Potpourri

Potpourri ポプリ Popuri

Description
Season	Heartcatch Pretty Cure!
Gender	Unknown
Eye Color	Brown
Hair Color	White
Home Place	Tree of Hearts
First Appearance	HPC20
Theme Color	Yellow
Japanese Voice Actor	Kikuchi Kokoro

Potpourri (ポプリ, Popuri^?) is Myoudouin Itsuki's mascot partner in Heartcatch Pretty Cure!. Unlike Chypre and Coffret, Potpourri is actually born during the events of the series, and thus was not present during the battle between Cure Moonlight and Dark Pretty Cure. Being a baby, Potpourri is childish and naive, but also protective of its friends. However, its youth also leads it to express extreme stubbornness if it doesn't get its way. Like the other fairies, Potpourri is never afraid to speak its mind. It ends its sentences with "~deshu!"

Potpourri possesses the ability to generate powerful yellow shields, just like Potpourri's partner Cure Sunshine. It can also create a giant golden "capsule", capable of teleporting something as large as the Tree of Hearts, to another place. Although quite powerful, this ability requires help from Cure Sunshine and also takes a rather long time to finish casting. Potpourri, Chypre and Coffret can transform into flight capes, allowing their partners to fly.

Appearance

Potpourri is a small white fairy that resembles Coffret and Chypre. It has dark brown eyes with orange heart-shaped markings to match its tail, hair, and markings on each ear. Its ears droop down, resembling pigtails, held with a single gold wing ornament. Around its neck is a gold scarf with a heart-shaped ornament.

History

Birth

After Tsubomi and Erika have gathered a great number of heart seeds, Chypre and Coffret are awoken by a brilliant light shining from the Heart Pot. This turns out to be the sign of Potpourri's birth inside of the Tree of Hearts. ^HPC20

Meeting The Cures and the Search for the Third Cure

Potpourri defends the Tree of Hearts when Professor Sabaku sends Dark Cure to find it and seek out the secret to Dune's last defeat. Potpourri shields the tree, but is forced to flee when Dark Cure nearly shatters it. It eventually finds Cure Blossom and Cure Marine engaged in a losing battle with the Desert Apostles. Potpourri summoned its shield again to protect the Cures, shifting the fight in their favor and allowing them to defeat the Desertrian summoned by Sasorina.^HPC20

After the battle ended and the girls took Potpourri to Kaoruko's garden, they learned that Potpourri possessed a Cure seed. Realizing this means there is a third Pretty Cure, the girls wonder who it is while an impatient Potpourri decides to just go and find her on its own. Its search ends up going poorly at first, even with help from Chypre and Coffret, and at one point Potpourri even believes Yuri could be its partner as it detects the Cure energy she once possessed.^HPC21 Still upset at not finding its partner, Potpourri later investigates Mizushima Aya, the hapless president of the Gardening Club^HPC22. In the process of a fight with a Desertarian created from Aya's heart flower, Potpourri and the other fairies are nearly spotted by Itsuki and quickly pretend to be lifeless dolls. However, Itsuki finds Potpourri adorable and her care for the fairy (thinking it is a doll made by Erika) immediately leaves Potpourri smitten with her.

The Awakening of Cure Sunshine

Potpourri, now obsessed with Itsuki, declares its intent to go live with her, despite Tsubomi's, Erika's, and the other fairy's protests^HPC23. They track her down at the Myoudouin dojo after spending all night trying to find her, and for Potpourri's sake offer to ask Itsuki if she had the dream about Cure Moonlight. Unfortunately, when they follow her to the hospital to ask, they lose their chance as Itsuki is too distracted by her brother Satsuki's fear over his upcoming surgery. Potpourri's stubbornness leads it to escape Tsubomi's house and return to the hospital to be with Itsuki. Despite initially scaring the girl, Itsuki is taken by the idea of being a Pretty Cure and being able to look cute. However, she's initially reluctant to take up the mantle due to her own insecurities over her brother's condition.

After Sasorina takes Satsuki's Heart Flower, Itsuki is convinced by Potpourri to follow Tsubomi and Erika, learning of their secret identities as Cure Blossom and Marine when she witnesses them transform. Itsuki learns that the powerful Desertrian is her brother and attempts to reason with it. Unfortunately, she fails and Potpourri attempts to shield her, partially protecting them from an attack. Potpourri confesses to Itsuki that it feels they are the same as they both wish to protect others and Potpourri vows to do everything to protect her. Sasorina attempts to take Potpourri away from her, causing Itsuki's determination to defend others to resonate with Potpourri and allow it to create the shiny perfume and Heart Seed for Itsuki to become Cure Sunshine for the first time.

