Creep

Creeps, also known as Big Keese Battle Bats   and Bats,  also formatted as bats, are a species which are related to Keese which appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. They have a dark body with two large eyes and two insect-like wings, and slightly resemble cartoonish flies. Creeps appear during the fight against the Grim Creeper. During the fight when the Grim Creeper plays his piccolo six Creeps appear. He then points his piccolo forward, causing the Creeps to dive towards Link. Creeps can be hit while diving. If six Creeps are defeated when they attack, the fight ends. If any Creeps fly off of the screen when they attack, the fight continues and six Creeps appear when the Grim Creeper plays his piccolo again.

On top of the Eagle's Tower, two Creeps appear above the Grim Creeper. When the Evil Eagle appears, the Creeps are blown off the screen.

In the original Japanese version, the Grim Creeper calls the Creeps his 「かわいい てした」 (kawaii teshita, cute minions). In the English translation of the Game Boy game and its Game Boy Color port, the Grim Creeper calls them his "brothers," and seems to stop himself from saying that they were killed, instead saying that they were beaten. In the Nintendo Switch remake, he instead says they were "some of [his] best friends."

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

 * Player's Guide: "The Grim Creeper controls the six Bats at once. Destroy all of them before any of them flies away. If one escapes, you must defeat all six again."

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

 * Prima's Official Strategy Guide: "These bats arrive in groups of six when summoned by the Grim Creeper in the Eagle's Tower. Destroy them all quickly or all six will reappear and you'll have to face them all again."

Zelda Universe

 * "Battle Bats is the name given to the six Keese controlled by the Grim Creeper in Eagle's Tower."

Trivia

 * Zelda Universe accidentally categorizes Battle Bats as enemies appearing in The Adventure of Link.
 * In the Player's Guide for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, it states that Battle Bats are "known as Keese in some regions of Hyrule", despite regular Keese appearing in the game, and the book later calling them using the Big Keese name. Zelda Universe refers to Battle Bats as a group of Keese.