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In the Legend of Zelda series, Potions (or Medicines, as they are called in A Link to the Past) are special drinks with magical properties that can heal Link, refill his Magic Meter, or both, although there are also potions with unique effects. In games with bottles, potions are usually kept in them, and Link can't buy or obtain a potion unless he has an empty bottle. In games with no bottles (as items) present, like the original Legend of Zelda and some of the handheld games, potions are stand-alone items that can be used once.

Common Potions
These potions, the Red, Green, and Blue Potions are the most common in the Zelda franchise, as they perform the most basic and relevant behaviors to Link: that of health replenishment, magical restoration, and for the most part, a combination of the two, respectively.

Red Potion
The Red Potion is the most prevalent concoction found in the Zelda series, seen all the way from to. In almost all of its incarnations, it operates as a powerful health restorer, rejuvenating Link through the replenishment of his hearts, in the same fashion made famous by recovery hearts and fairies. In each game, the replenishment rate of this potion differs, and interestingly has recently declined in functionality in the past few games: from to  the Red Potion has acted like a manual fairy, restoring all of Link's hearts, but with the release of, this potion has fallen to restoring only 8 hearts, and finally came to an all-time-low of a 6 heart restoration in. In games where this potion must be concocted by Link, Red ChuChus are the main ingredient used in it's creation, seen in and in, although certain mushrooms are used in , , and  in its inception.

Green Potion
The Green Potion, first introduced in, is the chemistry concoction that responds exclusively to the magic meter. Unlike the Red Potion, this potion restores the entire magic bar, regardless of the meter's size, and how much usable magic is left in the meter itself. Often this potion can be bought in potion shops alongside the Red Potion at a decreased cost, or collected from Chu Jelly like in and  across the overworld of Hyrule. Out of the three common potions, Green Potion costs the least in terms of rupees. Magic Jars, like in, are the overworld versions of the Green Potion that often result from the defeat of an enemy or slashing short grass, found in a similar way as recovery hearts and fairies, the overworld counterparts of the Red Potion. In games that don't feature the magic bar, however, the green potion does not exist.However in you can make a green chu by getting a yellow chu and a blue chu to merge together you can get a green chu and then you can bottle it. (However it does nothing.)

Background
The Adventure of Link introduced the series first magic system and used blue jars to replenish the Magic Meter. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link used red and blue jars, which behaved similar to a potion. The jars refill magic on contact and cannot be saved for strategical use. Link does learn a Life spell, thus negating the disadvantage of not having Health Potions. The jars drop seemingly randomly from defeated enemies. This items works as a contact activated magic restoring potion. Larger orange color potion jars were used to indicate Magic Meter expansions. This item also replenished Magic on contact.

Method of Obtainment
In, it can be bought from Syrup the witch for 60 rupees. It survived the jump to 3D, and is now known simply as the "Green Potion"; it made its first appearance in Ocarina of Time as an adult, in Kakariko Village's Potion Shop. In Majora's Mask, it can be bought from Koume in the Southern Swamp Potion Shop. In The Wind Waker, it can be obtained once 15 drops of Green Chu Jelly were given to Doc Bandam, and can be bought for 10 rupees after that.

Blue Potion
The Blue Potion is the "jack-of-all-trades" of its kind: in its most common form, it replenishes not only a full magic meter, but the majority if not all of Link's hearts, as well. Blue Potion is often the most expensive purchase at a potion shop, and rightly so, considering its dual replenishment qualities. In games that lack a magic meter, and by extention, a Green Potion, like and, the Blue Potion operates as a stronger Red Potion, restoring more hearts than its inferior couterpart.

Other Potions
Along with some incarnation of common potions indicated above, certain games incorporate their own potion creations, often with different colors, and widely different effects than that of the common variety.

Gold Potion
Gold Potion is only featured in the A Link to the Past Satellaview 'expansion', The Ancient Stone Tablets. As well as replenishing both health and magic, it temporarily allows the hero (not Link in this game) to charge Spin Attacks twice as quickly and makes him twice as strong with sword attacks until the first hit.

Gold Potion is apparently the precursor to the Elixir Soup found in The Wind Waker, Chateau Romani, and the Great Fairy's Tears found in Twilight Princess, which work in a similar manner.

Magic Potion
In Link's Awakening, Link can purchase a unique Magic Potion from a woman named Crazy Tracy for 42 rupees (28 rupees the first time). Unlike the "Color" potions, this is rubbed on Link when he purchases it, rather than being drunk from a bottle. This red-colored potion can be found again in both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. In these games, it can be obtained through purchase from Syrup's shop, by taking it if Maple drops one, or through the contents of a Gasha Nut. In either game, only one of these potions can be held at once. The Magic Potion is consumed automatically when Link would otherwise die, filling all of his lost hearts instantly. Only one Secret Medicine can be held at a given time, so if Link already has one & gets another from a treasure chest, he will still only have 1 Secret Medicine in his inventory.

Purple Potion
Purple Potion as found in Twilight Princess, has a random effect, and will either recover or decrease Link's health once ingested. It can be obtained by collecting the remains of a Purple ChuChu. Nasty Soup works in a similar, less effective manner. In Spirit Tracks, Purple Potions restore 6 of Link's hearts and can be bought at almost any store for the price of 150 Rupees.

Yellow Potion
Yellow Potions are the most powerful potions and restore all of Link's life hearts, in. The yellow potion can only be purchased from the Masked Ship for 200 Rupees. This shop ship appears only between 10 a.m. and noon according to the internal DS clock. In Spirit Tracks, Purple Potions also restore all of Link's hearts and can be bought in the Goron Country Store and the Papuchia Shop for the price of 200 Rupees.

Picolyte
Picolyte in The Minish Cap is a kind of potion which will, for a short while, increase the find rates for various items when cutting grass or smashing blocks.

Tings
Tings are accessible when using the Tingle Tuner in The Wind Waker. Link can purchase three types of these potions called Tings, from Tingle which correspond to the usual effects of red, green, and blue potions for 20, 30, or 60 Rupees respectively. Once bought, Tingle will deliver the Ting to Link by balloon, as seen on the Game Boy Advance screen, which will instantly replenish all his hearts, his magic, or both depending on the color bought. Furthering Tingle's sidequests will cause Tingle to slice his prices.

Potion Making
There have been several potion brewers throughout the Legend of Zelda games, and they use different ingredients to create their potions. Syrup, a witch who has appeared in several games, apparently uses mushrooms to create her potions, and so do Kotake and Koume in Majora's Mask. In The Wind Waker, Doc Bandam from Windfall Island uses Chu Jelly obtained from ChuChus to create different potions, while Hollo the Korok uses the magic inside Boko Baba Seeds to make Blue Potion.

In the games in which these characters don't appear, the origin of potions is unknown, although in Twilight Princess, it is possible that at least some of them are made with Chu Jelly as in The Wind Waker. Evidence for this is that the remains of a defeated ChuChu leaves a blob that when scooped into a bottle will act as a potion. However, Trill states that Red Potion is made from a mix of mushrooms and herbs.

Trivia

 * In Majora's Mask, Green Potion can be bought at the Southern Swamp Potion Shop for ten rupees. But the Curiosity Shop will buy it for twenty.
 * In Twilight Princess, although it doesn't appear in-game, the game's memory retains data for a Magic Potion, since the game was originally meant to have a magic meter, as seen in some screenshots on the back of the Wii version box. It is possible to create green ChuChu jelly by allowing a blue and a yellow ChuChu to merge, creating a green ChuChu, but the jelly Link gets from killing it does nothing.

Gallery
Soups in Twilight Princess Milk Picolyte