The Punk Guy from OoT - what was his medicine for?

[HeroOfHyrule64]

This is an interesting quote from the game. I always thought it was some sort of anti-depressant because the guy is clearly unhappy, even during the child years. But if you speak to him as a child wearing the Bunny Hood, Gerudo or Keaton masks he says he's actually a good guy. His aversion seems to be to people, and in particular to his parents, the carpenter being his father. The witch in the potion shop however is his grandmother, and Anju is his sister and he mentions neither of these people as being disgusting. But he goes to the forest for whatever reason, to get this mushroom to make the potion that I guess will help him. As has been said, the blue potion is only available after this so it's fair to assume this is what it's for. Given that he's extremely skinny and unhealthy looking and the blue potion restores health and power, perhaps he really was just unwell. But the quote about there being no cure for a fool suggests that the real problem lies deeper.

When you take care of the pocket cucco for Anju, she says that she'll give you a rare cucco that belonged to her brother and that he'd stopped crowing since her brother had left. This shows that Grog (the punk guy) obviously cared for animals, as has been evidenced already by his liking of the animal masks. Later on Anju also says "my brother must've been very lonely"- I don't know what this could mean, other than another reference to the fact he was unpopular for some reason. Let's connect this back to what his father, the carpenter says, about his son- he behaves ashamed of him saying he just sits around all day and is lazy. If the guy was never seen as good enough for his father, or seemed to receive any other kindnesses- he would probably be extremely unhappy. For all we know, he was mistreated because of this too, as Anju seems to be completely fine, however both share a love of cuccos. When he sees Link has tamed Cojiro he concludes he must be a nice guy and seems shocked at the revelation- and then trusts Link to take the odd mushroom back to the potion lady.

Interestingly, when you get the potion from the old lady, she says it won't work on a monster. As we know from Fado, Grog becomes a stalfos. Perhaps Grog just intended to travel and find out what would make him happy or something- but got physically weak when he reached the Lost Woods, probably because he doesn't have a fairy protecting him from the magic which turns you into a stalfos. So I would still be inclined, therefore, to go with the first conclusion that Grog was depressed and unhappy. But the potion could easily have been for the reason that he was weakened because of his travels into territory he wasn't supposed to enter. All he leaves behind is his father's saw- which shows he might have been intending to do something, maybe even to go to the Forest Temple to stop the terrible things that had been happening- he seemed to have good intentions, whatever he was up to.

Wow..

 

[Fiery Klongo]

I don't believe that he needed the medicine for immunity or for some other odd purpose. This theory is kinda half baked, but I think he was dying. First off he looked sick. Second we found him unconscious in the woods. Third he is looking for medicine. Forth and finally he was gone when we got back.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that his mother is the potion shop lady in Kakariko. This would make you believe that his mother could have sent him to get the medicine for her. You might then ask 'Why did she give the medicine back to him if she sent him to get it in the first place?' A good question. Imagine that a boy found your son collapsed in the middle of treacherous woods. I think you would be willing to part with said medicine in that occasion.

My last theory is that the mushrooms were used to make drugs and he was collapsed because of overdose, then he had you make his mother make him more. (This theory would explain why the Kokiri girl wanted the medicine back so bad)

Spoiler

That last theory was a joke lol

 

[Kylo Ken]

It was 'shrooms.

Seriously, he didn't like people, so he went to the Lost Woods to be away from everyone. I'd assume the medicine was to either prevent him becoming a Stalfos, or to fend off any illness he'd find in there.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that his mother is the potion shop lady in Kakariko.

No his mother was that lady in the red dress in that house were you find Talon sleeping when Link is an adult.

 

[ReveredPartisan]

No his mother was that lady in the red dress in that house were you find Talon sleeping when Link is an adult.

Where do you get that? The Punk Guy's father is the carpenter's boss, whose wife is the potion shop lady.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Where do you get that? The Punk Guy's father is the carpenter's boss, whose wife is the potion shop lady.

It is believed she is either his mother or grandmother, which one is uncertain. Personally I believe the lady with the red dress is his mother because it is inside that house were she is that the carpenters can be found at night (when Link is a child). Its a toss up though...

 

[ReveredPartisan]

It is believed she is either his mother or grandmother, which one is uncertain. Personally I believe the lady with the red dress is his mother because it is inside that house were she is that the carpenters can be found at night (when Link is a child). Its a toss up though...

True, it could be his grandmother; I'm partial to her as a mother, however. Something about that mother-son relationship adds a very dramatic flare to the Punk Guy's (fairly tragic) story.

 

[Salem]

Where do you get that? The Punk Guy's father is the carpenter's boss, whose wife is the potion shop lady.

Wasn't that lady in the house the carpenter's boss's wife?

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Wasn't that lady in the house the carpenter's boss's wife?

That is what I think but there are theories that the potion lady might be his wife or his mother.

 

[Hylian.Smitty]

The Kokiri girl gives you a Poacher's Saw. The guy was probably illegally hunting animals in the Lost Woods. He had rags and was skinny so maybe he resorted to poaching because of his poverty. This is where my theory gets a little crazy. I think the Kokiri girl you find is some sort of deity of the Woods because you only ever see her in the Woods. Every other Kokiri hangs out in the main village (well Saria hangs out in the woods in the adult time but that's because she's a sage). She doesn't seem to care that the guy died, because he was poaching animals and stealing mushrooms from her woods. The potion shop lady said that her potion would not work on a monster, so somehow she knew that he would become a stalfos. Since she's practically a witch, it would make sense for her to know about spirits and such.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

The Kokiri girl gives you a Poacher's Saw. The guy was probably illegally hunting animals in the Lost Woods. He had rags and was skinny so maybe he resorted to poaching because of his poverty. This is where my theory gets a little crazy. I think the Kokiri girl you find is some sort of deity of the Woods because you only ever see her in the Woods. Every other Kokiri hangs out in the main village (well Saria hangs out in the woods in the adult time but that's because she's a sage). She doesn't seem to care that the guy died, because he was poaching animals and stealing mushrooms from her woods. The potion shop lady said that her potion would not work on a monster, so somehow she knew that he would become a stalfos. Since she's practically a witch, it would make sense for her to know about spirits and such.

Nope, when Link is a child she is in the main village also.

 

[MrPsychoSlayer]

I really like that stalfos idea. The only question is, why isn't anyone else taking that medicine to not become a stalfos?