Hardhat Beetle
A blue and a red Hardhat Beetle from A Link to the Past
First appearance	A Link to the Past (1992)
Appearances	A Link to the Past Link's Awakening Oracle of Ages Oracle of Seasons Four Swords Adventures Phantom Hourglass
Effective weapon(s)	Sword Bow-Wow Bombs

Hardhat Beetles (ポーン, Pôn^?, Pawn) are recurring enemies in the The Legend of Zelda series. They are vaguely bug-like enemies that are, due to the hard shell that covers them, impervious to most attacks. Instead, when struck, both Link and themselves recoil a short distance. They can be defeated by utilizing the recoil to push them into pits.

Appearances Edit

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Edit

Hardhat Beetles are found inside the many dungeons of Hyrule and the Dark World. They first appear in the Tower of Hera, and appear in almost every dungeon after that. They come in two colors, red and blue, with the red ones being faster moving and much more durable than the blue ones. Both types of Hardhat Beetles are able to be stunned by the Hookshot. Unlike Hardhat Beetles in most other games, they can be defeated with a sword, though striking them will still cause Link to recoil.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Edit

Hardhat Beetles can be defeated by being knocked into pits, being eaten by Bow-Wow, or blown up with a bomb. They can be stunned temporarily with the boomerang, however.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons Edit

Hardhat Beetles in the Oracle series are identical to those in Link's Awakening. They have an additional vulnerability in Oracle of Seasons, though, as the iron balls that Link can move with the Magnetic Gloves kill Hardhat Beetles.

In Oracle of Ages, the Restoration Guru, Patch, has a special ceremony that he performs whenever someone asks him to repair an object. The ritual is a mini-game of sorts where Link must defeat Hardhat Beetles within a time limit, all the while stopping the mine cart encircling the battle arena from hitting the object that is subject to the ritual.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures Edit

Hardhat Beetles can be defeated either by knocking them into pits, stunning them with the Boomerang and subsequently slashing them several times while stunned, or using the Roc's Feather to jump over them and perform the Down Thrust.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Edit

Hardhat Beetles are only found in the Temple of Courage. They are found near the area with invisible floors. They are invulnerable to the sword and can only be defeated by pushing them into pits or hitting them with the Hammer.