves do not attempt to kill Link, but instead weaken him; if his health drops sufficiently in battle against one, she will capture him and have him thrown into a cell outside in Gerudo's Fortress, so he will have to return to the room to try again. Gerudo Thieves spend much of their time guarding with their swords while moving about the room, occasionally stopping to slash at Link or leaping over him to attack his back, similar to a Lizalfos. Their most dangerous attack is a spinning jump slash, which cannot be shielded against and causes Link to be immediately captured if he is hit by it. Gerudo Thieves can be stunned by Deku Nuts or the Hookshot, though they will attempt to block the former and dodge the latter. They lower their guard while far from Link, but will still try to dodge any projectiles. Additionally, they take a relatively large amount of damage to defeat. Once beaten, a Gerudo Thief drops the key to the cell and jumps up through the ceiling.

Once all four carpenters are freed, an unveiled Gerudo Thief acting as Nabooru's appointed leader of the fortress appears to congratulate Link and give him the Gerudo Token, making him an honorary member of the tribe. After this, no more Gerudo Thieves are seen.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Gerudo Thieves are generically called "pirates" by Tatl. They are found at the Pirates' Fortress, with each guarding one of the tanks carrying a Zora Egg. They act exactly the same as previously, but throw Link out of the fortress if he is drained of enough health or hit with their powerful attack. Unlike before, they lack veils and have color-coded clothes and lipstick, with one being orange, one being light green, and one being lavender. The Gerudo leader, Aveil, has the same appearance as the leader Gerudo Thief from the previous game.

Trivia

 * Due to a programming quirk involving vertex colors, the clothes and lips of the lead Gerudo Thief in early revisions of Ocarina of Time have their color overwritten by Link's current tunic color, and even further overwritten by the flashing portion of a Bombchu. This is fixed in later PAL revisions, the Nintendo Gamecube versions, and Ocarina of Time 3D, where both stay solid red.