How to Find Drifloon on Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl

Last Updated: November 10, 2022

Drifloon is a special Balloon Pokémon that only appears in front of Valley Windworks after you've cleared out Team Galactic. To make things even more difficult, it only appears on Fridays, so you only have once chance a week to get it.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Making Drifloon Appear

1
Visit Valley Windworks during the story and defeat Team Galactic. Not long after earning your first Gym Badge, you'll find a girl on Route 205 who's father has been taken hostage at Valley Windworks by Team Galactic. You'll need to clear Team Galactic out of Valley Windworks in order to get Drifloon.
2
Defeat the Team Galactic member in front of Valley Windworks. The Galactic Grunt should be an easy fight, but he'll lock the door to Valley Windworks once he's defeated.

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3
Head back to Floaroma Town to find the other Galactic Grunts. You'll be able to get the Works Key from these guys. Head south to find them in Floaroma Meadow.
4
Fight the Grunts and get the key. You'll have to fight both Grunts back-to-back, so make sure your team is ready. The fight shouldn't be two difficult if you've been fighting regularly, and you'll only have to get through three Pokémon to win.
5
Defeat all of Team Galactic in the Valley Windworks. Once you have the Works Key, you can clear out Valley Windworks. You'll have to fight two Grunts and Commander Mars, who has a difficult Level 16 Purugly. After defeating the Commander, the girl will be reunited with her father and will mention "the Balloon Pokemon." This is Drifloon.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Finding and Catching Drifloon

1
Return to Valley Windworks on a Friday during the day. Drifloon appears in front of Valley Windworks every Friday. If you defeated Team Galactic there on a Friday, you'll have to wait until next Friday to find it.
- Make sure to come during the day, as Drifloon will not appear in the morning or at night. You'll need to visit Valley Windworks between 10 AM and 8 PM.^{[2]
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2
Do not set your Nintendo DS clock ahead to make Friday happen early. Setting your clock forward will disable any time-based events for 24 hours, including Drifloon appearing. The best you can do is set the date to Thursday and then wait 24 hours for Drifloon to appear.
3
Approach Drifloon and talk to it. Drifloon will be visible in the overworld, much like a Legendary Pokemon. Talking to it will begin a battle with Drifloon.
4
Lower Drifloon's health. Drifloon is Level 22, so it may take a while to whittle down if you haven't leveled your Pokémon up much. Drifloon is weak to Ghost, Rock, Electric, Ice, and Dark attacks, so use these if possible to make the fight go faster.^{[3]
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5
Use your Poke Ball when Drifloon is low on health. Once Drifloon's health bar is red, you can start throwing Poke Balls to try to catch it. You can use advanced balls to make it easier, but Drifloon shouldn't be difficult to catch with a regular Poke Ball.
6
Come back a week later if you accidentally knock it out. If you accidentally knock Drifloon out, or you miss the time that it appeared, it will show up again next Friday during the day.

Community Q&A

Question

What do I do it doesn't show up?

Community Answer

Try saving the game and reloading it, this works for me all the time. If that doesn't work, make sure the time is 10 AM - 8 PM.
Question

If Drifloon isn't appearing in Pokemon, should I reset the game?

Community Answer

Just wait for it every Friday (but only if you defeat Team Galactic at the Valley Windworks).
Question

What do I do if I don't have two badges?

Community Answer

Badges have nothing to do with encountering Drifloon.