After Cure Sunshine succeeds in restoring Satsuki's heart flower, Potpurri is summoned by the Tree of Hearts and the three girls and their fairies fly for the first time in order to reach it. ^HPC24 When Dark Cure arrives and attacks the group, Potpourri becomes upset that Dark Cure's assault has destroyed the new flower buds and weakened the tree. Potpourri is comforted by Cure Sunshine, and together they work to create a new barrier around the Tree of Hearts while Cure Blossom and Cure Marine distract Dark Cure. After succeeding, Pretty Cure and the fairies go back to the hospital, where Itsuki watches over her brother. Potpourri is happy that it has finally found its Pretty Cure partner.

When summer vacation ends and Itsuki has to return to school, Potpourri's stubbornness rears its head again as it throws a massive temper tantrum over not being allowed to see her all day. When this backfires and Itsuki scorns it, Potpourri runs away and meets another girl, Haruka, who has also run away. They meet up with Tsukikage Yuri, who tells them that they need to find their caretakers again. Just as a Desertrian arrives and Potpourri's attempts to form a shield and defend everyone wear out, Itsuki arrives and saves it from the Destertrian. Potpourri sobs over Itsuki having gotten herself in danger to rescue her fairy partner, but Itsuki reveals she's not mad at Potpourri and apologizes for not understanding how Potpourri felt.

After this, Potpourri occasionally appears at school as it still can't bear to be far from its beloved Itsuki.

The Final Battle

Potpourri along with the other fairies journey to the Desert Planet to rescue Hanasaki Kaoruko Hanasaki Kaoruko^HPC45. Kumojaki and Cobraja challenge the Cures to a final battle which Cure Marine and Cure Sunshine accept^HPC46. Cobraja soon gets the upper hand in battle which causes Potpourri to jump in front of Cure Sunshine, protecting her with its shield. It tells Cobraja that Cure Sunshine is more beautiful than him due to how she wants to protect everyone's hearts and smiles. The two then join forces against Cobraja. The two combine their shields to create Sunshine Beam, overpowering the Apostle. They then purify him with Gold Forte Burst and go to rejoin their fellow Cures and Fairies.

Several months after the defeat of Dune, Potpourri has returned to the Tree of Hearts to care for the young sapling growing from the strength of the heart seeds gathered by Pretty Cure. It returns to see Itsuki again for the first time and is in awe of her more feminine clothes and longer hair.^HPC49

Relationships

Myoudouin Itsuki: During their first encounter, Potpourri already understood that Itsuki would be its Pretty Cure partner because of her strong warmth. It understands Itsuki's desire to protect people dear to her, which makes them more connected. Overall, Potpourri's immaturity makes it seem like Itsuki's little sibling. It is also strongly devoted to Itsuki and will do anything for her. Often, Potpourri calls her "Ichuki".

Tsukikage Yuri: When Potpourri first meets Yuri, it wants her to become its partner because it could sense her power. Potpourri is upset when she rejects this, but still loves her and tries to hug her on several occasions, feeling rejected whenever she pulls away.

Etymology

Potpourri: Potpourri's name comes from a mixture of dried plants used to provide fragrance.

Trivia

Being newborn within the series, Potpourri is the youngest fairy ever existing in the Pretty Cure universe.
Sometimes Potpourri replaces the letter 's' in its grammar with 'sh'/'ch'.
- As opposed to Chypre and Coffret ending their sentences with "desu", Potpourri ends its with "deshu" which is a cuter version of "desu", emphasizing its naivete/young age.
Potpourri's gender is unknown. Chypre and Coffret's genders were specified in an official essay.
For the Pretty Cure All Stars DX3 Movie Character Polls held by Toei Animation, Potpourri appeared in the following rankings:
- 2nd in "The Fairy you wish to have as a partner the most"
Potpourri's voice actress voiced a few supporting characters in the franchise:
- Tabata Nao from Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart.
- Akio-chan from Futari wa Pretty Cure ^FwPC22.
- Trilliant, from Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: The Movie.
- Takeshi, and some girls in Clover Town from Fresh Pretty Cure!.