Drifloon in depth
A balloon with a soul inside
The design starts with a balloon, but adds details that set it apart from a simple floating object. The cloud over its head looks like smoke or vapor, the yellow marking resembles a patch placed over the point where the air would escape, and the heart-shaped appendages work as weights. Its silhouette has also been linked to a comb jelly and to so-called atmospheric jellyfish, phenomena that can appear after rocket launches and have been mistaken for strange sightings.
The English name combines drift, “to float aimlessly”, and balloon, “balloon”. Its Japanese name, Fuwante, refers to the sound fuwa fuwa, associated with something soft and light, as well as fūsen, the Japanese word for balloon. The result fits a creature that seems to float without control, but that acts with a much more sinister intent in the Pokédex entries.
From unobtrusive appearance to Little Cup threat
It debuted in Generation IV as a species with an innocent appearance and unsettling behaviour. During its early competitive years, it attracted attention in Little Cup through the combination of Unburden and moves that took advantage of losing a held item. Acrobatics increased its offensive pressure after consuming it, while Substitute let it activate the ability and protect itself from certain attacks.
In the XY era, it gained a much more troublesome defensive role. The combination of Sitrus Berry, Recycle, Substitute and Will-O-Wisp let it recover health, burn the opponent and stretch out turns until it wore down entire teams. The reduction to burn damage in Sun and Moon was not enough to bring it back to the format: it was given another evaluation and remained banned from Little Cup.
Compared with other small Ghosts
It shares traits with Gastly, which applies more special pressure and also relies on its fragile defenses, and with Duskull, which focuses on taking hits better rather than outspeeding the opponent. Drifloon falls between the two profiles: it has more HP and Speed than many small Ghosts, but its defenses are too low to take repeated hits.
The Ghost and Flying typing makes the difference. It can switch in for free against Ground- and Fighting-type attacks, but it has to watch out for Rock, Ice, Electric, Ghost and Dark. Against slow opponents or teams that rely on contact moves, Aftermath and Will-O-Wisp can still provide value even when it cannot deal much damage.
How to make the most of it during the adventure
In a normal playthrough, it is best saved for switching into moves to which it is immune, rather than trading blows. Tailwind helps the rest of the team move first, while Shadow Ball provides a reliable special attack and Will-O-Wisp reduces the threat posed by physical attackers. Destiny Bond is useful when the opponent has already left Drifloon with no options, and Self-Destruct or Explosion can end a battle with heavy damage if there is no need to preserve it.
Unburden deserves priority when the plan depends on consuming or losing a held item. Aftermath is easier to use on teams that are willing to sacrifice it, and Flare Boost only makes sense in a strategy that can accommodate the burn. Its evolution, Drifblim, keeps these ideas with a larger body, but during the adventure Drifloon is easier to handle as fast support than as a main attacker.