Drifblim is Fantina's main Pokémon in the anime. It is the first Gym Leader's Pokémon (other than Misty's and Brock's) to be confirmed as being hatched from an egg.
It first appeared as a Drifloon in Playing The Leveling Field!. Fantina used it in an unofficial battle against Ash, and it easily defeated his Buizel (notably lifting it up in the air, despite Buizel's far greater weight) and put his Chimchar to sleep. During Drifloon's battle against Pikachu, it evolved into Drifblim and put Pikachu to sleep, forcing Ash to forfeit.
Ash officially challenged Fantina to a Gym battle in Shield with a Twist!. She called Drifblim out as her final Pokémon. It used Psychic to control Will-O-Wisp and make it rotate rapidly around its body, improving Ash's own shielding strategy he had tried to use against her. Another strategy it used was to come in close and grab the opponent, then executing Hypnosis at point-blank range. This proved to be very effective as it was quickly able to defeat both Pikachu and Buizel this way. In the final match, Ash's Chimchar was able to overpower and destroy Drifblim's shield, and ultimately defeated it, earning Ash the Relic Badge.
Counter Shield was used in Shield with a Twist!. Drifblim uses Will-O-Wisp to surround its body in fire wisps. Then it uses Psychic to move the fire in two circles. Drifblim can either shoot the flames as an attack or keep the fire around it as a defense tactic.
In the games
Unlike in the anime, Drifblim is not Fantina's main Pokémon in her battles; she doesn't even use her (even as a Drifloon) in her official Gym battle against the player in Pokémon Platinum. However, she uses it in at least one battle in every game she has appeared in: Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Notably, however, her Drifblim is her Pokémon of choice in Super Contests, in which she has nicknamed Loony (Japanese: ばるんBarun).
In the Pokémon Adventures manga Fantina's Drifblim is one of Fantina's main team members. She also serves as Fantina's transportation, being used as a hot air balloon. She was first seen in Hearthome City being used to leave the contest hall when Fantina sensed a looming Presence (actually Paka and Uji), and she later reappeared in Celestic Town where Fantina managed to save Diamond and Pearl after the group was attacked by Cyrus. Drifblim was later used in Platinum's Gym battle against Fantina where it was defeated by her Empoleon's Blizzard, which froze her Ominous Wind.
