Drifloon is perhaps the poster child for creepy Ghost type Pokédex entries ||  

I always interpreted the x mark as duct tape over someone’s mouth which alluded to Drifloon’s kidnapping hobby

Here's a little entry for drifloon from moon: "if for some reason its body bursts, its soul spills out with a screaming sound."

I did always enjoy how many of Drifloon's pokedex entries mention that it's so light that it almost never actually succeeds in kidnapping anyone as the Drifloon gets pulled around instead. Is it still scary? Yes, ofc it is. But it does give some very entertaining mental imagery and I always appreciate a goofy mental image.

The X doesn't just imply a puncture but one that's been fixed with tape. Tape where their mouths would be, which adds to the kidnapping motif. Creepy little fellers!

That X is also where their mouths are, which is a type of puncture in a way

The scariest thing about these pokemon is actually catching them in gen 4

Drifloon and drifblim: You'll float too

I always thought of the "X" as a piece of tape covering their mouth. No scream escapes from inside of them, these lost souls have no one to call for help.

I always love the theory that Pokedex entries are like Wikipedia in-universe. Pokemon trainers can add their personal observations and it isn't really peer-reviewed. And since a lot of Trainers are 10 year olds, a lot of playground rumors end up as "facts"

One detail I would also like to add is that, baloons are not ghostly at all, but that shade of purple Driftlim mas perfectly conveys it's ghost type.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought the X was tape over a mouth, which makes me think "No one will hear you scream..."

You'd have no end of fairy tales about these two if they existed. "Clean your plate or Drifloon will cart your skinny butt away!" Drifblim "transporting" adults is terrifying.

Drifblim's arms looking like their snapped could also reference to the strings of a hot air ballon snapping, letting the basket where the people is fall, which also means death

I remember getting jumped by these guys while playing Legends Arceus. Its legit kinda scary the way they teleport to you

Shoutout to my Drifblim in Diamond for taking out Cynthia's Garchomp with Aftermath. Couldn't have done it without you, buddy

I think you fail to mention that it doesn't steal and kidnap anyone, it specifically targets CHILDREN! And it isn't even a 'Pokédex being weird' thing, there are several times in the games where driffloon actively tries to kidnap children! (And people say Hypno is the creepy one)

It helps tbat the little X has a mouth! When you feed them beans or puffs in the DS games, a little mouth opens in the middle of the X. Its a small detail, but adorable

This is one of my favorite analyses for this generation so far.

You know what also makes Drifloon creepy? Two words: Minimize + Baton Pass

Honestly two of my favorite Ghost types. A ghost balloon is a really novel concept, and the designs are simple with just enough filigree to be interesting. High on my list for pokemon to get an evolution or mega form.

I also like that this line has a possibility for an actual airship Pokémon in the future. like a mega evolution, but instead of just "biggering" the existing Drifblim, it would expand the concept until Giant Ghost Blimp is barreling towards you

Additionally Drifblim feels like it works perfectly in 3D. That thing floating there and staring into my soul really sells the idea that all it wants to do is see how high up it can carry me

drifloon is the perfect mix of cute and creepy, making it my favourite pokémon

Drifloon was an underrated Pokémon to use in Sinnoh. Nobody wants to use them compared to other options.

I was so excited for this short, because Driftloon is my favorite ever, and I was not disappointed. ^^ I never thought about the implications of stabbing a baloon = death and that is a way of showing their ghost typing. Pretty cool, thanks Skyen.

Drifloons hands are designed to look like the little weights that keep helium balloons from flying off

I always belived that Pokedex entries for ghost Pokémon are more superstition than a scientific fact, because of their weird and reclusive nature which makes them rare and hard to see

I just realized after more than a decade of looking at it that the dark purple over light purple pattern on driftblim implies fangs. Phenomenal

This is one of my favorite underrated pokemon their lore and design is so neat

I can never be scared of driftblim because he was such a helpful fellow in the pokepark games

The only thing a Drifloon has managed to irrefutably harm is OMOCAT’s career…

I never realized that brilliant connection with the X patch

What a cool concept for a Pokémon, I wish they did more in the games than idle around waiting to be caught

The arms give jellyfish tentacles dragging along the wind

My gen4 nuzlocke attempt and my days at PoGo Great League pvp made me appreciate these guys so, so much more. It's great to hear Skyen appreciates them as well - they're genuinely very interesting in all of their bizzareness.

This is why Ghost type is my favourite; so many fascinating designs!

I love the sound Drifloon makes! It's so silly!

