PriHeaPC08

'''Mechokku! The Trio Prism Is Here!' (メチョック！ トリオプリズムが登場！Mechokku! Torio Purizumu ga Tōjō!'') is the eighth episode of Prism Hearts Precure. It is a tribute to [https://prettycure.fandom.com/wiki/HUGtto!_Pretty_Cure HUGtto! Pretty Cure], but it is the first tribute where the focus legend (Aisaki Emiru/Cure Macherie) was introduced in a prior episode.

Summary
While in the park with her little sister Mina, Hikari discovers what looks like a tapir shaped doll on the ground. Later finding out it’s a fairy named Yumeta who had been separated from his mother after Darkest Day. She was then approached by Aya, who revealed her identity to her and asked her to join them.

Hikari refuses, saying she respected the Precure but hates violence of any kind. She did agree to help Yumeta find his mother though, teaming up with Emiru to search. Running into Bottom instead Hikari is suddenly faced with a difficult choice.

Major Events

 * The HUGtto Miracle Petal and Prism Cards are obtained along with the Cure Peace Prism Card
 * Hikari becomes Cure Trinity for the first time
 * Cure Trinity performed the Trio Finale for the first time
 * Higashi Setsuna makes a cameo near the end of the episode

Plot
One night, a small tapir fairy was wandering around the park calling out for his mother. After several hours of searching, he started to feel tired and decided to rest for the night before resuming his search. As the weekend morning came, Aya and Sakura were using the Cure Radar to scan the park for a recent Prism Card signal while Ayumi and Jou searched in a nearby street.

Meanwhile, Hikari was playing with her sister Mina after the former had promised the girl that they would go to the park for the weekend. After Mina tossed the Frisbee into a nearby bush, Hikari went to retrieve it and found the fairy from before. Believing him to be a mere plushie, she picked him up along with the Frisbee and walked back to her sister.

Just then, the tapir fairy woke up and scared both Sukui siblings. Emiru, who was taking a walk, quickly ran towards their location. She soon calmed the group down as the tapir fairy asked them where he was. Hikari and Emiru then introduced themselves as the tapir fairy did the same, calling himself Yumeta.

Yumeta then explained that he was looking for his mother Maamu after the two were separated from each other during Darkest Day. When Emiru and Hikari realized that the small fairy was looking for her mother for almost a year, they quickly offer to help find Maamu to which Yumeta tearfully thanked the girls.

Meanwhile, Aya and Sakura's search for the Prism Card signal wasn't giving results. As the girls were about to give up, they soon spotted Hikari and Emiru looking around the park with the former having a strange plushie in her hands. EnEn and Gureru quickly recognized the fairy to be Yumeta, one of their classmates from Fairy School. They also noticed that the Cure Radar was detecting a Prism Card in their location.

Walking towards the two, Yumeta soon saw EnEn and Gureru as the three fairies shared an embrace. Noticing the similarities between the two fairies and Yumeta, she guessed that the two were friends of the tapir. Emiru then realized that Aya and Sakura were the Prism Hearts Precure and greeted the two accordingly.

Surprised that her classmates were all Precure, Hikari then took out a Prism Card out of her pocket which was the Cure Trinity Prism Card. Recognizing it, Aya guessed that she was already a Precure and formally asked her to join her team. The girl politely declined however, stating that she did not like violence of any kind. However, while she wasn't open to becoming a Precure, she was still willing to help Yumeta find his mother.

The girls then joined Emiru and Hikari as the group searched for Maamu together. However when they couldn't find the elder tapir fairy, they were soon met with a large Dark Matter monster based on one of the nightmares Maamu normally defeats instead. When Aya and Sakura expected Fusion or Dark Onibi to show up, they were soon met by Bottom instead, who was sent by Black Hole to retrieve the HUGtto! Prism Cards in Yumeta's possession

Before he could attack however, he was hit with a Dreamy Bash by Cure Noble. Aya and Sakura soon joined the fight as they transformed into Cure Light and Cure Splash. The trio quickly fought against both Bottom and the Dark Matter monster while Emiru, Hikari, and an arriving Ayumi got Mina to safety.

As they went behind a nearby bench, Yumeta hung onto Hikari in hopes of things getting better. Mina on the other hand, quickly took out her keepsake and wished she could help the Precure. Not wanting to see either Yumeta and Mina scared, Hikari told Emiru to keep the two safe while she distracted the Dark Matter monster.

Using a soccer ball, she got the monster's attention and tried her best to lead it away only for Bottom to arrive and send the girl back into the bench, causing the Cure Trinity Prism Card to fall out of her pocket. Seeing the stray Prism Card in her possession, Bottom held an injured Hikari by the collar, demanding her where she got the card.

Mina tried to save her sister, but the general kicked her away, forcing Emiru to quickly run out and catch her. This, unintentionally, lit a fire in Hikari as she threatened that Bottom would pay for hurting her sister. She then kicked the fishman's thumb and grabbed the Prism Card, which was already glowing brightly.

Once the light changed Yumeta into a Prism Changer, Hikari transformed into Cure Trinity and began performing some judo moves against the monster. At once however, she saw Yumeta give her the Cure Yell, Cure Ange and Cure Étoile Prism Cards. Quickly tossing them to the others, Cure Light, Cure Splash, and Cure Noble performed a Prism Change, which caused the HUGtto Miracle Petal to appear before them.

They then used the Trinity Concert to defeat the Dark Matter monster, while Cure Trinity used the Trio Finale to knock down Bottom and force him to retreat. Afterwards, the girls checked on Mina and were relieved that she was relatively okay.

Pretty soon, the girls were ready to say their goodbyes as Hikari decided to accept Aya's offer. When she asked her why she changed her mind, Hikari realized that she could not just sit down and let evil roam free; stating that was not the Sukui Hikari she wanted to be.

This made Emiru chuckle as she recalled her team mate Nono Hana saying something similar. As the group said their goodbyes, a young girl in red was admiring the sights when she notices a collapsed Mio.

Elements/Homages to HUGtto! Pretty Cure

 * The title uses Nono Hana's catchphrase of "Mega shock!" (「めちょっく！」 "Mechokku!")
 * This episode could be a double nod to HuPC01, which had Hana go through a similar phase before she became Cure Yell, and HuPC03, where Aya and Sakura were on a search that was vaguely similar to the one Hana and Saya went through.
 * Hikari's speech near the end of the episode is a call back to one of Hana's quirks, that being her idea of the person she wanted to be

Pretty Cures

 * Kyuseishu Aya / Cure Light
 * Mizumi Sakura / Cure Splash


 * Kogo Jou / Cure Noble
 * Sukui Hikari / Cure Trinity

Mascots

 * EnEn
 * Gureru
 * Kuroro
 * Yumeta

Villains

 * Fusion
 * Dark Matter

Secondary Characters

 * Sakagami Ayumi
 * Sukui Mina
 * Aisaki Emiru
 * Sakebu Mio / Cure Hunter
 * Higashi Setsuna

Trivia

 * While not a direct tribute, Yumeta's appearance along with the Nightmare Dark Matter could categorize this as a tribute to Pretty Cure All-Stars New Stage 3: Eien no Tomodachi.