Fantina

Fantina (Japanese: メリッサ Melissa) is a sophisticated and  who specializes in. She is the Gym Leader of Hearthome City's Gym, known officially as the Hearthome Gym, and hands out the to those who defeat her. An expert in Pokémon Contests, she usually competes in Master Rank s and is a member of the Ribbon Syndicate.

She is apparently not from the country the games are set in, and often peppers her speech with phrases of (English in the Japanese and French versions).

In the games
Fantina speaks a mix of French and broken English (only broken Japanese in Japanese version, broken French with English in French version) and is an immigrant from another country. Upon arriving in Sinnoh, she decided to become a Contest performer, so she dresses up in fancy outfits for Pokémon Contests. She considers herself to be a Contest Expert and can occasionally be competed against in s, in which she uses her, nicknamed Loony (Japanese: ばるん Balloon).

She also studied Pokémon and eventually attained the title of Gym Leader. Fantina uses Pokémon in her battles. For defeating her, Trainers receive the, and are able to use  outside of battle ( in ).

In, she cannot be challenged until after the player has received from Cynthia's grandmother in Celestic Town.

In, she is battled much earlier in the game and will make her Gym available to players as soon as they talk to her at the Contest Hall. She can be battled again at the Battleground and occasionally visits the Villa. Fantina claims to be a fan of Arcade Star Dahlia's dancing style and a member of the Ribbon Syndicate of the Resort Area. She also mentions making regular visits to the Lost Tower.

Rematch



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Pokémon World Tournament
Fantina uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles. She will always lead with her signature Pokémon,.

Sinnoh Leaders Tournament




Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament





 * Hearthome City
 * "Oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse me. Are you entering a ? Tehehe... Enjoy yourself, please! Incidentally, Fantina, the Hearthome Gym Leader, also happens to be a Contest expert. And you may ask yourself, how do I know this? Well, I am Fantina! You may challenge me, but not yet! You must become much stronger. Then, you may challenge me!"


 * Contest Hall
 * "Yes? I beg your pardon? Ah,, Contests you are here for? I hope very much you enjoy them. Incidentally, Fantina, the Gym Leader of Hearthome, is also a Contestant. She is, how do you say, ! Fantina being myself, of course! Mmm, let me see... You also seem to be strong. , so it shall be. I wait for you at the Gym!"


 * Hearthome Gym
 * Before battle
 * "Ohohoho!! Finally, you have arrived! Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests in this city? I say to myself,, I will excel. That is why I dress this way. ! Also, I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That is what a Gym Leader does, ?"


 * After the opponent sends out their last Pokémon
 * "Oh, heavens. What is this? Is this my final Pokémon?"


 * When the opponent's last Pokémon is at critical health
 * "Never give up, never surrender!"


 * Upon being defeated
 * "You are so fantastically strong. I know now why I have lost."


 * After being defeated
 * "I am dumbfounded! So very, very strong! You, your Pokémon, so strong! Your power is admirable! I shall honor it with this Gym Badge!"
 * "That Badge will let you use the hidden move / outside of battle. Also, you can make use of this Technical Machine. That is what I think."
 * "That TM65... It contains . A very startling move it is. Its hits turn critical often!"


 * If talked to again
 * "Five/Three Gym Badges... But you must not forget this. There are many other s. Strong Trainers, too. There are many more in Sinnoh. Have patience! You must become stronger, one at a time."


 * Villa
 * "Oh, ! This is where you practice dancing, ?"
 * "Whenever and wherever, dance, dance, dance! If you dance all the time, the dancing at the Contests, they become challenges no longer."
 * "Ooh la la! This is very nice! It is often that I come to the Resort Area also. It is because the Ribbon Syndicate, it is here. Therefore, I will visit your Villa often also!"
 * "Ooh la la! I have an inspiration! The combination of moves for a Contest, it has come to me in a flash! Very well We shall meet at the Contest Hall, yes?"
 * "You! Have you met ? She of the Battle Arcade? That woman! The way she dances! Especially the way she wiggles! Ooh la la! I love her style!"

Scenario 1
 * Battleground
 * Before battle
 * "Finally, you have arrived! So, you shall challenge me. And I shall win. You will be startled by how much stronger I have become!"
 * Yes: "Ohohoho!!"
 * No: "You... You disappoint me. It is very sad. But, realize, you have not beaten me if you refuse."
 * If talked to again after the player answered "No": "This time, you shall challenge me, yes? But I shall win. You will be startled by how much stronger I have become!"