The patch at the front is definitely one of my favorite details. To me, they also vaguely resemble squids and octopi, which makes the bottom balloon opening an ideal location for a mouth, and kinda makes Driftblim feel like it has a bloody, red beak.

Pennywise owns this Pokémon for sure

Excellent analysis here. Never had these two in my team but they always give me this mystery feeling when seeing them especially in Pokemon Arceus

Some of my absolute favorite Pokémon. I appreciate the failed creepiness of Driftloon, how weak and sad it is, contrasted with the Spooky Clown vibes of Driftblim. It's amazing!

One of my absolute FAVORITE lines of all time! I love these balloons so much. ❤❤❤

I imagined the yellow parts on Drifblim's arms coming together to form a little basket to go with the hot-air balloon design.

They also get some of the best horror-themed fanart in the series. (If you've ever seen that comic where a Drifloon stays unmoving while an entire day passes until night falls, you know what I'm talking about)

I'd like to add that Drifblim's "basket" being red really makes it look like a severed head.

Drifblim/loon are some of my favorite Pokemon not just because of a solid design, but because they have, in my opinion, the absolute best shiny form in comparison to its base form. The shiny takes everything atrange and creepy and turns it cute and bright and joyful, reminding me of a sunny day vs a gloomy night.

I love ghost pokemons so much, best designs all over

Let us not forget that Driftblim learns self destruct, just like what blimps do

one of my favorite pokemon of all time, an intersection of both mechanical power and inspired design

We like the little clouds thing on their heads, given them the vibe that they are always up in the clouds. Also, we think the X on the mouth could be a reference to how they are silent when they kidnapped child. They have no mouth, but they don't have to scream.

"But hey, thats just a design A GAME DESIGN thanks for watching"

I played PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond as a kid, so these guys always translate to friend-shaped to me lol. It's always fun to have the creepy bits reminded, like "oh, right right, they're to do with death and not just convenient transportation for Pikachu-sized Pokémon."

One thing that shook me about this pokemon line didn't come till Pokemon Legends Arceus. In the game I found a kid in the Halatic headquater saying that he wanted to hangout with a pokemon, but his mom said they are dangerous. Then later the kid comes back with a Driflum in the headquaters, saying he found a pokemon of his own and is having fun with it and his mom was wrong. Later, I never saw that kid NPC again in the headquarters. I was shaken.

I love them a lot. I didn’t at first (it’s hard to get attached to a Pokemon you can only catch one time in the wild… but only in ONE location… & only on a Friday… only if you can manage to get its HP low enough to catch, without fainting it, but you’re unable to use False Swipe on it… ugh, just glad it doesn’t learn Explosion until a much later level…) But nowadays, Drifloon especially is one of my favorites! The cartoonishly ineffective (& potentially even accidental) evildoing, the adorable little heart “hands” that also look so nostalgically like the little tokens sometimes used to keep balloons from flying away/make them easier for kids to hold, the ridiculous little cloud wig, the purple that’s so close to my personal favorite shade, the high-contrast color scheme that somehow manages to not be an eyesore, likely because while the yellow is bright, it’s used as a “pop” against the slightly desaturated & gloomy purple, (plus, it’s a color scheme I’ve grown to have a personal affection for due to other reasons), the extremely simple body shape that looks SO easy to sew your own little keychain of, to draw, to make clay models of… Drifloon is just incredible. Even its shiny is rad as hell, carrying over a similar “Clashing hard but making it work” feeling to the default colors, but pushing it even harder with the same cheery yellow, but now as the main color, & the bright Cyan accent color very nearly making it too much. I almost feel like Drifloon/blim have a perfect shiny. The colors still feel pretty on-theme (just a slightly different theme, leaning into the childhood angle), is very noticeable, looks good, yet isn’t really something you’d find yourself wishing were the default colors… it specifically looks good _in the context of being a rare form._ Lovely.

drifloon was one of my favs as a kid. i was convinced that if i saw one i would be the one person it would be nice to and not kidnap, which is probably what a lot of kids in pokemon thought at some poiny

These two have always been two of my favourite ghosts in the game

This is probably my favorite ghost line in all of pokemon. I don't know what it is but I absolutely adore them and I'm so stoked I found a full odds shiny Drifloon in Legends

Maybe they're part of some folktale parents would tell kids to get them to finish their food: "If you don't eat, you'll get so light that a Driftloon will carry you away."

