Fantina

"The Alluring, Soulful Dancer!"
Fantina
Species	Human
Hair color	Violet
Eye color	Violet
Base	Hearthome City
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions

Fantina is a gym leader of the Sinnoh region appearing in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions. In Diamond and Pearl she is the fifth gym leader to be battled, but in Platinum she can be battled third. She specializes in Ghost-type Pokémon.

Background

Fatina was a foreigner to Sinnoh who was determined to learn new things. She became enamored with Pokémon contests, which lead her to dress glamorously and become a contest expert. She also studied Pokémon, which led her to become the gym leader of Hearthome City. In Diamond and Pearl, Lucas/Dawn first met her at Hearthome's Contest Hall, where she said she would only accept Lucas/Dawn's challenge after they had become much stronger. The player could only take the challenge after beating the first four gyms as well as delivering the Old Charm to Celestic Town. In Platinum, however, Fantina could be challenged immediately upon arriving in Hearthome.

After Lucas/Dawn defeated her in a gym battle, she was initially dumbfounded, but she still honored the player trainer's admirable strength with the Relic Badge and TM 65: Shadow Claw. She left Lucas/Dawn with a reminder that there were stronger trainers out there in Sinnoh while advising them to have patience and slowly become stronger. The player could also compete against Fantina in Super Contests, and in Platinum there was a chance of her appearing at the Battleground where she could be challenged to a rematch. She would also visit the player's villa on random days, where she would admit to being impressed by Dahlia's dancing abilities.

Fatina reappeared in Black and White 2 as one of the competitors in the Pokémon World Tournament held at Unova. She took part in the Sinnoh Leaders, World Leaders and Type Expert Tournaments, as well as the special download tournament "The Battle Between Legendary Pokémon".

Pokémon Roster

Fantina uses the following Pokémon for the Gym Challenge in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum:

• Drifblim (Diamond/Pearl only)/Duskull (Platinum only)
• Gengar (Diamond/Pearl only)/Haunter (Platinum only)
• Mismagius

Additionally, she uses a Drifblim named Loony to compete in Super Contests. In Platinum, she uses the following Pokémon in Battleground rematches:

• Banette
• Mismagius
• Drifblim
• Dusknoir
• Gengar

In Black 2 and White 2, her tournament roster could include Mismagius, Drifblim, Spiritomb, Dusknoir, Gengar and either Rotom (in the Sinnoh Leaders Tournament) or Jellicent (in the World Leaders and Type Expert Tournaments). For "The Battle Between Legendary Pokémon", she used Giratina. Mismagius and Drifblim.

Other Appearances

• She eventually appears in the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl series after several episodes setting up her having left Hearthome City to develop a new fighting style. She eventually appears in one episode where she defeats both Ash Ketchum and another trainer named Zooey. In a pair of later episodes, she is shown to have returned to Hearthome City, and the latter episode depicts Ash's gym battle with Fantina, which he wins.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Fantina appeared during the Diamond/Pearl arc where she rode her Drifblim around and saved Dia and Pearl following their first clash with Cyrus. She then brought them and Platina back to Hearthome City, where Platina battled her in a gym challenge, which Platina won. Fantina was later shown to have lent her Drifblim to Pearl, and at the end of the arc Fantina was among the gym leaders who battled Team Galactic's commanders at the Spear Pillar.

Trivia

• Her name is a play on "phantom". Her Japanese name is Melissa, to make her foreign nature obvious and possibly play on the English word 'malice'.
• She speaks with a French accent and occasionally uses French words. In the Japanese and French versions, her original language is instead English.
• Her dress is designed to resemble Drifblim.