Bottles

7:01 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has four Bottles. Three are found as young Link: Princess Ruto's Letter, sealed in a bottle at the bottom of Lake Hylia; the prize of Talon's Cucco game at Lon Lon Ranch; and the Cucco Lady's reward in Kakariko Village for returning her seven Cuccos. The fourth is the Poe Collector's reward for ten Big Poes, as adult Link. A Bottle holds one thing at a time: a fairy that revives Link, a potion, Lon Lon Milk, a bug, a fish, Blue Fire or a Poe. As HaskieGaming puts it after handing Ruto's Letter to King Zora, Link gets to "keep the bottle, and we'll be able to store bugs and potions and fairies and whatnot inside." The Nintendo Switch 2 remake (Nov 5, 2026) has a fifth: a Nintendo representative confirmed the extra slot to IGN, and the Oct 14, 2026 previews describe a new quest for it in Castle Town; the rest of this page is the original's four.

Quick facts

Where to find all four Bottles

The guide publisher GameWith (updated Jul 12, 2026) lists the same four. The order below is the order most players find them, and the Walkthrough shows where each falls in the story.

Ruto's Letter (Lake Hylia)

6:20 The one Bottle no player can miss is Princess Ruto's. After winning the Zoras' diving game for the Silver Scale, young Link dives through the tunnel in Zora's Domain to Lake Hylia and picks up a bottle from the lakebed: "that was something that we would not have been able to reach without the silver scale", HaskieGaming notes, "inside that bottle, there was actually a note in it." Showing the letter to King Zora makes him shuffle aside, and Link keeps the bottle. GameWith calls it the Bottle "you will always obtain" as the Zora story goes on.

7:38 Its first use is right away. Lord Jabu-Jabu at Zora's Fountain will not open his mouth without a fish, so Link swings the empty bottle in the shallow water near King Zora and catches one: "we will actually be using that to enter the dungeon". Release the fish in front of Jabu-Jabu to enter Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly.

The Cucco Lady (Kakariko Village)

3:17 In Kakariko Village, the Cucco Lady asks young Link to bring back her Cuccos, and returning all seven to the pen beside her earns a Bottle. Speedrunners pick this one up first: in ZFG's commentated All Dungeons run, "collecting the Cucco is just the fastest way to get a bottle", taken as "a group of four at first and then another group of three", because "a bottle is one of the most important items in the game for glitches". The Cuccos run from Link, and a few wander up the hill or onto ledges; carry each one and throw it over the fence. As an adult, the same woman starts the trading quest for Biggoron's Sword with the Pocket Egg.

Talon's Cucco game (Lon Lon Ranch)

After Link wakes Talon at Hyrule Castle and he heads home, he runs a Cucco game in the house at Lon Lon Ranch: for a fee, young Link has to find Talon's three special Cuccos among the ordinary ones before time runs out. GameWith's tip is to pick up the plain Cuccos first, since one that has been held shows an arrow over its head, and to watch which bird flies off when the game starts. The prize is a Bottle full of Lon Lon Milk, which restores hearts.

The Poe Collector (Hyrule Castle Town)

0:26 The last Bottle is the hardest. Ten Big Poes haunt Hyrule Field in the adult era, and IGN's guide of Sep 8, 2026 lists what they take: the Fairy Bow from the Forest Temple, "Each Poe takes two arrows to kill", and Epona, "strongly" recommended because the ghosts flee fast. IGN also recommends having the other three Bottles first, since each Big Poe has to be carried in one to be sold. GameWith warns that a Big Poe beaten without riding Epona gives only an ordinary Poe's soul.

5:08 Link sells the souls to the Poe Collector at the Ghost Shop in Hyrule Castle Town, the jar-filled guardhouse of the child era, and "When you sell your 10th and final Poe, the Poe collector will reward you with a bottle." With fewer than four Bottles, that means several trips between the field and the shop. The ghosts' spots are on Side quests, masks and minigames and the Map of Hyrule.

What to keep in a Bottle

11:20 A fairy is the best thing to carry. Fairies come out of some jars and pots; swing an empty Bottle to catch one. HaskieGaming explains both ways to use it: release it from the Bottle any time to heal, or keep it, because "if at any point you die you'll actually be resurrected with full health". Zelda Dungeon's walkthrough calls fairies "the best healing in the game by far" and advises taking them into every boss fight (Bosses).

8:25 Potions come in three colors: Red refills hearts, Green refills the Magic Meter, and Blue does both. HaskieGaming shows where the Blue Potion is sold: once adult Link has brought the Odd Mushroom to the old woman in Kakariko's back potion shop, she sells "the ultimate potion for 100 rupees", "the blue potion that both heals you, recovers your hearts, and also fills up your magic meter". Potion shops and Business Scrubs sell the others, among them a Green Potion seller inside Ganon's Castle.

14:57 Blue Fire is a key that only a Bottle can carry. Scooped from blue flames in the Ice Cavern, it melts the red ice that freezes King Zora and blocks parts of Zora's Domain and the cavern itself (Ice Cavern). HaskieGaming adds that Kakariko's potion shop sells Blue Fire for 300 rupees, "One of the more expensive items in Ocarina of Time".

4:43 Bugs dig up treasure. Catch a bug in a Bottle and let it out over a patch of soft soil, and a Gold Skulltula climbs out: IGN's guide of Oct 8, 2026 does this at the north end of the Kakariko Graveyard and beside the Kokiri Forest shop, among others (Gold Skulltulas). Fish open Jabu-Jabu's mouth, and Poes are sold to the Poe Collector.

