Fantina

Fantina メリッサ Melissa
"The Alluring, Soulful Dancer"
File:Fantina.png Artwork from Diamond/Pearl
Gender	Female
Eye color	Violet
Hair color	Violet
Hometown	Hearthome City
Region	Sinnoh
Trainer class	Gym Leader, Coordinator
Generation	IV
Games	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Leader of	Hearthome Gym
Badge	Relic Badge
Specializes in	Template:Type2s
Anime debut	Playing the Leveling Field!
English voice actor	Bella Hudson
Japanese voice actor	Kikuko Inoue

Fantina (Japanese: メリッサ Melissa) is the Gym Leader of Hearthome City's Gym, known officially as the Hearthome Gym. She hands out the Relic Badge to Trainers who defeat her. She specializes in Template:Type2 Pokémon.

She is apparently not from the country the games are set in, and often peppers her speech with phrases of French.

In the games

Fantina uses Template:Type2 Pokémon in her battles. For defeating her, Trainers receive the Relic Badge, TM65 (Shadow Claw) and are able to use Surf outside of battle (Defog in Platinum). She considers herself to be a Contest Expert and, in Diamond and Pearl, cannot be challenged until the Old Charm has been delivered to the Celestic Town elder at the request of the elder's granddaughter, Cynthia. Fantina speaks a mix of French and broken English and is an immigrant from another country. Upon arriving in Sinnoh, she decided to become a performer, so she dresses up in fancy outfits for Pokémon Contests. She also studied Pokémon and eventually attained the title of Gym Leader. Fantina makes regular visits to the Lost Tower.

Fantina can occasionally be competed against in Super Contests, in which she uses her Drifblim, nicknamed Loony (Japanese: ばるん Balloon). In Platinum, she can be battled again at the Battleground and occasionally visits the Villa. Fantina claims to be a fan of Arcade Star Dahlia's dancing style and a member of the Ribbon Syndicate of the Resort Area.

Pokémon

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

File:SpriteMerissa.png Leader Fantina Hearthome Gym Diamond and Pearl Leader and Professor Fantina Oak Hearthome Gym Diamond and Pearl Reward: $4320

Types: Ghost Flying Ability: Aftermath Held item: None Drifblim♀ Lv.32 Ominous Wind Ghost Special   --       Gust Flying Special   --       Astonish Ghost Physical   --       Minimize Normal Status   --       Types: Ghost Poison Ability: Levitate Held item: None Gengar♀ Lv.34 Shadow Claw Ghost Physical   --       Poison Jab Poison Physical   --       Confuse Ray Ghost Status   --       Spite Ghost Status   --       Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Levitate Held item: Sitrus Berry Mismagius♀ Lv.36 Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Psybeam Psychic Special   --       Magical Leaf Grass Special   --       Confuse Ray Ghost Status   --

Pokémon Platinum

File:FantinaPlatinum.gif Leader Fantina Hearthome Gym Platinum Leader and Professor Fantina Oak Hearthome Gym Platinum Reward: $3120

Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Levitate Held item: None Duskull♀ Lv.24 Will-O-Wisp Fire Status   --       Future Sight Psychic Special   --       Shadow Sneak Ghost Physical   --       Pursuit Dark Physical   --       Types: Ghost Poison Ability: Levitate Held item: None Haunter♀ Lv.24 Shadow Claw Ghost Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Confuse Ray Ghost Status   --       Hypnosis Psychic Status   --       Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Levitate Held item: Sitrus Berry Mismagius♀ Lv.26 Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Psybeam Psychic Special   --       Magical Leaf Grass Special   --       Confuse Ray Ghost Status   --

Rematch

File:FantinaPlatinum.gif Leader Fantina Battleground Platinum Leader and Professor Fantina Oak Battleground Platinum Reward: $7800

Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Insomnia Held item: None Banette♀ Lv.61 Shadow Claw Ghost Physical   --       Faint Attack Dark Physical   --       Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Will-O-Wisp Fire Status   --       Types: Ghost Flying Ability: Aftermath Held item: None Drifblim♀ Lv.61 Psychic Psychic Special   --       Silver Wind Bug Special   --       Ominous Wind Ghost Special   --       Baton Pass Normal Status   --       Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Pressure Held item: None Dusknoir♀ Lv.62 Shadow Punch Ghost Physical   --       Rock Slide Rock Physical   --       Double Team Normal Status   --       Protect Normal Status   --       Types: Ghost Unknown Ability: Levitate Held item: None Mismagius♀ Lv.63 Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Psychic Psychic Special   --       Magical Leaf Grass Special   --       Types: Ghost Poison Ability: Levitate Held item: Sitrus Berry Gengar♀ Lv.65 Focus Blast Fighting Special   --       Thunder Electric Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Psychic Psychic Special   --