 * When the opponent's last Pokémon is at critical health
 * "Never give up, never surrender!"


 * Upon being defeated
 * "You are so fantastically strong. I know why I have lost."


 * After being defeated
 * "You are an amazing person! ! I am delighted--for now I have a purpose! My purpose, it is to defeat you! It is a gift from you to me!"

Scenario 2
 * Before battle
 * "Oh? It is you? Are you not taking part in Contests? Since you are involving yourself in Contest, you should challenge me."
 * Yes: "Pokémon battles, they are fun, always without fail. Why, you ask? Because, in those moments, we are at our most serious."
 * No: "No? Well, that is OK, also. Just seeing your face, it has made me happy."
 * If talked to again after the player answered "No": "Yes, what is it? I accept your challenge if you give it!"


 * When the opponent's last Pokémon is at critical health
 * "It is too difficult, but... Never give up, never surrender!"


 * Upon being defeated
 * "You are so fantastically strong. I know why I have lost."


 * After being defeated
 * "I wish to battle as if I were dancing."


 * Pokémon World Tournament
 * Before battle (first round)
 * "You shall challenge me, yes? But I shall win. That is what the Gym Leader of Hearthome does, ?"


 * Before battle (second round)
 * "I also study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That is what the Gym Leader of Hearthome does, ?"


 * Before battle (final round)
 * "I learned a lot of things in the Sinnoh region. Also, I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That is what the Gym Leader of Hearthome does, "


 * Upon being defeated
 * "You are so fantastically strong. I know why I have lost."


 * If the player is defeated
 * "You are strong. But it's me who won."


 * After battle (if the player won)
 * "I am dumbfounded! So very, very strong! You, your Pokémon, so strong! Your power is admirable!"


 * After battle (if the player lost)
 * "Never give up, never surrender! There are many other Trainers. Strong Trainers, too. There are many more in this world. Have patience! You must become stronger, one at a time."


 * In the lobby (after the tournament)
 * "I'm so very happy! Because you're so very strong! There's so much I can learn from you. I can become even stronger. When I do, let's battle again!"

In the anime
Despite having traveled through Hearthome City twice, once in Dawn's Early Night! and a second time in Arriving in Style!, the Hearthome Gym remained closed with the Gym Leader nowhere in sight. Fantina had left a note saying that she was going on a journey for a while, and to not look for her. She finally appeared in Playing The Leveling Field!, where she had a practice Contest Battle with Zoey. Although she won the battle with relative ease, she complimented Zoey on her skills and said that she was a formidable opponent. She later battled and defeated, the defeat prompting him to come up with a special tactic to counter Fantina's Pokémon's -inducing skills, which Fantina dubbed the Counter Shield.

In her debut episode, it was revealed that as soon as she arrived in the Sinnoh region she decided to take part in Pokémon Contests. She excelled at them and, with the help of her, she was able to win the Grand Festival. After becoming a Top Coordinator, she was invited to assume the position of Gym Leader for Hearthome City's new Pokémon Gym, which she accepted. As a Gym Leader she was faced with new responsibilities and her desire was to offer a good battle to the many s who would come to challenge her. In order to achieve that goal, she went on a to develop a unique battle style, combining the raw power of regular battles with the stylish moves of Pokémon Contests, and that was her reason for temporarily leaving the Gym.

It was also revealed that she battled Alan twice with him winning the second time after evolving his. In Aiding the Enemy!, it was revealed that Paul had managed to defeat her.

Ash met with Fantina upon returning to Hearthome City in Barry's Busting Out All Over! and had an official Gym battle against her in Shield with a Twist!, where he defeated her and earned the, his fifth Sinnoh League Badge overall.

In Gotta Get a Gible!, it was revealed that Fantina had once again left her Gym, so had to take a number in order to battle her when she came back.

Fantina appeared from Last Call — First Round! to A Grand Fight for Winning!, having yet again left the Gym in order to join Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, and Nurse Joy in the judging panel for the Sinnoh Grand Festival as a special guest judge. Fantina was very excited throughout the competition and on some occasions she would rise from her seat to comment on a combination she felt was impressive. After the final battle between Dawn and Zoey, she was the one who handed Zoey the Ribbon Cup.

