Rocktite

"What was that...that... THING back there? I've never seen a bug that size! People weren't meant to go there! Let's never go back, Link! You understand, don't you? No going back there, OK?"

- Princess Zelda

Rocktites are enormous Tektites found in certain caves in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, implied to be the fully grown form of normal Tektites. Like other Tektites in the game, they are only encountered aboard the Spirit Train, and are capable of walking along the floor, walls, and ceilings of their caves. A total of three Rocktites are shown, each acting as a miniboss. When Link pulls into a Rocktite's cave, it waits crouched on the ceiling for him to pass by before falling to the floor and pursuing. When battling one, the player does not have control of the train's gearbox, so it moves at a fixed speed. Zelda is completely terrified of them, panicking whenever one is encountered. Despite being Tektites, they have more in common with typical Gohmas due to the weak spot being in the eye as well as the somewhat crab-like appearance.

The first one is found in the Snow Realm, with its cave being the only path to the Snow Sanctuary until the realm's Spirit Tracks are restored. The door to the cave is locked until Link helps the Anoukis in Anouki Village, with Honcho warning him about how the cave has not been in use since the monster moved in. It pursues the train with its eye wide open, though its loud footsteps can generally be heard before its eye is visible. If it gets too close, it will pounce on the Spirit Train, damaging it. To damage the Rocktite, the player must shoot at its eye, with five consecutive hits causing it to temporarily fall. The more times it is damaged throughout the fight, the faster it will move, thus giving the player less time to attack. The battle continues until it has been damaged 30 times, at which point it will collapse and disappear while the train reaches the cave's exit. Zelda requests Link never take them back to the cave, but if he does so, it only has normal Tektites in it.

The second Rocktite is not encountered until much later, in the Sand Realm. It is the first of the "three trials" needed to be gotten through to reach the Sand Temple, and is labeled "the big eye that looms in the shadows." The battle is mostly the same as before, but this Rocktite often uses its "mouth" to cover its eye, thus hiding its weak point and its location in the shadows. To get it to reopen, the player must shoot at the Bomb Barrels embedded in the cave walls. The barrel needs to be in the Rocktite's path to successfully force its eye back open, but once it is opened, it does not close it again until it falls behind. Once again, 30 hits are needed to defeat it and leave the cave.

The final Rocktite is optional, appearing when Link enters the cave near the Dark Ore Mine from the north entrance. If he enters from the south entrance, it will not be present at all. This one's main role is to act as an obstacle for delivering Dark Ore, though it can be defeated beforehand. This one acts mostly like the second one, though it additionally sends out a group of Tektites whenever it recovers from falling behind. Unlike the previous ones, it takes 40 hits to defeat, and taking too long causes the Spirit Train to reach the end of the tunnel before defeating it. If it is successfully defeated, it is gone for the rest of the game, and thus Dark Ore deliveries are made significantly easier.

Trivia

 * The music used when battling Rocktite is also used during the lead-up to the fight against Phytops.