Pokémon Super Contests

	Types: Ghost Flying
Loony
Constrict Tough Appeal: 0     --               Ominous Wind Smart Appeal: 0     --               Focus Energy Cool Appeal: 0     --               Explosion Beauty Appeal: 0     --

File:SpriteMerissa.png	File:FantinaPlatinum.gif
Fantina's sprite from Diamond and Pearl	Fantina's sprite from Platinum	Fantina's VS sprite from Platinum

Quotes

In front of the Contest Hall at player's first visit to Hearthome City
Oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse me. Are you entering a Contest? Tehehe... Enjoy yourself, please! Incidentally, Fantina, the Hearthome Gym Leader, also happens to be a Contest expert. And you may ask yourself, how do I know this? Well, I am Fantina! You may challenge me, but not yet! You must become much stronger. Then, you may challenge me!

Before battle
"Ohohoho!! Finally, you have arrived! Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests in this city? I say to myself, enfin, I will excel. That's why I dress this way. C'est une performance! Also I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"

After sending out last Pokémon
"Oh, heavens. What is this? Is this my final Pokémon?"

During battle
"Never give up, never surrender!"

When defeated
"You are so fantastically strong. I know now why I have lost."

After being defeated
"I am dumbfounded! So very, very strong! You, your Pokémon, so strong! Your power is admirable! I shall honor it with this Gym Badge!"

"Five* Gym Badges... But you must not forget this. There are many other trainers. Strong Trainers, too. There are many more in Sinnoh. Have patience! You must become stronger, one at a time."

In the anime

Fantina in the anime

Despite the group having traveled through Hearthome City twice, once in Dawn's Early Night and a second time in Arriving in Style!, the Hearthome Gym remained closed with the Gym Leader nowhere in sight. Fantina had left a note saying that she was going on a journey for a while, and to not look for her. Apparently she was developing a whole new battle style.

She finally appeared in Playing The Leveling Field! where she battled Ash and Zoey. She had a tendency to break into dance regularly, occasionally interspersing French phrases in as well, such as "s'il vous plaît". It was also revealed that she battled Alan twice with him winning the second time. It was revealed in Aiding the Enemy! that Paul also managed to defeat her.

Ash met with Fantina upon returning to Hearthome City in Barry's Busting Out All Over! and battled her again in Shield with a Twist!, where he defeated her and earned the Relic Badge.

In Gotta Get a Gible!, it was revealed that Fantina has once again left her Gym, so Barry had to take a number in order to battle her when she came back.

Fantina appeared from Last Call, First Round! to DP177 as a guest judge for the Grand Festival.

Pokémon

This listing is of Fantina's known Pokémon in the anime:

Gengar

Debut	Playing The Leveling Field!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Bill Rogers

Gengar was the first Pokémon to be used during the Gym Battle against Ash in Shield with a Twist!. Gengar went up against Buizel and Ash struggled against the quick Ghost-type, however Buizel was able to use the newly-developed Counter Shield technique and was able to defeat Gengar.

Gengar's known attacks are Shadow Punch, Hypnosis and Night Shade and its ability is Levitate.

Mismagius

Debut	Playing The Leveling Field!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Sarah Natochenny

Mismagius is one of Fantina's main Pokémon, the Gym Leader having trained it since it was a Misdreavus. It was first seen battling Zoey and her Glameow in Playing The Leveling Field! where it was able to easily defeat the Catty Pokémon using contest combination moves.

It next appeared during the Gym Battle against Ash's Chimchar where, like Gengar, it was unable to withstand the Counter Shield and was eventually knocked out.

Mismagius's known attacks are Psybeam, Magical Leaf, Psywave and Dark Pulse.

Drifblim

Debut	Playing The Leveling Field!
Voice actors
Japanese	Miyako Itō
English	Bella Hudson

Main article: Fantina's Drifblim

Drifblim is Fantina's main Pokémon, having raised it since it was an egg. It was first appeared as a Drifloon in Playing The Leveling Field! when it was used in a practice battle against Ash and completely overwhelmed his team with Hypnosis before evolving into Drifblim.