She made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Character
As a Top Coordinator who is also a Gym Leader, Fantina possesses experiences from different fields and can be quite challenging. Whether competing in Pokémon Contests or facing challengers at the Hearthome Gym, she prioritizes stylish techniques. She also likes to use moves that may inflict status conditions, such as and.

Fantina has a tendency to break into dance regularly and she is also known for including words in her sentences, such as "". As evidenced by her clothing and demeanor, she has a flamboyant personality. She likes to see that trait in others as well, as shown when she praised Jessilina's performance during the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

Pokémon
This listing is of Fantina's known in the :

Ribbons obtained
This listing is of the Ribbons Fantina has obtained:
 * At least five Ribbons (prior to Dawn's Early Night!)

Grand Festival ranking
Fantina has competed in the following Grand Festivals:
 * Sinnoh Grand Festival - Winner (prior to Dawn's Early Night!)

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Fantina first appeared at the Super Contest Hall in Hearthome City. When two women were making rude comments about rookie contestants during the Master Rank contest, she sent out her Drifblim to carry them out and throw them back where the Normal Rank contest was taking place. The next day, Fantina met, and  in person, and transported the trio on her Drifblim to the Lost Tower just as Paka and Uji had spotted Platinum. There, Diamond and Pearl treated Fantina to their comedy while Platinum witnessed a battle on the lower floors of the tower. Fantina took the trio to Solaceon Town afterwards and left.

Fantina saved Diamond and Pearl from a fall in Celestic Town, and offered to take the trio back to Hearthome, where they discovered that she was the city's Gym Leader, saying that her studies for the lifetime passion of Pokémon Contests granted her the title. Fantina watched as made her way through the quizzes given by the Gym easily and took up the challenge, after which her Drifblim was beaten after Platinum's Empoleon manipulated it into freezing itself using its own wind. Her Mismagius, however, proved to be much trickier; its turned Empoleon's speed against it, and beat it easily. It then trapped Platinum and the borrowed in an illusion where the Pokémon was in a room full of its favorite sweets and Platinum suffered. Before long though, the girl managed to subvert the illusion in her favor with 's help, and defeated the Mismagius.

After the battle, Fantina and the trio learned of the disappearance of Professor Rowan and Platinum's father, Mr. Berlitz. She lent her Drifblim to the trio to assist with their emergency.

She later appeared on the Spear Pillar with the other Sinnoh Gym Leaders where she fought Team Galactic Commander Saturn along with Roark and together they defeated him. They later fought Cyrus on the top of the Spear Pillar and with the help of her fellow Gym Leaders, they managed to break his Red Chain controlling and. However, it was revealed that the one they destroyed was the artificial one he had made earlier and they were all defeated by him.

In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
Fantina's first appearance in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! is a brief cameo in chapter 7 handing a Badge to Hareta. She is subsequently offended when he calls her "Grandma". Later in The Legendary Pokémon Captured, she sends out her in order to fight Team Galactic.

In the Pocket Monsters DP manga
Fantina makes an appearance in a flashback in PMDP07 of the manga.

In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Fantina or her Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Trivia

 * During the Gym battle in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Fantina exclaims "Never give up, never surrender!", the catchphrase from the 1999 science fiction comedy.
 * In the Japanese and French versions she speaks English, while in the Danish, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish versions she has a noticeable French accent.
 * In the English dub of the anime, she also spoke with a French accent.
 * Although Fantina's dress incorporates elements of, she only uses a Drifblim in the Gym rematch in Pokémon Platinum.
 * In the anime, intended to battle Fantina and win the Relic Badge on his first visit to Hearthome City, as his third Badge. While this would have meant that he went out of order compared to Diamond and Pearl, this is the correct order in Platinum, which came out shortly before Ash finally battled her for the Relic Badge (as his fifth).
 * Fantina is similar to Juan in that both speak French (Juan does so in the original Japanese version and Chuang Yi's English translation of Pokémon Adventures), and both are s and Gym Leaders. Juan appeared in a flashback in the episode Fantina debuted in.
 * In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Fantina uses an Origin Forme without a Griseous Orb in The Battle Between Legendary Pokémon, despite being outside the Distortion World.

Related articles

 * Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

Lamina Fantina Kiméra Fannie メリッサ 梅麗莎