PUKA ⭐ プカ

Toyhouse Profile

Puka is a unique case among my OCs, both in-universe and in her creation. As I was figuring out what to do story-wise for Spina, I wanted to keep her old name, Puka, in some form, but not give it to a Saiyan character. I decided Tuffles would be fun to explore with, because they’d not only be story-relevant to my Saiyans, but also due to their not being well-defined in the canon, thus having a chance to solidify my own version of them.

As luck would have it, プカプカ (pukapuka) is a Japanese onomatopoeia for floating, and so while it is not a fruit like all the other Tuffles’ namesakes, Puka still made a good fit in keeping with a DB-esque naming style because of the character’s own in-universe origin. She is born to Dr. Ban and Anna on the cloaked refugee ship Dr. Ban built as it drifts through space in search of a new home for the townful of Tuffles who escape on the night of the full moon that ended the Saiyan-Tuffle War.

The Tuffles founded the colony on a planetoid they named New Plant, and young Puka was very sheltered from knowledge of the war or the Saiyans at first. However, when she is five, the critically wounded Rugul and Letta crash land on New Plant near the colony, and Puka is along with the salvage team who find the ship. She is mystified when her father berates, threatens, and the group abandons the Saiyans to their fate rather than helping, so later that night she sneaks out to bring them a healing ointment - her naivety ending up saving their lives.

Puka ends up being fascinated with the Saiyans, and when they eventually reconcile with the colonists, move in, and have Spina, her interest in them only deepens. The two become best friends from the moment Spina is born, and the way they learn from each other serves to symbolize the healing between the two species, and the possibilities of cooperation. Puka learns to train and become strong, and Spina becomes adept with Tuffle technology, though each has their own limitations. Puka’s voice is also used in the ship Spina ends up alone on, and she addresses the ship’s log as if it were Puka.

In the spin-off story where the canon Saiyan trio show up instead of random Frieza Force soldiers and don’t destroy New Plant, Puka is also extremely instrumental in the plans to take down Frieza. She comes up with the idea to mod the scouters and the space pods for more covert activity and communication. Later on she is taught to fly by Letta so she can court Raditz with a duel. Later still, Puka and Spina find him left for dead while on an unrelated mission, save him, and take him home. During the final conflict with Frieza, Puka serves as the field medic for the group which ends up saving Letta after her and Raditz's fight with Captain Ginyu.

Personality-wise, Puka has a strong sense of stubborn curiosity, often to the point of disregarding danger, even well-understood danger. This also aligns and ingratiates her very easily with the Saiyans she meets. She greets challenges with a grin and a thumbs-up. However courageous she may be, though, she’s not without fears. Losing her friends or family is one of those fears, as is the thought of being useless, and at times she falls into a somewhat self-destructive workaholic mode when trying to problem-solve something to help others.

GALLERY