Drifblim is a Pokémon that has a large, spherical, purple body with the lower quarter of its body being a lighter purple. The colors are separated by a repeated semicircle pattern all around its body. On the top of its head is a puffy, white mass, which closely resembles a cloud. In the center of its body is a large yellow "X" mark, and on either side just above the "X" are its small, red eyes. On the lower portion of its body are four long, thin arms that extend diagonally in four different directions. Its arms are tipped with yellow and have three short points each. The bottom of its body narrows into a short, red extrusion that fans slightly outward. Drifblim's body contains souls, said to be burdened with regrets. These souls serve as fuel for Drifblim's gas.
Drifblim is strong enough to lift Pokémon or people but has no control over its flight. This causes it to drift with the wind and end up anywhere. It can, however, inflate and deflate itself with gas to control its altitude. It is rarely active during the day but usually gathers in groups during the evenings. When noticed, the groups will suddenly vanish to unknown locations. Drifblim preys on Clamperl. There are rumors of Drifblim carrying people to the afterlife; as well, there have been songs or poems dedicated to Drifblim due to people admiring its transient, melancholy aspect.
It drifts along at dusk, perfectly silent. Its transient, melancholy aspect touches some people deeply—every so often, one will come upon a song or poem devoted to Drifblim.
Drifblim float around as they please during the day, but at night they drift off to who knows where. Apparently, some of the Clamperl they’ve carried away are still missing.
Drifblim debuted in The Rise of Darkrai, where it floated around Alamos Town, serving as a scout for Tonio so he could conduct scientific analyses throughout the city.
In PK18, Buizel grabbed on to a Drifblim while escaping from Meowth and his cronies. Meowth's group was later forced to hold on to more Drifblim after being blasted off by a Registeel.
In Foggy Pokémon Orienteering!, Ash used multiple Drifblim to hop across a gorge to safely reach Bonnie, who had fallen asleep on the other side.
The titular Phantom Thief, Hiori, uses a Drifblim primarily for aerial transportation. It is not seen battling much but can hold its own when it needs to.
When Diamond, Pearl and Platinum were in Hearthome City, Fantina used her Drifblim to throw off some women who were obstructing the trio for being rookies in Contests who didn't deserve to compete, an attitude that carried over even after Platinum won the Contest, to which Fantina responded by dropping them in a trash chute. She was later used in a Gym match against Platinum. Her Ominous Wind seemed to give her the upper hand at first against Platinum's Empoleon, but the girl then revealed that she took advantage of this gust of wind to send off her Blizzard, fainting her. She first appeared in Perturbed by Pachirisu.
They are also the only Flying-type and Ghost-type Pokémon in the Fluctuating Experience Group.
Drifblim is tied with Bronzong as the most common Pokémon found amongst Elite Four members, being used by four of them.
Origin
Drifblim appears to be based on a hot air balloon. The yellow shape around its mouth resembles a puncture bandage (its mouth being the puncture), the white puff on its head resembles a cloud, and its four arms pose as the rigging connected to the balloon's basket. It also resembles the box jellyfish, specifically the Carukia barnesi. It may also be based on space jellyfish (also known as atmospheric jellyfish), an atmospheric phenomenon caused by rocket launches that are often mistaken for cryptids or UFO sightings.
As a concept of a Ghost-type balloon, it may have been inspired by some Kaidan ghost stories, where ghosts and spirits have been compared to balloons.
Fuwaride may be a combination of ふわふわ fuwa fuwa (soft, airy, and light; or an onomatopoeia for floating), 風船 fūsen (balloon), and ride, as well as a pun on 付和雷同 fuwaraidō (following others blindly).
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
フワライド Fuwaride
From ふわふわ fuwafuwa, fuga, 風船 fūsen, ride, and possibly 付和雷同 fuwaraidō
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.