30:20 An empty Bottle is also a weapon in one fight. In the Forest Temple, Phantom Ganon's energy balls can be hit back with an empty Bottle instead of the sword, an Easter egg HaskieGaming traces to A Link to the Past: "a lot of people believe that it's easier to time the shots with the empty bottle rather than the sword".

Bottles in the remake

5:20 The remake has five Bottles. IGN, studying the Switch 2 footage of Sep 8, 2026, first noticed "five slots on the bottom row that look perfect for empty bottles" on the new item screen, and asked: "But aren't there only four empty bottles in the original game?" At the hands-on previews published on Oct 14, 2026, a Nintendo representative confirmed to IGN that "a fifth space in the inventory screen is indeed for an additional bottle", as Kotaku reported the same day.

The fifth Bottle comes from a new side quest. CBR's round-up of the previews (Oct 14, 2026) says it "takes place in Castle Town's item shop", where "the shopkeeper asks Link to collect a bug in a bottle for him"; bring him the bug and he lets Link keep the Bottle, filled with a Red Potion. GamesRadar+ places the same quest at the potion shop in Castle Town, so which of the two shops it is will be settled at launch. Either way it is an errand in the market, far easier than the original's last Bottle, ten Big Poes on horseback.

The previews also showed a new item that makes a Bottle's contents easier to restock: a Business Scrub Seed, which Kotaku says "summons a merchant that will sell you stuff no matter where you are". CBR notes that no previewer could use it in the demo, so what it sells is not yet known.

The remake does let Link swap items with a single button, Nintendo says, which should make reaching a Bottle mid-fight quicker (What's new in the remake).

Bottles also sit at the heart of the original's most famous glitches, such as Bottle Adventure, which speedrunners use to put almost any item on adult Link's B button (Speedrunning and glitches). Whether the remake keeps any of them is unknown until it is out.

Frequently asked questions

How many bottles are in Ocarina of Time? Ocarina of Time has four Bottles: Ruto's Letter from Lake Hylia, Talon's Cucco game at Lon Lon Ranch, the Cucco Lady's seven Cuccos in Kakariko Village, and the Poe Collector's reward for ten Big Poes.

Where are the bottles in Ocarina of Time? Ocarina of Time's Bottles are at the bottom of Lake Hylia (Ruto's Letter), in the house at Lon Lon Ranch (Talon), at the Cucco pen in Kakariko Village (the Cucco Lady), and at the Ghost Shop in Hyrule Castle Town (the Poe Collector).

How do you get the bottle in Kakariko Village in Ocarina of Time? As young Link in Ocarina of Time, find the Cucco Lady's seven loose Cuccos around Kakariko Village and throw each one back into her pen; she gives Link a Bottle.

How many Big Poes do you need for a bottle in Ocarina of Time? Ocarina of Time's Poe Collector gives Link a Bottle after he sells ten Big Poes, caught in Hyrule Field as adult Link with the Fairy Bow, ideally on Epona.

What is the best thing to put in a bottle in Ocarina of Time? A fairy is the best thing to keep in a Bottle in Ocarina of Time: it revives Link automatically when his hearts run out, or heals him when released.

Can you miss a bottle in Ocarina of Time? No Bottle in Ocarina of Time is lost for good: Ruto's Letter comes with the story, and the Cucco and Big Poe Bottles wait until Link collects them, though the two Cucco games are child-era only.

How many bottles are in the Ocarina of Time remake? The Ocarina of Time remake has five Bottles, one more than the original's four: a Nintendo representative confirmed the fifth inventory slot to IGN at the Oct 14, 2026 previews.

How do you get the fifth bottle in the Ocarina of Time remake? In the Ocarina of Time remake, a shopkeeper in Hyrule Castle Town asks Link to catch a bug in a Bottle for him; bring it back and he lets Link keep the Bottle, filled with a Red Potion, according to the Oct 14, 2026 previews.

Sources

• Empty Bottle, GameWith, updated Jul 12, 2026
• Getting into Jabu Jabu's Belly - Ocarina of Time - Dungeon Prep Guide, HaskieGaming, Nov 12, 2025 (video)
• [Commentated] Ocarina of Time All Dungeons Speedrun (World Record), ZFG, Dec 17, 2025 (video)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - All Big Poe Locations, IGN, Sep 8, 2026 (video)
• Inside Jabu Jabu's Belly Walkthrough - Ocarina of Time - Dungeon Guide, HaskieGaming, Aug 9, 2024 (video)
• Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Walkthrough 14 (9/10) "Ganon's Castle: GANON", Zelda Dungeon, Feb 26, 2010 (video)
• Getting the Biggoron Sword - Ocarina of Time - 100% Guide, HaskieGaming, Mar 3, 2026 (video)
• How to Get All 100 Gold Skulltulas in Zelda: Ocarina of Time, IGN, Oct 8, 2026 (video)
• Forest Temple Walkthrough - Ocarina of Time - Dungeon Guide, HaskieGaming, Aug 16, 2024 (video)
• 6 Things We Just Learned About The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake, Kotaku, Oct 14, 2026
• Zelda: Ocarina of Time Previews Reveal 6 Big Changes in the Remake, CBR, Oct 14, 2026
• Zelda Ocarina of Time remake has new sidequests, harder minigames, and subtle dungeon tweaks, GamesRadar+, Oct 2026
• The 40 Biggest Changes in the Zelda: Ocarina of Time Gameplay, IGN, Sep 12, 2026 (video)
• The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary celebration revealed in new Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo of America, Sep 8, 2026