I also like that Drifloon's strings have those lil plastic weights that are meant to keep lil kid's balloons from floating away, it really sells me on the image of a kid grabbing the strings thinking it's just a free balloon and gives Drifloon a kinda mimic-y quality ^_^

I love this line. They're simple but evocative, and I think children deserve edgy pokedex entries because we were all little edgelords once (or still)

I always appreciate Pokemon's dedication to not being 100% cheerful/everyone is friends thing franchises like this usually live off of. Even in the most recent gen Primeape freaking DIES and becomes Annihilape from being too pissed to live.

It also says that Drifloon "dislikes heavy children" because it can't kidnap them and carry them away.

My favorite pokemon is driftloon, love my lil horror. Really happy to finally see him get reviewed by you!

Very ironic how theyre the poster *children* for that

I love Drifblim sm, they have such a simple but WAY too effective and charming design, tbh

This reminds me of the once very popular grief routine of releasing a balloon into the sky at funerals or Memorials, etc. as a symbolic gesture of letting your deceased loved one go or sending a gift to them. However, these balloons released come back down to earth somewhere else and can kill wildlife or anything that isn’t supposed to get its hands/mouth on delicious looking trash.

Pokedex entries are urban legends of the pokemon universe.

having grown up with Pokepark where Drifblim is the fast travel mechanic, I can't ever see it as creepy

Drifloon weights 2.6 pounds: it's not stealing children. 😂

The entry about how they love kidnap kids and in Legends of Archeus you can convince a child to stop following Drifloon!

I like the little emphasis on Drifloon's~ name you put

drifloon and drifblim have always been my favorite pokemon, i love them so much!

also can we please recognize how delightfully spooky Drifblim's cry is?

still cant get over all the hindenburg references with drifblim

In school we had a drifloon painting of it stealing a child

My favorite is Drifloon's trophy in SSBB, which says that it tries to drag children to the underworld by their hands, but just ends up getting swung around by kids who think it wants to play.

Drifblim becomes truly horrifying when you see it eat a berry after using calm mind.

Some of my all time fav Pokémon are these 2. They are just so much more unique than a lot of the other ghost type Pokémon

Drifloon: .... Also Drifloon: *pops followed by a blood curdling scream*

If we run with the concept that they are ghostly balloons approximating heads in general appearance, then the red detail at the bottom of Drifblim may imply that it is a head that has been severed from the body! Sort of adding to the creepy ghost motif.

I personally headcanon most the super creepy Ghost-type entries as being tall tales to scare kids, with a few (Like Mimikyu and Spiritomb) actually being mostly correct

When you actually see this in the anime, yes Drifblim uses the tethers as hands and a character straps some weather monitoring stuff to it early on in the Darkrai movie. Its hard to tell in the game but it makes it more clear when you see it in the show/movie where its mouth is too

I’ve noticed that it’s appropriately almost always Ghost type Pokémon that have the darkest and scariest lore

Ghost pokemons have such a clever concept

Despite how creepy the dex makes it out to be, there will always be a spot on my team for the balloon/blimp. Love ya, Ballon.

My boy Skyen is unable to give a S+++ and it shows. Jokes aside, I've always loved this evolution line, the competitive build for Drifloon is so fun to use too

One of my favourite flying types. They're so cool and cute.

Stillwaiting for the monstrous, actively vengeful Drifzep evolution...

It's been since the release of DP games that I wondered what those x marks were, thanks for explaining that

There can also be unintended reference to IT by Steven King. Or the balloon curse manga by Junji Ito. Whichever it is, a balloon being so dangerous it can drift children away is quite terrifying as a concept

Drifloon is one of my all timefavorite pokemon Creepy dex entry or not, theres just something incredibly appealing and sweet about it

I love this line. It's own of my favourites

Such a cute design for such creepy Pokemon. XD

I always read the x as a taped over mouth like how someone would restrain a kidnapping victim

Drifloon: When trainers kidnap someone its ok. But when i do it everyone loses their mind.

This was one of the first pokemon I had ever seen as a kid. I joined in on the diamond and pearl anime around the time of Ash’s first battle with Fantina. Even if this pokemon isn’t a statistical monster or one I’m excited to use, I still treasure it for that, and I think my love for ghosts as my favorite type comes from Fantina and her Drifloon/Drifblim.

A mega evolution that’s a blimp like the heisenburg would go surprisingly hard and be shockingly in line with the whole theme, changing it to a ghost fire type. Because uh… it’s obviously no longer flying lmao.

Unrelated Bonus Points: Drifloon makes for an amazing irl knitted hat design! 🥰🎈

Drifblim getting a blimp evolution is everything I need

They could make a third evolution. Drifblimp. Based on the Hindenburg.