After training, Ash returned for an official Gym Battle where Drifblim proved to be more powerful than before, managing to put to sleep and knock out Pikachu and Buizel before being defeated by Chimchar.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 井上喜久子 Kikuko Inoue English Bella Hudson Polish Katarzyna Łaska Spanish Latin America Georgina Sánchez Spain Mercedes Cepeda

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

File:Fantina and byron.png

Fantina and her Mismagius with Byron and his Bronzong

Fantina first appeared at the Super Contest Hall. When two women were making rude comments about rookie contestants, she sent out her Drifblim to carry them out and throw them into a garbage can. Then, when Diamond, Pearl and Platinum came back to Hearthome City for the Gym Challenge, they discovered that she was the Gym Leader. Saying that her studies for the lifetime passion of Pokémon Contests granted her the title of Hearthome City Gym Leader, she watched as Platinum made her way through the quizzes given by the gym easily and took up the challenge, after which her Drifblim was beaten after Platinum's Empoleon manipulated it into freezing itself using its own wind, but her Mismagius proved to be much trickier as its Trick Room turned Empoleon's speed against it, and beat it easily, then trapping Platinum and the borrowed Munchlax in an illusion where the Pokémon was in a room full of its favorite sweets and Platinum suffered. Before long though, the girl managed to subvert the illusion in her favor with Pearl's help, and defeated the Mismagius.

Pokémon

She has these Pokémon:

Mismagius

Drifblim

Duskull

Pokémon DP

She makes a brief cameo in chapter 7 handing a badge to Hareta. She is subsequently offended when he calls her "Grandma".

Pokémon

Drifblim

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Fantina or her Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Name	Type	Level	Rarity	Set	Set no.
Mismagius GL		26		Rising Rivals	10/111
Gengar GL		65		Rising Rivals	40/111
Mismagius GL LV.X		X		Rising Rivals	110/111

Trivia

• During the Gym battle in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Fantina exclaims "Never give up, never surrender!", the catchphrase from the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest.
  • The quote may be a sly nod to a stereotyping of the French as a nation who will easily surrender in battle.
• In the Japanese and French versions she speaks English, while in the German, Italian and Spanish versions she has a noticeable French accent.
• Fantina's name is likely derived from the character of Fantine in what is perhaps the most famous French novel of all time, Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables", due to Fantina's French nationality and the similarity of the names.
• Apparently, Fantina has two Drifblim, one for battles, and one for Contests. The Drifblim she uses in contests has a noticeably different moveset from the Drifblim she uses in battle.
• Fantina's dress shares many elements as the design of the first Pokémon on her party, Drifblim: it has a yellow "X" over a puffed out dress of purple fabric.
  • Although Fantina's design is based on a Drifblim, she doesn't use one in the original gym match with her in Platinum. In Diamond and Pearl as well as the rematch in Platinum, however, she does use a Drifblim.
• In the anime, Ash intended to battle Fantina and win the Relic Badge on his first visit to Hearthome City, as his third badge. While this would have meant that he went out of order compared to Diamond and Pearl, this is the correct order in Platinum, which came out shortly before Ash finally battled her for the Relic Badge (as his fifth).
• If Brock and Misty aren't counted, the Gym Leader to appear in most episodes of the anime is Fantina. She has appeared in 7 so far. Roark comes in second with 6 episodes. Coincidentally, he is also a Sinnoh Gym Leader.
• Fantina is one of two Gym Leaders known to have taken residence outside the Pokémon nation. However, it is not confirmed where Fantina is from except her home country uses French as the national language. The other is Lt. Surge, who is from the United States.
• Fantina is similar to Juan in that both speak French (Juan does so in Pokémon Adventures), and both are Coordinators and Gym Leaders. Coincidentally, Juan appeared in a flashback in the episode Fantina debuted in.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	メリッサ Melissa	An obviously non-Japanese name, obviating her status as an immigrant. Resembles the word "malice".
English, Spanish	Fantina	From phantom, and "Fantine", of the French novel "Les Misérables".
French	Kiméra	Similar to chimera.
German	Lamina	From Lamia, a Greek mythological spirit.
Italian	Fannie	French name, similar to fantasma, phantom.
Korean	멜리사 Melissa	Same as Japanese name.
Chinese (Taiwan)	梅麗莎 Méilìshā	Same as Japanese name.

External links

Gym Leaders of the Sinnoh region
Oreburgh Gym Roark	Eterna Gym Gardenia	Veilstone Gym Maylene	Pastoria Gym Crasher Wake
Hearthome Gym Fantina	Canalave Gym Byron	Snowpoint Gym Candice	Sunyshore Gym Volkner

Top Coordinators
Abby • Fantina • Johanna • Juan • Marina • Robert • Solidad • Wallace • Yuma • Zoey

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.