Reveal the Magic Potion Nova 3" Brushable (2020)

October 5, 2022.

Between the end of the G4 toyline and show and the beginning of the G5 era, "Pony Life" was produced to hold the franchise over until the release of the next movie. During that period came the G4.5 toys.
The new ponies were redesigned with a "reimagined form factor," and many characters from older generations made appearances in the toyline.

For some reason, the G4.5 toys were potion themed. Some of them featured a toy-reveal aspect where mini figures were put in packaging that dissolved in water, creating a sort of potion after the dissolution.

This brushable features the potion theming on the package, but doesn't have any potion-adjascent features.

Here is the pony, comb, and purple baggie released from the package. The purple bag contained a big pink bow headband and crystal shaped hairclip.
This brushable's head is on a ball joint, and it can turn and move on an angle like the G5 ponies' heads can.

She came out of the package with a black mark on her horn. It also seems like her face printing is low resolution.
I like the body shape and pose, but the head shape really puts me off. It's really far from what a "pony" is, with a wide, flat face, tiny snout, and huge catlike ears. The hair rooting style looks weird on the head shape, If it were rooted more like a doll's head is, it would look a bit less bald.
There are also very noticeable seamlines around the raised front leg and a mold scar on the back of her neck.

Potion Nova is an entirely new character exclusive to the G4.5 toyline. She's a white unicorn with pink, blue and purple hair, blue eyes, and a potion bottle cutie mark. Allegedly, she's featured in the Pony Life cartoon.
As a transitory era, G4.5 did not last very long, but it seemed to go by with little notice or fanfare. I did not know these toys were coming out when they did, and I've seen very little discussion about the cartoon other than G4 fans lamenting the end of their favorite show.
This generation, in hindsight, did not seem to successfully generate hype for the next generation and barely managed to get up on its own feet. It's likely that it only existed so there would not be any pony-shaped void in the toy aisle.
While not a bad toy, it was created in a strange style that doesn't resemble the cartoon or a horse in any capacity. I do like the design of this character though, even if the style of the toy is not my favorite. I always like to see new characters originating from the toyline too. Hopefully, G5 will also introduce more toyline-only ponies. While It's sad that G4.5 came and went so quickly, perhaps it was for the best.