Shadow Link came from a land where finding random things that blew up, or plants did strange things, was definitely not unheard of. So just because what they were THROWING looked harmless, he took care in either avoiding the sugarplums or blasting them when he couldn't.

Usually at least grazing an ELF in the process.

"Too bad when fighting a group, it makes the fighting seem more like random brawling than real training." Different tactics for different circumstances, after all.